The number of COVID-19 patients being treated at The University of Kansas Health System is steady. 67 patients are hospitalized, the same as yesterday. 22 patients are in the ICU, up from 20 yesterday. 7 patients are on ventilators, down from 12 yesterday. 28 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase. That’s up from 26 yesterday. Three patients have died in the last 24 hours. In addition, HaysMed has 27 total COVID-19 inpatients, up from 22 yesterday, with 1 of those patients in the recovery phase.
Doctors noted the health system is in a different place than at the beginning of the pandemic in March. Then, the biggest concerns were PPE, blood and medicine. Now the problem is bed space. The health system has begun delaying non-critical procedures for 1 or 2 patients in each department every day to gain some beds. They say this amounts to rationing of care and they don’t feel good about it.
On the Morning Media Update today were Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, Sean Kumer, MD, VP Perioperative and Procedural Services and Amanda Gartner, director of quality and safety to answer questions from the community Here are the community questions in the order the panel addressed them, followed by the short answer. See the video for their full answers and comments.
- How are doctors and nurses taking care of themselves during the pandemic? Exercise, family time, reading for pleasure.
- Missouri is changing guidance for K-12 regarding close contacts. It would not be considered close contact if both the person who tested positive and the person exposed were properly wearing masks and socially distanced. How much do masks protect you? Masks are a proven barrier, keeping the wearer from spreading the virus. They also offer some protection to the wearer from others.
- Is it true the number of hospital beds being used now are 50% higher than back at the peak? Numbers are higher, but the majority of patients are not COVID-19 patients.
- Do I need to have symptoms or a doctor’s order to get tested and are the tests free? If you are within 5-7 days of exposure, you should call your doctor or the health system at 913-588-1600 to arrange a test. They are done by appointment only. Insurance usually covers the cost.
- Do I need a pulse oximeter device at home? It is not necessary unless you have underlying health conditions such as COPD.
- The World Health Organization says exercisers are not required to wear masks during exercise. Do you agree? It depends on whether you’re inside or outside, the level of your activity and how close you are to others.
- Will having healthcare and frontline workers getting the vaccine first help tamp down the virus? It will help prevent workforce shortages so that the general public can get it quicker.
- How do you convince people to take the vaccine? Safety is the number one factor during development. All vaccines will be proven safe before being distributed to the public.
- My husband and I attended a live theater show with 600 people. I kept my mask on while my husband and some others did not. He tested positive for COVID-19 days later. I have not. Is it possible he got it there? Yes, it’s possible. The mask acts as a barrier.
- My husband ran a fever for only 12 hours with his COVID-19 diagnosis. Could he get pneumonia or some other symptom without running a fever? Yes, it’s possible.
- What are the demographics around this surge? Are patients still skewing older with co-morbidities and the majority from certain ethnic groups more? The overall age of patients is lower. The age range is still mid-20’s to upper-90’s
- The CDC, WHO and even Dr. Fauci said early on that masks weren’t needed. Why should we believe they are needed now? That early advice came before we knew that people could spread the disease without knowing they were sick.
- A CDC study shows one in five COVID-19 patients is diagnosed with a mental health disorder within 90 days including dementia, depression, anxiety and insomnia. Do you know which patients are more susceptible? Overall mental illness is up, but there’s no way to predict who is more susceptible.
- What is the limit for a safe gathering? There’s no set number. It’s more about knowing who’s in your bubble. Even a gathering of 2 or 3 could be high risk if all are from different bubbles.
- Are you seeing multi-system inflammatory syndrome in your COVID-19 patients? If yes, what is the symptom children present with most? It’s not very common in our patients. Symptoms include fever and overall malaise.
- News reports indicate teachers and support staff are coming down with COVID-19 and it’s impacting the ability to hold class. Are children spreading the COVID-19 to adults? We’re not sure we can point to any one group. Anyone can spread the virus.
- At what point will the hospital or metro hospitals consider field hospitals to care for the sick? All are hoping to avoid that because there may not be enough people to staff them. Hospitals are doing their best to maximize the resources they currently have.
- How often do you have to see someone for them to be considered in your bubble? No set time. It’s a matter of their behavior and whether they’ve been exposed to other bubbles.
Monday, November 16 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update. Garold Minns, MD, Dean of the KU School of Medicine in Wichita, joins the discussion to share what COVID-19 is like in that city. We know that Wichita is a few days or a week ahead of Kansas City, and both are influenced by what is going on throughout Kansas.
ATTENTION: media procedure for calling in:
The meeting is available by Zoom, both video and by phone. To join the Zoom Meeting by video, click https://kumc-ois.zoom.us/j/7828978628
Telephone dial-in Participants:
For those without Zoom, call 1-253-215-8782, meeting ID: 782 897 8628.
The feed is also available via TVU grid. The TVU source is UoK_Health and is being made available to all.
Feel free to send questions in advance to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.