Another slight drop today in the number of COVID-19 patients being treated at The University of Kansas Health System. 35 patients are hospitalized, down from 37 Friday. 14 patients are in the ICU, same as Friday. Eight patients are on ventilators, up from 5 Friday. 31 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase. That’s the same as Friday. In addition, HaysMed has 17 total COVID-19 inpatients today, down from 19 Friday, with 1 of those patients in the recovery phase. Doctors noted that the Kansas City area is seeing nearly 500 new cases a day. They also followed up on Friday’s look at the alarming rise in COVID-19 cases in El Paso, Texas by showing the city’s web site with current information. The city is reporting a huge jump in new cases a day.
On today’s Morning Media Update, Dr. Mark Steele, Executive Chief Clinical Officer, Truman Medical Centers/University Health, Dr. Raghu Adiga, CMO and infectious diseases physician, Liberty Hospital and Dr. Larry Botts, CMO, Advent Health join to update the virus spread and patient numbers at their respective hospitals, plus offer their advice for families heading into the holiday season..
(video here)
All three doctors presented their most current numbers of COVID-19 patients, and all three said the numbers are going up. Most patients at the area hospitals are younger and less ill to begin with and the average length of stay is lower. But the doctors say it’s the numbers of patients, especially in the last few weeks, that have the potential to cause capacity problems at the hospitals because this time of year is usually busier anyway. Dr. Steele from Truman also mentioned that the State of Missouri is loaning saliva testing equipment to the hospital which can potentially double the daily testing capacity. They will be the only hospital in Northwest Missouri with the equipment.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, says if you’re voting tomorrow and want to add an extra layer of protection to your mask, a face shield or goggles would work. He reminded us that COVID-19 is not the flu and pointed out that the flu never caused this many people to be hospitalized with ventilators at one time. He says while it seems the virus leaves patients with an apparent immunity for about five months, there are still no scientific studies to back it up.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, says we’ve beat the curve before and we can do it again, but observing the pillars of infection prevention is vital. On Halloween he noticed trick-or-treaters and parents traveling in large groups without masks, and that worried him. He says it’s important to realize that masks are not a political weapon and that masks work. Ultimately, he says, we are all in this together.
Tuesday, November 3 at 8:00 a.m. is the next morning media update. KU Professor Donna Ginther joins us to update her research on mask mandates. And, we hear from a 38-year-old mother of two who caught COVID-19. Thankfully she and her family have not become too sick so far but they strongly encourage everyone to wear a mask.
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