The number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System has dropped quite a bit since Friday. Nine people with the active virus are being treated, down from 15 on Friday. Of those patients, four are in the ICU, down from 11 Friday. Just one of those patients is on a ventilator, a big drop from eight Friday. Ten other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase, down from 11 Friday. That’s a total of 19 patients, down from 26 on Friday. HaysMed has two active patients and one recovering patient, up from one active and one recovering on Friday.
On today’s Morning Media Update, Dr. Hawkinson’s two children, 14-year-old Wyatt and 12-year-old Caroline, both received the COVID-19 vaccine now that it’s been approved for ages 12 and up. Both were glad to get it, not only because they got out of school for a while but because the vaccine will help them get back to a normal life sooner.
Also on the program, COVID-19 has killed the traditional workplace for many occupations including caregivers. So, what does the future workforce look like? How do you combat isolation when working from home? Answers to those questions and more from Dr. Jovanna Rohs, director of early learning with the Mid-America Regional Council and Jon Joffe, the health system vice president of human resources.
Dr. Rohs splits her time at the Mid-America Regional Council between her home and her office, which has become very common for a lot of workers during the pandemic. She explained how MARC has helped many caregivers understand constantly changing guidelines from national, state and local governments. She says many companies have had to adjust and offer flexible work hours, especially for workers with school-age children. She admits it can be a challenge keeping an office with many workers at home engaged, but says planned opportunities to connect, even just to chat by video, are a big help. She says it’s been great being able to see people in their home environment, especially those who just had children a year ago. Now, she says, the whole staff can watch the children grow in a way they never could before the pandemic. She says it’s important just to reach out and have conversations with remote workers by video to help them avoid the feelings of loneliness and isolation.
John Joffe says the health system had to rethink everything when it came to having employees work from home, especially since nobody knew how long it was going to last. Things like recruiting at job fairs and orientation had to be redesigned and for many workers, new tools and technology had to be implemented to allow for remote work. It’s impossible in the healthcare industry, given the hands-on nature of caring for patients, to let everyone work from home, but about a fourth of the 12,500 workers, mostly non-clinical, have successfully been able to work mainly from home with occasional visits to the office. That even includes employees who live full time in Florida, New York, California and Nevada. Joffe says it’s also allowed some long-term employees with a wealth of knowledge to retire to other states but still be able to contribute part-time. He believes companies must make an effort to foster the human connection now missing in such things as recognition events or teams gathering socially after work. He feels working from home is going to change the dynamic of how all businesses function in the future and says technology will be really important for that to continue.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at The University of Kansas Health System, is elated that his kids are able to get the vaccine. He believes vaccine side effects for children such as his in the 12 to 15-year-old age group are less common. He reminds us that children can still spread the disease as easily as adults and urges parents to have their kids in this age group vaccinated as soon as possible. There is talk the vaccine may be approved for kids as young as two, but that’s still months away. As for schools that are dropping the mask mandates, he reminds us the CDC guidelines still call for those who are not vaccinated to wear a mask, which includes children under 12. He says even though infection rates are dropping around the world, we must support those countries struggling with high infection rates and low vaccine supplies.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, says the new CDC guidelines rely on the honor system. If you have not been vaccinated, the new rules about relaxed mask wearing don’t apply to you. You must continue to wear a mask. He admits anything other than the honor system, such as wearing a bracelet or showing your vaccine card, is not practical. He gave results of a poll of those watching the Morning Media Update, which showed 76 percent are still concerned about the new mask guidance. He reminds us that if we want to get back to normal, in our own community and in the world, we all need to get vaccinated because that’s the way out of the pandemic.
Tuesday, May 18 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update. This is national EMS week. Tomorrow we will continue our discussion on the pandemic's impact on emergency workers on the front lines in the community. Dr. Chad Cannon, Chair and clinical service chief, the department of emergency medicine and Dr. Ryan Jacobsen, EMS physician adviser to the health system and medical director of Johnson County EMS will share how their work has changed and answer your questions.
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