Another slight increase in the number of COVID-19 patients being treated at The University of Kansas Health System. With several discharges and several admissions over the weekend, there are 17 patients being treated today, up from 15 Friday. Eight of those patients are in the ICU, up from 7 Friday. Four are on ventilators, up from three Friday. Doctors say it’s scary because as we move around more, the number of cases around the country will increase
On today’s briefing, therapists from The University of Kansas Health System are working with the group The Battle Within/Frontline Therapy Network to provide free teletherapy services to first responders on the front lines of COVID-19 and protests. The teletherapy or in person support teaches resiliency and offers tools to help people better cope with their extraordinary circumstances. Whitney Logan, Clinical Director, Justin Hoover, Executive Director of TBW joins Dr. Greg Nawalanic, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The University of Kansas Health System.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at the health system joined the group live from Florida where he’s getting ready to return from his vacation. He’s observed most beachgoers maintaining proper social distancing, but not many wearing masks. He says most tourists he saw didn’t seem to find mask-wearing important. He says as society reopens, it’s up to us as individuals, rather than relying on everyone else, to keep the virus from spreading.
Dr. Nawalanic expanded on what Dr. Hawkinson said about mask wearing. He’s noticed what he calls a “strange flip’ in people’s behavior in the last couple of weeks. He says people are saying “I did what I was supposed to do, I’ve done enough, and I’m going back to normal.” He says when mask-wearing was the norm, people looked at those without masks as out-of-place. Now those with masks are feeling like outsiders for still wearing them. He says we can’t dive head-first back into a reopening society, and we must focus on the long-term.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer of The University of Kansas Health System, says this attitude is what may lead to the second wave of the virus. He stressed that wearing a mask is a social responsibility we must all observe. He added that when deciding how to begin adding extended family members and friends back into our social bubble, we must each determine our own level of acceptable risk.
Justin Hoover, a combat veteran, described how his personal experience led him to found The Battle Within, and how the organization has expanded to provide services to not only veterans but first responders and front-line medical workers. He says the Kansas City Police Chief invited his organization to the police command post during the Plaza protests and explained how it was a benefit for those officers suffering stress from their job. He says it’s OK not to be OK, and help is there.
Whitney Logan says the main things they’re seeing among police, first responders and medical personnel are stress, anxiety and depression. She wants all to know the services are free to those who need them, and clinicians are available at all hours, both in person and by telehealth. She also offered advice to those who might be terrified to return to an opening society after months of isolation saying it’s hard to readjust overnight. She says we all have a need for love and connection rather than fear and isolation, and we must look every day for opportunities to take care of ourselves.
Tuesday June 16 at 8:00 a.m. is the next daily briefing call. Dr. Hawkinson joins the group to talk about how he safely traveled back home. Dr. Joseph LeMaster, Johnson Co., KS public health officer and Dr. Allen Greiner, Unified Government Chief Medical Officer join to talk about fluctuating numbers and where they think we’re headed in this pandemic. Dr. Jessica Kalender-Rich also joins the discussion to field questions about when and how to reopen nursing homes.
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