There’s been an uptick in the number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System since Friday. 21 patients are being treated, up from 18. Eight of those patients are in the ICU, six on ventilators, both the same as Friday. Doctors say the increase was bound to happen as society reopened.
Ashleigh Adams, RN, Chris Brown, MD, Courtney Ash, RT and Chaplain Kathy Riegelman talked about working with COVID-19 patients on the front lines since March. What do they know now that will help with a second wave?
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, joined the morning briefing live from his vacation in the western Rockies of Colorado. He continues to see a good culture of wearing masks where he is. He says those who don’t wear masks and who don’t practice infection control will ultimately lead to the next surge of patients, which will take a toll on the healthcare system. He noted that antibody testing just became available today at the health system, but said the medical community is still unsure what the results mean or what to do with the information. He also addressed questions of why the COVID-19 death rate is so much higher in Missouri than in Kansas, how safe gyms are these days and why driving on vacation is safer than flying. He adds vacation rental homes are probably safer than hotels because you and your family are the only ones coming and going.
Chaplain Riegelman says how they connect families who can’t be at the hospital with loved ones has really changed. She says wearing or not wearing a mask is not a statement, it’s a public safety measure since the virus can infect anyone. She emphasized that while many rites of passage like weddings, funerals and graduations had to be postponed, “Distance doesn’t diminish the love. It will reach the person.” She’s seen society becoming a lot more creative in showing that love.
Dr. Brown says the pandemic has transformed the practice of medicine, and he’s seen a big difference in how COVID-19 patients are treated just since the outbreak began. He says health providers have had to be creative in connecting families.
Ashleigh Adams agrees and says Zoom has become the best new tool for keeping patients and families connected. She wears a mask in public but has noticed a decrease in mask wearing lately. She says it’s important to remember “It’s not about you…it’s about others.”
Courtney Ash, respiratory therapist, says she and her staff feel safe working with patients on their breathing problems thanks to their personal protective equipment. She talks about how to convince someone to wear a mask. She also addressed the question of how to get an elderly relative with COPD who needs oxygen to also wear a regular mask to prevent the virus. She says it can be really difficult.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer of The University of Kansas Health System, reminded us that takeout food from a restaurant is safe, as the virus doesn’t live on the food. He says it’s more important that those in the kitchen and those bringing your food are wearing masks. He says we all yearn for a time when things were normal and that now is not that time. But he says, “This too shall pass.”
Tuesday, June 23 at 8:00 a.m. is the next daily briefing call. The pandemic is taking a toll on blood supplies which remain at an all-time low. Chelsey Smith, Outreach & Communications Coordinator with the Community Blood Center is back. KDHE Secretary Lee Norman also joins to update recommendations/requirements in Kansas, how Kansas is doing and where he thinks the next hotspots will be.
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.
