The University of Kansas Health System continues to see a steady number of COVID-19 patients. The number dropped to 9 at one point over the weekend, but stands at 11 today, compared to 13 on Friday. Six of those patients are in the ICU, with two on ventilators. Two have died.
David Wild, MD, Vice President of Performance Improvement joined Dr. Hawkinson and Dr. Stites to talk about the rising numbers of positive cases in the community and fewer hospital admissions and what the modeling predicts. Chris Ruder, Chief Operating Officer, Kansas City Division, also had a status report on the hospital’s visitor policy, which just changed last week.
Dr. Wild noted there’s been an overall increase in COVID-19 cases in the Metro area and throughout Kansas, yet the number of hospitalized patients has remained steady for the last few weeks. He says that suggests younger people with fewer co-existing diseases are catching the virus and there are no new large numbers of patients from nursing homes or meat packing plants. He also says the average length of stay for these patients is decreasing. He explains how healthcare workers like him use modeling and forecasting to prepare for the future and says right now neither is showing a scenario where the hospital will be overwhelmed. He thought we might see a spike in cases after the Memorial Day weekend parties in the Ozarks after two weeks, but that it might now be three weeks. He also addressed the question of why the hospital no longer takes people’s temperatures as they come through the door.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, said it’s important to note that despite some reports, there has been no clinically significant change in the strain of COVID-19. He says we are always prepared for a surge of patients, but early interventions such as social distancing and mask wearing have kept Kansas City from being like New York. He says those measures worked in the case of the Springfield, MO hair stylist who tested positive, but did not spread the virus to any clients because all wore masks. He said a mask is not always necessary when you’re outside and observing proper social distancing, but it’s better for inside interactions like in a store. He also talked about how to let extended family members into your social bubble.
Chris Ruder, Chief Operating Officer, Kansas City Division, The University of Kansas Health System, gave an update on the health system’s visitor policy, which just changed last week. He said so far it’s gone well. Each patient is now allowed one visitor per day, two visitors if the patient is under 18. Exceptions are also made for those receiving end-of- life care. Cancer patients may bring a visitor to an exam, but those receiving treatment or an infusion are still not allowed to have visitors. Ruder says the restriction was first put into place to keep patients and staff safe, and to preserve personal protective equipment. He says the health system knows how vital the support of loved ones is to patients and now has enough safety protocols in place to allow limited visitors. He says leadership teams will be monitoring the effects of the new policy.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at the health system, said we are fortunate in The United States not to have seen the big spikes in patients they’ve seen in Europe. He says the ability to close society early gave the hospital time to focus on the vital supply of personal protective equipment and to focus on the long-term plan. He thinks when it’s all over we will have learned that proper social distancing and wearing masks will have been the most important things we did to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Tuesday, June 9 at 8:00 a.m. is the next daily briefing call. Dr. Wissam El Atrouni, associate professor of Medicine in the division of infectious diseases, teams up with fellow infectious disease physician Dr. Hawkinson to answer questions around safe summer travel just as Dr. Hawkinson is about to go on vacation. Dr. Danielle Johnson joins the conversation to help with anxiety over hitting the road during a pandemic.
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