The University of Kansas Health System has a drop in the number of COVID-19 patients being treated today. 15 are hospitalized, down from 21 on Friday. Four patients are in the ICU, down from 6 on Friday. Three patients are on ventilators, up from 2 Friday. 28 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase. That number was 32 on Friday. In addition, Hays Med reports 14 inpatients. Doctors say that reflects a growing trend of more patients from smaller communities with COVID-19
The Chief Medical Officers from Advent Health, Truman Medical and Liberty Hospital and the director of Infectious diseases from Children’s Mercy joined the panel as we looked at the how the Metro is doing now that we’re back in school and post Labor Day holiday.
Dr. Larry Botts, CMO AdventHealth, Dr. Mark Steel, Executive Chief Clinical Officer with Truman Medical Centers University Health, Dr. Raghu Adiga, Chief Medical Officer at Liberty Health and Dr. Angela Myers, Division Director of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Mercy each updated the number of COVID-19 patients in their hospitals. All reported lower numbers in recent days.
Dr. Botts addressed a viewer question about whether it’s safe for high school football players to wear masks under their helmets. He also discussed the risks to teachers if there’s an outbreak in a school, and how the school can handle it. He advises everyone keep up the mask wearing and social distancing and that will help us get back to normal sooner.
Dr Adiga noted that most cases of the virus are coming from large social gatherings. He’s also noticed a difference in rural schools in Missouri, where many don’t require masks, and those in the city. He says schools and community leaders in smaller towns need to send a strong message and set the example for mask wearing and social distancing. He discussed whether or not there are risks to a woman who had COVID-19 and wants to become pregnant.
Dr. Steele said most hospitals are looking at ways to safely bring their volunteers back and noted what a vital role they play. His key advice is to avoid large gatherings, especially those where people are not wearing masks, as that appears to be how more and more cases of the virus are being spread these days, especially in those smaller communities where mask wearing is less frequent.
Dr. Myers warned that we’re entering a season where more kids get sick from non- COVID-19 illnesses, and vaccinations are vital, including a flu shot. She said schools must have a plan in place to handle a student who tests positive including what to do about the rest of the class and the teacher. She also had advice for families in which one of the children tests positive. She says we’re seeing a “glimmer of a downward trend,” and hopes we can keep it up.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, says rural communities run the risk of overwhelming their health systems by not adhering to mask wearing and social distancing. He says mask wearing becomes second nature after a couple of weeks, and urges those at the top, both in the community and the school, to send the right message about these practices.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer of the health system, says we won’t know until October or November how schools are coping with COVID-19. Distancing and mask wearing have helped so far, but he says if we let up, schools will be back to remote learning. He reminds us that if COVID-19 was just hanging around in the air, we’d all have it by now, and we can keep it at bay until a vaccine is ready by keeping up with the mask wearing and avoiding large social gatherings.
Tuesday, September 22 at 8:00 a.m. is the next morning media update. John Rule, M CPT., US Army Epidemiologist and Mario Castro, M.D., MPH, Vice Chair for Clinical and Translational Research at KUMC will join to talk about the virus spread in our communities post-Labor Day and the start of school. We will also share news of a study to test therapies for COVID-19 outpatients.
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.