A slight decrease in the number of COVID-19 patients being cared for at The University of Kansas Health System today. 17 patients are being treated for the virus, down from 20 yesterday. 6 of those patients are in the ICU, down from 8 yesterday. Doctors note that the hospital continues to get new cases, but at the moment, more patients are being discharged than admitted.
KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman joined the group to explain what the recent legislative action in Kansas means. He said each Kansas county will now make their own rules about reopening society with the governor’s original rules as a guideline. He explained that could lead to highly irregular practices from county to county. He also says without the governor’s emergency declaration in place, it could affect federal funding as well as PPE and medicine distribution. He adds that assistance from the Air and Army Guard could end. In discussing the mortality rate of COVID-19, he says one out of every 167 who get the disease will die, which is a higher rate than the flu. He says we should not simply accept as fact that a second wave of the disease is necessary, and that we can do something to prevent it now. He addressed the question of whether the state can require everyone to wear a mask. He believes those who look for loopholes in the rules in order to skirt safety precautions are wrong and need to understand the principles behind the rules for personal responsibility. He says one of the best sites for current and factual information on COVID-19 is the department’s own web site https://www.kdheks.gov/
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System agreed with Dr. Norman in saying antibody testing is nearly ready for use as another tool in fighting the virus. He also addressed questions from how useful hand-held oxygen meters can be to whether it’s OK to reuse a cloth mask to whether plane travel is safe. He emphasized that the flu usually claims 25,000 American lives in a six-month period each year, while 100,000 have now died from COVID-19 in three months.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at the health system, said those who try to minimize the threat by saying this virus is “nothing more than a bad case of the flu,” are wrong, and are using that thinking to justify their irresponsible social behavior. He says the scary part of this disease, besides there not yet being a cure, is that many people will get it and not even know it. He says we all need to adopt to the same oath all physicians take, “Do no harm,” toward one another in this pandemic.
Chelsey Smith with the Community Blood Center checked back in with an update on donations. In her words, the situation is “grim.” She says the Community Blood Center is struggling right now with barely a two-day supply of blood when it’s normal to have a seven-day supply. That can have a major impact on all area hospitals as they are doing more and more surgical procedures. She explained the usual blood drives at businesses and schools can’t be held right now, and they still need 600 donors every day. She understands there may be some fear in the community about giving, but she stresses how safe it is to come to a donation center, and outlines the precautions being taken. She and the doctors recalled the huge crowds who came to donate after the Hyatt disaster in 1981, the 911 attack and the Joplin tornado and said this crisis is no different. She says the easiest way to register to donate is through the blood center’s web site savealifenow.org. She says if you’re healthy, there’s no age limit. For eligibility questions, see their web site or call their medical hotline at 800-688-0900.
Friday May 29 at 8:00 a.m. is the next daily briefing call. Joining the discussion are Allen Greiner, MD, Medical Officer for KCK Wyandotte County and Chris Brown, MD, hospitalist at The University of Kansas Health System. They will discuss health equity in the fight against COVID-19 and what can be done to better protect our most vulnerable.
ATTENTION media members- 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.
