Some mixed news on the number of COVID-19 patients today at The University of Kansas Health System. 25 patients are being treated for the virus, down from 26 yesterday and a peak of 36 last week. But 11 of those patients are in the ICU, way up from 5 yesterday and 6 are on ventilators, double the number of 3 yesterday. Still, doctors are optimistic the overall numbers are heading in the right direction and note hospitals around the city are showing similar numbers.
Vibrant Health CEO Patrick Sallee was back in the studio. He showed how hard COVID-19 has hit Wyandotte County residents and how it’s impacted his organization’s ability to provide care to those with lower incomes. Also, Dr. Stites returned to the panel and showed the newest video of he and Dr. Hawkinson going back into the deep freeze to dramatically illustrate how far a breath cloud travels
Patrick Sallee says unemployment in Wyandotte County was 3.8% in March, just as the outbreak began. It jumped to 14% by May and is still at 10.3% today. COVID-19 has resulted in 25% fewer patients at Vibrant Health than pre-COVID-19 resulting in a loss of $1.7 Million in patient revenue and a loss in fundraising. He notes the high unemployment brings an even greater loss of insurance among patients they serve. He says 45% of those seeking treatment at Vibrant Health are uninsured. Anxiety levels, depression and stress levels are high, and he says many people are avoiding COVID-19 testing because they may not be able to afford to pay for the care required of a positive test. His organization has begun offering testing at various sites in the community to help. Those tests have resulted in a 30% positive rate compared to the 7-9% rate seen at the health system. He has also noticed the overall trend of patients delaying care during the pandemic which is resulting in much more serious conditions when they come for treatment.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, addressed questions about whether 3 and 4- year-olds should wear masks in preschool, when it’s the right time to be tested for COVID-19, and the effectiveness of saliva testing. He says the best and most reliable test is still the nasal swab, but the saliva testing is best for mass screenings like at The University of Kansas, which plans to screen everyone on campus. He reminds us that as we’re getting ready for flu season, everyone needs to get a flu shot, and children especially need to get their normal vaccinations. He also advised if someone is feeling the symptoms of COVID-19, they should get tested, and presume they are positive and self-isolate until the test shows they don’t have the virus.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, told a viewer that having asthma doesn’t make you any more likely to catch COVID-19, but it may make it harder to cope if you do. He discussed the right number of feet to stay apart during the pandemic, saying the further the better, but six feet is what the CDC recommends. He advised watching his newest freezer video demonstration with Dr. Hawkinson to see why. He says travel is still safe as long as everyone follows the pillars of infection control. He stresses wearing a mask is key.
Friday, August 7 at 8:00 a.m. is the next daily briefing call. We get a lot of unanswered questions throughout the week. Doctors will tackle those going into the weekend and remind folks to maintain the pillars of infection prevention and control. We will also have another Sunnye Says video that shows kids ways to visualize safe social distancing.
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.
