The number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System is down one today. There are 18 patients being treated, down from 19 yesterday. Six of those patients are in the ICU, down from 7 yesterday, but all six are on ventilators, up from five yesterday.
The focus of today’s briefing was the impact of COVID-19 on the homeless, and how that impacts all of us. Bryan Meyer, founder and chief executive officer of the Veterans Community Project joined the panel. Also joining is Dr. Nicole Yedlinksy, Department of Family Medicine, an expert on medical conditions that are unique and common to military veterans. She is also an Army veteran.
Dr. Yedlinsky pointed out that one half of the veteran population is over 65 years old, one of the riskiest categories for COVID-19. She explained why the transition from military to civilian life can be difficult and why they are prone to more mental health problems, PTSD, social isolation and homelessness, which makes it a challenge to treat them. She says it’s unknown what the rate of COVID-19 is in the veteran community. As a family medicine physician, she tries to offer telehealth visits to veterans as much as possible.
Brian Meyer, a Marine veteran, leads the organization responsible for the 49 “tiny houses” at 89th and Troost which provide transitional shelter and services to veterans. An on-site community center provides medical and dental care as well as case management for the residents. He agrees some veterans can’t self-isolate in group shelter settings or homeless camps in the woods and are more at risk of catching the virus. He outlined some of the ways to get involved in helping care for veterans.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, says there’s new evidence that low-dose steroids and blood thinners in the right patients has helped drop the death rate from COVID-19 by about a third. He notes hospitals are no longer giving hydroxychloroquine and says treatments have been refined since the beginning of the pandemic, when they were “throwing the kitchen sink” at patients looking for treatments that worked. He noted that while dentists are ranked the number one risk for patients, given the nature of working in the mouth, as long as your dentist and staff are taking all necessary precautions and wearing personal protective equipment you will be safe.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer of The University of Kansas Health System, answered the viewer question of whether COVID-19 is just a hoax by pointing out more than 100,00 American deaths, including 24 in The University of Kansas Health System. He also noted there is no danger of carbon monoxide buildup from wearing a mask, and doctors don’t believe COVID-19 will be affected by changes in the weather, like some other viruses. He believes we have a moral responsibility to keep each other safe by constantly observing the pillars of safety which have been stressed for months.
Thursday, June 18 at 8:00 a.m. is the next daily briefing call. Mark Steele, MD, Executive Chief Clinical Officer, Truman Medical, Dr. Larry Botts, CMO, Advent Health and Dr. Raghu Adiga, Chief Medical Officer, Liberty Health are back to update patient trends at their hospitals.
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.
