The number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System is holding steady today. 34 patients are being treated for the virus, down from 35 yesterday. 9 of those patients are in the ICU, up from 8 yesterday. Five patients are on ventilators, up from 4 yesterday. Doctors say that’s better than the 40-50 patients they prepared for.
Greater Kansas has not escaped COVID-19. Dr. Heather Harris, Medical Director of our HaysMed Campus and Dr. Jennifer Jackson in Internal Medicine in Wichita in Sedgewick County joined the group to talk about how those areas remain hot-spots for COVID-19. They worry about large events like tonight’s opening of the Rush County Fair, saying “There is lots of risk involved.” Also patient Anil (A-Neal) Gharmalker of rural Kansas is back in the hospital. He updates his medical journey as COVID-19 continues to be a battle for him nearly three months later. He can say from personal experience that COVID-19 is “no hoax.” He says if you grab on to false information and “avoid real medical care, it may be too late by the time you look for help."
Anil Gharmalker spoke live from his hospital room. He first joined us two weeks ago in the studio to talk about his experience with the virus, which he caught in April while on the road driving his truck across the country. He had to come back to the hospital a week and a half ago after his airway began closing, forcing doctors to insert a breathing tube in his windpipe. In all, he’s spent 35 days in the hospital. While he’s recovered from COVID-19, the virus has caused several other medical complications in his recovery. Though he’s going home today, he still has many more medical visits ahead. He described how rapidly his symptoms first came on and advised everyone to “do the things we learned in kindergarten…wash your hands, be courteous and respectful.”
Dr. Harris says Western Kansas has not been spared from the pandemic. They have had a definite uptick in patients since she was last on the update. On June 29, one month ago to the day, they had 21 cases of COVID-19 in Ellis county. Today they have 115 cases. She’s especially concerned with tonight’s opening of the Rush County Fair in LaCrosse, Kansas. She says there is a lot of risk involved in large group gatherings like this, especially if people don’t wear a mask, wash their hands frequently and keep six feet apart. She says it’s vital that people stay home when they don’t feel well.
Dr. Jackson says Sedgwick County has closed all bars and delayed the start of schools, hoping to stem the tide of COVID-19. She says more and more people are realizing the virus is real and are seeing they must wear masks and follow all the pillars of infection control. She says the pandemic has uncovered “glaring medical disparities” in different sectors of the population, and hopes people realize that making lifestyle changes can affect outcomes. She also addressed why people wear masks around strangers but not around friends and family. She says we must be vigilant, even around loved ones.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, says in talks with his colleagues around the city, most hospital ICU’s are running at capacity, but feel they can handle the high numbers of COVID-19 patients. He answered the question about what parents should do about sending their kids to school if they, the parents, test positive. He also has concerns about those who try to self-administer a nasal swab to test for the virus, saying “operator error” will likely cause false results. He says wait until saliva testing is widely available. He also said to those going to the fair, wear a mask everywhere, even outdoors.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer of The University of Kansas Health system, says it’s not necessary to make a COVID-19 patient test positive before returning to work as long as they have quarantined for two weeks and are not showing any symptoms. He says that’s the policy observed at The University of Kansas Health System toward employees who have tested positive. He noted the CDC does not recommend repeat testing as a person can test positive for 60-90 days, even though their danger of spreading the disease has long passed.
Thursday, July 30 at 8:00 a.m. is the next daily briefing call. Dr. Joseph McGuirk, Division Director, Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapeutics Medical Director, Blood and Marrow Transplant, joins with psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Muenks to talk about how for many cancer patients their quarantine hasn’t ended while others are getting back to life. Dr. McGuirk shares some lessons we can all learn from this population of patients.
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