The number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System has dropped a bit today. 19 patients are being treated for the virus, down from 22 yesterday. Nine are in the ICU, up from eight yesterday and three are on ventilators, up from two yesterday. Doctors say the health system continues to discharge patients every day, while admitting new patients with the virus.
Dr. Sean Kumer, VP of Perioperative and Procedural Services and transplant surgeon joins Dr. Stites and Dr. Hawkinson to talk about what will look the same and what will look different if we have a second wave. He also has advice for patients on what they can and should do if deciding on a surgery or procedure.
Dr. Kumer said shutting down elective surgeries in March was painful, but necessary. He says the hospital went from an average of 300 or more operations a day to about 75. But he says now that improved safety measures have been put into place, and supplies of protective gear, testing equipment and medications are plentiful, they’re back to normal levels, and working through a backlog of procedures…many times into the evening hours. He cautioned people not to delay seeking medical help because they’re afraid of catching the virus in the hospital. He notes the hospital is one of the safest places in the area to be and outlined the safety procedures at the front door, in the waiting rooms, in pre-operative areas and in operating rooms. He says the hospital is much better prepared to handle a surge of COVID-19 patients now than in March.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, agreed with Kumer, saying there have been no documented cases of patients at the health system contracting the disease while in the hospital. He noted that when we sheltered in place, the curve was flat. But now that we’ve begun socializing again, the virus is spreading. He noted that younger people, especially those in their 20’s may feel it will never happen to them. But he says while it may not feel real to a 20- year-old, when that 20-year-old makes a 40 or 60- year-old family member ill, suddenly reality sets in. He says we should all do the right thing, and not let fear rule.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, described how doctors have been fine-tuning their treatments for COVID-19 patients, and adds they’ve learned a lot since the beginning of the pandemic. He answered the question on how to know if you’ve recovered from COVID-19 and described what needs to happen if you are quarantined. He also had advice for a couple in their 60’s who want to travel to the West Coast to visit a new grandchild.
Thursday, July 9 at 8:00 a.m. is the next daily briefing call. Chief medical officers and infectious disease doctors from area hospitals join to update their patient and testing stories as numbers climb among COVID-19 positive people.
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.
