COVID patient numbers are up across the board today at The University of Kansas Health System. 31 with the active virus are being treated, up from 27 yesterday, and only six of them are vaccinated. Eight of those patients are in the ICU, up from seven yesterday. Seven are on ventilators, up from five yesterday. 16 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID but are out of the acute infection phase, up from 14 yesterday. That’s a total of 47 patients, up from 41 yesterday. Doctors noted these numbers are up significantly in the last seven to ten days.
Today’s Morning Medical Update featured a plea for blood donations from Chelsey Smith with the Community Blood Center. Also, Dr. Damien Stevens, a pulmonologist and sleep expert at The University of Kansas Health System, returned to answer more questions after his appearance on yesterday’s show. Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control joined from Florida to help answer community questions.
Chelsey Smith was blunt. We are in a blood emergency in the Metro area. The Community Blood Center is down to a one to two day supply of blood, and it will take only one major trauma to wipe out the whole supply. They need 600 donations a day to keep up with the demand from area hospitals and maintain a six to seven day supply, but that hasn’t happened since the pandemic began 19 months ago. Hospital usage is up due to doctors working through a backlog of cases put on hold during the pandemic and donations are down. Some common misconceptions are that you can’t donate if you’ve had COVID or had the COVID vaccine. She says you can donate 14 days after being symptom free, and you can donate the same day you get vaccinated. She urges people to sign up now at savealifenow.org to help end the emergency.
Dr. Stevens was such a popular guest on yesterday’s show talking about sleep, he agreed to come back today to answer leftover and new questions from viewers. He noted that sleep is connected to all aspects of our health. He talked about sleep tests and the different things they look for. He addressed questions on whether dementia or Alzheimer’s are related to poor sleep and discussed different types of machines used to help patients with sleep apnea. He explained the various conditions, including obesity, which can lead to sleep apnea and had advice for those who may need CPAP but can’t tolerate a mask. He discussed a new nerve stimulator that could eliminate the need for CPAP and who qualifies for the treatment. He also confirmed what many of us suspected that caffeine in the evening can interrupt or delay our sleep.
Dr. Hawkinson joined us from Florida where he’s with his son for a soccer tournament. He said mask compliance in the airport and on the plane was good, but nobody in central Florida is wearing a mask. When traveling, especially by public transportation, he says you must believe that somebody near you has the active virus and not everyone is vaccinated. He noted the higher COVID numbers we’re seeing in the hospital and the Metro are from the delta variant as no cases of the omicron variant have been identified here yet. A viewer asked, “Once you have COVID does the virus stay in your body forever like chicken pox?” He says no it does not. He noted finding monoclonal antibody treatment in the area has become more of a challenge but it’s still available. He wants to reassure everyone that we can keep the COVID numbers down by wearing masks and getting vaccinated.
Monday, December 6 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. COVID continues to take a toll on our waistlines and mental health. A good solution for both is to get physically active. You can start small, and we have experts to help us understand how moving, even just around your house, makes us feel better. Plus, how to take those first steps toward better physical and mental health.
NOTE: Journalists should rejoin the Morning Medical Update at 8am as doctors are growing too busy again for individual interview requests. Please bring questions or send to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu until further notice. Thanks for all you do and helping to keep the community safe with your reporting.
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 1-312-626-6799, 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.