COVID numbers once again hit an all-time high at The University of Kansas Health System today, with 213 total patients, up from 203 Friday.
- Nine deaths over the weekend, 40 for the month of January
- 133 with active virus today, 124 Friday
- 24 in ICU, 28 Friday
- 16 on ventilators, 14 Friday
- 80 hospitalized but out of acute infection phase, 79 Friday
Today’s panel:
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control
- Study published last September by St. Louis University and this month from Bangladesh shows masks are effective at stopping the spread of COVID
- “Short sighted, myopic and dangerous” to focus on whether masks work. Searching only for certain articles that back your position is, “an inability to critically evaluate the numbers.”
- “I’m not sure there are many attorney generals in the United States that are epidemiologists or physicians or trained PhD’s in those certain statistics and numbers that I’m aware of.”
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, The University of Kansas Health System
- “I think that the Missouri attorney general’s again playing politics with healthcare and he ought to stick to the laws or something.”
- “The idea that masks don’t’ work, it’s just so troublesome we’re still having that fight.”
- By claiming some study shows mask mandates are ineffective in schools and non- masked districts fare the same or better, “He is subverting the science and the data.”
- “The evidence is overwhelmingly clear, instead of picking out retrospective studies, without controls, without variables that are important to evaluate, and trying to pick and choose which study you want to find, as opposed to the overwhelming nature of studies, you can say masks don’t work, and it just hurts because people want to mangle the data for their own political gain.”
Chelsey Smith, Community Blood Center
- Positive response to recent urgent appeal for blood, but level still well below what’s needed for the long term.
- Canceled blood drives will impact blood supply for years
- Type O always needed as are platelets
- We are one big trauma or snowstorm away from disaster
Dr. Matthew Coleman, regional medical director, American Red Cross
- Red Cross has declared a national blood emergency. “It’s unlike anything we’ve seen.”
- Had to add purple to green, yellow and red blood level chart to indicate supplies have gone from very low to dangerously low
- Regional blood shortages affect the whole country.
- Blood shortage especially hard on rural areas where donations are usually low. Unable to transfer patients to larger hospitals with more plentiful supply
Stephen Davis, chief operating officer, Harvesters, The Community Food Network
- COVID creating 30 percent bigger need for food
- Children affected more when schools close or go virtual as they may miss two meals a day they get at school
- Non-perishable foods like soup, peanut butter and produce in high demand
- Best ways to help are to donate food in the Harvesters grocery store barrels, volunteer and donate cash.
Tuesday, January 25 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. The COVID surge is affecting drug supplies, including much needed prescription medicine. Rick Couldry, who oversees our pharmacy, explains what that means to patients. Also, 30 highly trained traveling nurses have come to the health system to support operating room needs. Dr. Sean Kumer, who oversees the OR’s, updates the number of postponed surgeries and when that might get better.
ATTENTION: media procedure for joining:
Zoom link: https://kumc-ois.zoom.us/j/7828978628
Telephone Zoom link: 1-312-626-6799, meeting ID: 782 897 8628
TVU Grid link: UoK_Health_SDI
Restream links: Facebook.com/kuhospital
YouTube.com/kuhospital
Send advance questions to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.
