COVID patient numbers continue to rise at The University of Kansas Health System today. 35 with the active virus are being treated, up from 31 on Friday, and only five of them are vaccinated. 12 of those patients are in the ICU, up from eight Friday, with only one vaccinated. Six are on ventilators, down from seven on Friday. 22 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID but are out of the acute infection phase, up from 16 on Friday. That’s a total of 57 patients, a jump from 47 on Friday. These numbers are up significantly in the last seven to ten days.
On today’s Morning Medical Update, COVID continues to take a toll on our waistlines and mental health. Joining us live from The Sports Medicine and Performance Center at 125th and Antioch were Roger Allen III, CSCS, former NFL player and current Strength and Athletic Development Supervisor. Also, Kelsey Ngeh, Fitness and Corrective Exercise Supervisor. Each showed ways to get physically active at home or in the gym. And in the studio, Dr. Danielle Johnson, a psychologist at The University of Kansas Health System, with simple ways to help take care of your family’s mental health.
Exercising is a great way to help with your mental health according to both Allen and Ngeh. They say it helps release endorphins into the brain, which helps give a calm and relaxing feeling. They stressed that exercise isn’t just for athletes or weekend warriors, anybody at any fitness level can do it. They gave some examples of things you can do right in the home and if you’re going to a gym.
- Body weight squat
- Pushups. There are different versions for all fitness levels.
- Mountain climber
- Standing March
- Cardio exercises
- Back squats (gym)
They also said there is no reason you can’t wear a mask when working out, but it would be a good idea to have a spare as it’s hard to get oxygen through a wet mask and you may get winded quicker. They emphasize that if you no longer feel like you’re breathing under control, you should back down your intensity level until it is back to normal. They say, “It’s never too late to make the rest of your life the best of your life.
Dr. Johnson thinks while exercising can be a good family activity, it’s best not to call it that. She prefers “being active,” or “moving our bodies,” and says it could be as simple as raking leaves together or trimming the Christmas tree as a family. She has these tips for helping our families with their mental well-being during the holidays and beyond.
- Reflect on 2021. Both good and bad.
- What do families want to accomplish in 2022? Can make a family calendar with monthly goals.
- Build on traditions and make some new ones. Get everybody’s input.
- Activity jar where all members of a family write down an activity they would like to do and weekly or bi-weekly a slip of paper is pulled out of the jar.
- Emphasizing time spent as a family, does not have to be a big thing, can include cooking/cleaning together, having a family tv show, or taking turns reading a book to each other.
She also highly recommends having a family meal together every day with roses and thorns. That’s the activity in which everyone talks about something good and something bad in their day and what the hope is for tomorrow.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control, says it’s too soon so know if any of the current COVID patients has the omicron variant, but that the current vaccines should offer protection. He reminds us that masks are important when attending indoor gatherings. He doesn’t think it’s necessary to do a home COVID test after traveling unless you had a known exposure or are starting to experience symptoms. He notes that flu cases are already up with more than 3500 cases in the country in the last seven weeks. That’s double the cases from the entire flu season last year. He strongly urges getting the flu shot and a COVID shot if you have not done so, and you can get both at the same time.
Tuesday, December 7 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. COVID and flu cases are on the rise. More and more people are contracting some sort of virus. And that's not good as we get ready to spend the rest of the holidays inside with our families. Tomorrow we have the chief medical officers from several metro hospitals joining us to tell us why they think we could see a surge and what we can do to protect ourselves and our families.
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.
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