Key points from today’s guests:

Brent Sitts, emergency gall bladder surgery patient

• At 28, Brent woke up with severe stomach pain.
• He went to the doctor during the day, but the pain progressed so much by that evening, he went to the ER at The University of Kansas Health System.
• After an ultrasound, the medical team knew they had to act fast with emergency surgery to remove his gall bladder.
• It was a laparoscopic surgery and Brent was back to work in three days.
• He has had to stick with bland foods and ease his way back to a more regular diet since the gall bladder helps with digestion.
• Brent is grateful for the entire team that helped him with what he thought was a stomachache to undergo emergency surgery.
  
  

Dr. Jennifer Hartwell, section chief, emergency general surgery, The University of Kansas Health System

• Using small scopes and cameras, laparoscopic surgery helps patients like Brent recover a little faster.
• Sometimes patients who come in for emergency general surgery have a lot of other medical conditions, and so we work very collaboratively with physicians throughout the hospital to address those needs.
• As emergency general surgeons, we are double board certified in general surgery and critical care, which means our team is uniquely poised to care for patients at their most critical needs, even in the ICU.
• It’s a gift to see patients like Brent doing well. It is our great honor to help people in need.

Mary Perry, RN, clinical program coordinator, emergency general surgery, The University of Kansas Health System

• The University of Kansas Health System is one of only five hospitals in the nation to achieve the Emergency General Surgery Verification from the American College of Surgeons.
• The standards for the new certification were actually modeled around what the certifiers found during a virtual site visit to the Health System.
• When patients present at the ER, they are evaluated to see if they require emergency surgery and the team is ready if that needs to happen.
• We are really proud to be one of the first in the nation to have this verification and to set the bar set the standards for not only patients that come here, but future patients across the country who will have some standard of care based on what we do here.
• And that’s not just because of the staff from the emergency department, it involves everyone throughout the organization.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, director of infection prevention & control, The University of Kansas Health System

• We know the COVID virus is circulating, but we only have 16 COVID patients in the hospital.
• With the new COVID booster (updated vaccine), the CDC is recommending everyone six months and older to get it.
• The benefits of this vaccine do outweigh the risks.

Friday, September 15 at 8 a.m. CT is the next Morning Medical Update. An accident might have taken away his mobility- but Matt Bolig wasn't about to let it take away his ability to compete or to start a family. You’ll meet this Kansas City Chiefs Para athlete- and follow his journey through fertility treatments here at the University of Kansas Health System.

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