COVID-19 news: KC nurse who died after getting COVID-19 mourned; Inmate wants freed
A Kansas City family and and nurses from around the region are mourning the death of Celia Yap-Banago, a longtime nurse who died earlier this week after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Yap-Banago, 69, would have celebrated her 40-year work anniversary as a nurse at Research Medical Center next week, but she died at home, where she was in isolation after experiencing COVID-19 symptons.
More than 100 people, including many healthcare workers, gathered for a vigil Thursday night outside the hospital in her honor.
Yap-Banago began feeling ill about a month ago after caring for a patient who had coronavirus symptoms, said her son, Josh Banago, 26.
“We don’t know exactly what happened, if it was directly by the virus or by complications by the virus,” he said. “She was obviously sick for so long that being in that position, you become so much weaker. Was it directly the virus? Was it her getting sick from something? We don’t know. Ultimately, we just know the end result.”
Meanwhile a co-worker who treated the same patient has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Charlene Carter, a 36-year-old nurse at Research Medical Center who works weekend nights on the cardiac floor, said she first saw the patient on a Saturday toward the end of March.
The patient, who was transferred from the emergency room, appeared to have symptoms consistent with the coronavirus. Carter blames the Yap-Banago’s death on a lack of personal protective equipment available to nurses on her floor at the time they were exposed.
“Had we had access to the proper protective equipment I really feel like in my heart Celia would probably be here,” Carter said.
In a written statement, Christine Hamele, a spokeswoman for HCA Midwest Health which manages the hospital, said the hospital was doing everything it could to protect its workers.
“Our preparedness and planning started months ago and since the outset of the pandemic we have followed CDC guidelines for PPE,” she said.
46 new cases, 3 deaths reported in Johnson, Wyandotte counties
A combined total of three more people have died of COVID-19 in Wyandotte and Johnson counties, according to statistics released Friday morning by local health officials.
The number of people testing positive for the virus also increased by a combined total of 46 in both counties.
In Johnson County, 415 people have tested positive for the virus, up from 402 cases reported 24 hours earlier. Two of the new deaths were in Johnson County, which raised its total to 38.
Meanwhile, Wyandotte County saw its total of people testing positive from 485 on Thursday to 490 on Friday. With the additional death reported Friday, the county’s toll stands at 48 deaths.
Meanwhile the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus in Kansas jumped nearly 300 new cases. Statewide, there have been 2,777 people who have tested positive for the virus, according to statistics released Friday morning by state health officials.
That’s up 295 cases from Thursday’s total of 2,482, once again breaking the record for the biggest increase.
The state has said it expects to see an increase in the next several days of people testing positive for the virus because of new testing strategies implemented in western Kansas.
The state has revised the number of people dying from COVID-19 to 111, down one from what was reported on Thursday, according to the data.
Children’s Mercy furloughs 575 workers
Children’s Mercy hospital will furlough nearly 600 employees for up to two months beginning Sunday because of a financial crunch caused by a loss of business during the coronavirus pandemic.
Top executives, also, will lose some of their pay as well. The pay cut will range from 20 percent for vice presidents to 30 percent for chief executive officer Paul Kempinski, the hospital announced Thursday.
“In order to keep our community safe and to prepare to care for COVID-19 patients, last month we suspended elective procedures and limited outpatient clinic visits,” Kempinski, CEO and president, said in a statement.
Surgeries and outpatient visits are down by more than 70%, urgent care down by 67%, and emergency room traffic has declined by 57%, the hospital said.
Hospital admissions are also down 32% according to the hospital’s statement. Children are not at risk for the virus as much, and the hospital has treated only four cases of COVID-19 so far, the hospital said.
The hospital is losing net revenue of about $1 million a day because fewer patients are coming in, the hospital said.
“COVID-19 is having a crushing, negative impact on patient care access, our employees and our financial performance,” Kempinski said.
Inmate at Lansing prison asking to be released 10 weeks early
An inmate at the Lansing Correctional Facility is seeking to be released a little over two months early from the prison, where a coronavirus outbreak has infected more than 100 people.
Twenty-eight-year-old Rachad Austin, who was convicted on drug crimes in March 2018, is scheduled to be released on July 2.
During a call from prison, Austin said being behind bars as the virus has infected dozens of staff and inmates at the Lansing Correctional Facility has been “just scary.”
His girlfriend, Kayla Donley, said has sent Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly to release Austin, saying the issue has become urgent because of the COVID-19 situation.
“I understand that they’re inmates, but at the end of the day, they’re all human beings and they all deserve to be treated like human beings,” Donley said. “That’s a father, a grandfather, a brother, a dad, a son, a husband.”
The Star’s Katie Moore, Lisa Gutierrez, Luke Nozicka, Katie Bernard and Kaitlyn Schwers contributed
