‘Healthcare crisis’: KU health system to hold staff town hall about COVID-19 capacity
The University of Kansas Health System will hold an employee and physician town hall Aug. 9 to talk about how to deal with the sharp rise in hospitalizations as COVID-19 cases have surged across the Kansas City metro area, according to an internal document sent to health system employees obtained by The Star.
“We are running out (of) space, and our staff is working long hours,” the document said. “Our patients are sicker than ever. And these patients are not just COVID-19 patients. Our city, state and region are in a healthcare crisis. We are in a place where we have never been, and it is uncomfortable.”
The town hall will give health system employees to ask questions, Jill Chadwick, director of University of Kansas Health System’s media relations, said in an email to The Star.
Kansas City area hospitals have been gripped by the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, due in part to the low vaccination rate across the area and to the highly contagious delta variant. Some hospital emergency rooms have started asking patients to stay away unless they have a true emergency.
The University of Kansas Health System had 918 inpatients on Aug. 4, the document said, and its ambulatory care clinics were full. The health system is licensed for 979 beds and 24 bassinets in Kansas City, Kansas, Chadwick said.
On Friday, the Kansas City metro area added 748 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths. Over the last few weeks, the number of new cases have grown on a week-to-week basis across the metro: 2,608 new cases were reported two weeks ago, 3,791 new cases were reported last week and in this past week there were 5,000 more cases added. The seven-day rolling average for new cases was 714, according to data tracked by The Star.
On Friday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced Friday that the state will get aid in the form of ambulances from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The ambulances will move patients from strained local hospitals. One of these “ambulance strike teams” will be placed in the Kansas City region. It’s unclear how many ambulances will be included.
“We know that the absolutely best way to stem the rising tide of COVID-19 from the delta variant is to be vaccinated and to wear a mask,” said KU chief medical officer Steve Stites.
The rise in cases and hospitalizations has forced several areas in the metro to pass new mask mandates, requiring individuals to wear masks regardless of vaccination status.
Kansas City was the first to announce one, issuing an order that took effect Monday. Jackson County, Wyandotte County and North Kansas City have created new orders since then with varying degrees of restriction.
