“A tornado warning to our community:” Health officials on Kansas City’s COVID crisis
As mask mandates disappear across the metro and in local school districts, local health officials warn that Kansas City is facing a COVID-19 crisis on track to be worse than last winter.
COVID numbers are on the rise throughout the metro, and hospitalizations are spiking, predominantly among the unvaccinated.
Chief medical officers and infectious disease physicians at the University of Kansas Health System said during a Friday news briefing that the wave of COVID-19 hitting the Kansas City area is largely still from the delta variant.
With omicron on the horizon, doctors are pleading with community members to take this spike seriously and follow public health advisories.
“We all want to be done with this, but the reality is that we’re not,” said Dr. Steven Stites. “If we’re not going to try to bend the curve, the curve is going to bend us.”
The public health leaders came together to share one message: get vaccinated.
Stites said that today’s hospital numbers are similar to last year, and that they’re on track to be worse.
“I think the peak is going to be worse than it was a year ago, not better,” said Dr. Jim Stewart, chief medical officer for North Kansas City Hospital.
As of Friday, the University of Kansas Medical System has 45 active COVID-19 infections, with only seven of those people fully vaccinated. For context, the hospital had 18 active COVID-19 patients just one month ago.
Here are some of the key indicators of Kansas City’s next COVID-19 wave from area hospitals as of Dec. 17:
Advent Health: 37 total active COVID-19 cases, seven people in the ICU, six people on ventilators and 13 deaths since beginning of December
Children’s Mercy Hospital: Chief medical officer Dr. Jennifer Watts said they’re seeing an increase in COVID cases. They currently have 14 patients, three of which are in the ICU.
HCA Midwest Health: 151 total active COVID-19 cases, 30 people in the ICU, 12 people on ventilators, 43 inpatients waiting for beds, death rates over 11% for COVID patients. This is more than triple the COVID-19 case volume than a few weeks ago.
Liberty Hospital: 33 inpatients for COVID-19, 29 of which are active and isolated, 100% of patients in the ICU or on a ventilator are unvaccinated.
North Kansas City Hospital: 90 total active COVID-19 cases, 12 people in the ICU. On Dec. 1 the hospital had 40 active COVID-19 cases.
University Health: 62 total active COVID-19 cases, 14 people in the ICU, nine deaths from COVID-19 this month.
University of Kansas at St. Francis: 21 total active COVID-19 cases, two people on ventilators, 10 have other significant respiratory support, 80% are unvaccinated. Chief medical officer Dr. Jackie Hyland said the hospital is having difficulty discharging patients back to nursing homes because of staff shortages and has had to cancel eight surgeries.
KC VA: Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ahmad Batrash said the hospital’s COVID-19 case numbers have doubled since last week and tripled since last month.
Dr. Elizabeth Long, the chief medical officer of Olathe Health, said that hospital staff are exhausted and overworked.
The officials added that the increase in COVID-19 cases is leaving hospitals without beds to treat patients with other issues, such as heart attacks, strokes and traumatic injuries.
“Patients are upset, crying and don’t understand,” Hyland said.
Batrash also stated that there’s been a delay of cancer diagnoses at the VA as a result of the rise in COVID patients.
Stites said it’s a pandemic of the unvaccinated. With a rapid rise of cases, the omicron variant expected to show up in the next few weeks, mask mandates going away, people coming indoors after hanging out in the cold weather and winter flu cases popping up, Stites said it’s like there’s a tornado building up.
“This is a tornado warning to our community,” he said.
Advice for how to protect yourself and others remains the same, the medical officers stressed: get vaccinated, get your booster if you can, wear a mask and social distance.
Questions about omicron or the latest wave of COVID-19? Ask us at kcq@kcstar.com or with the form below.
