With KC COVID cases dropping, do hospitals have more beds? Here’s data and what doctors say
COVID-19 case numbers are trending downward in the Kansas City metro area. As those numbers go down, fewer hospital staff are out sick, and local hospitals expect to be able to serve more non-COVID related patients.
This week the rolling 7-day average of COVID-19 cases in the Kansas City area dropped to 1,840 compared to the last week of January, when that average was 3,294 cases. Although these numbers are still high, some hospitals are seeing more capacity to care for patients.
The University of Kansas Medical Center has seen the number of staff out sick decline significantly and the number of active COVID-19 cases has stayed below 100 recently.
At this point, the hospital is now able to do more elective surgeries, according to Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, The University of Kansas Health System.
“We know that across the United States, and here locally, hospitalizations are going down. That is a good thing,” Infectious Disease Physician Dr. Dana Hawkinson said during a briefing on Friday.
Since COVID-19 numbers are still higher than past months, and even past surges, hospitals’ capacity to serve more people does not mean that they are not overwhelmed. KU Medical Center has 95 active COVID-19 patients, but there is a total of 184 people at the hospital who are still being cared for, including in the ICU or recovering from infection, according to Hawkinson.
“Which is still incredibly high,” Stites said. “Remember that in February of 2020, we would have had zero COVID patients, and somehow we’ve had to find another 200 beds for people with COVID.”
These graphics show that in general hospitalizations and ICU usage are trending downward statewide in Kansas and Missouri.
Missouri Hospitalizations
Kansas Hospitalizations
“I think things are trending in the right direction,” Stites said, adding that he suspects the rate of community spread will drop as we move closer to spring, unless another variant arises.
Stites warned that people will need to get used to pivoting when cases rise, as new variants are unpredictable, and hospitals may become overwhelmed again in the future.
In the case that a new variant does become prominent, people’s first step should be to continue using preventative measures like masking, vaccines and social distancing.
For those who are not sure if going to the emergency room is the best option for them due to hospital capacity, remember it is important that you do not delay care.
“Don’t delay trying to get necessary care if you’re really injured or ill because that may make things harder,” Stites said in a briefing last month.
If you believe something is less urgent try calling your primary care physician or an on-call nurse. Check out this guide on when to visit the emergency room during a COVID-19 surge.
Do you have other questions about COVID-19 in Kansas City? Ask us at kcq@kcstar.com or with the form below.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 12:12 PM.
