“COVID better does not equal COVID good.” Cases drop, but KC hospitals still full
Positive COVID cases and rates may be trending downwards, but Kansas City area health officials urged people to still take caution during Wednesday’s medical news briefing, as hospitals are still crowded with active infections.
Dr. Stephen Stites, chief medical officer for the University of Kansas Health System, said that COVID cases are still at the highest levels of the pandemic and that intensive care units are full with COVID-19 patients who stay up to three times longer than patients not infected with COVID-19.
“We are COVID better,” Stites said. “We are most certainly not COVID good and we are clearly not COVID free, so COVID better does not equal COVID good.”
The chief medical officers at local hospitals gathered to discuss how the entire healthcare system remains under great stress due to the sustained period of COVID transmission and their depleted workforce.
Dr. Richard Watson, a co-founder of MOTIENT, the mission control app that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment uses to connect rural hospitals with transfer patients, shared that the job is still tough despite cases lowering. It takes 10 hours to transfer a patient sometimes, which he said is a long time for a patient to not get the care they need. He said he’s seen an increase in deaths of people waiting to receive care.
The University of Kansas Healthcare Systems reported 75 active infections, with 21 of those in the ICU and 10 on ventilators. They also reported three deaths on Feb. 7 and one death on Feb. 8.
“To continue to say that (coronavirus) is just a cold continues to be myopic, misinformed and really just not sensitive to the true nature of what is really going on,” Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control said.
Liberty Hospital reported that they have 24 COVID-19 positive patients, which is down from last week’s 32. They currently have five patients in the ICU and three on ventilators and so far have fewer COVID-19 deaths than in January, according to the number sent in by Dr. Raghu Adiga, chief medical officer.
Conditions are improving at AdventHealth, as Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lisa Hays said they’re seeing a downward trend in their COVID numbers. They have 33 active infections, with 17 of those clearing their infection. They’re also down around 41% from their peak in January, but have experienced five deaths in February.
They’ve been able to open back up their elective surgeries.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elizabeth Long with Olathe Health wasn’t available during the briefing, but shared these numbers
17 COVID patients
Six recovering
Six in the ICU
One on a ventilator
North Kansas City Hospital is seeing a positive trend downward as well, as Chief Medical Officer Dr. James Stewart said they have 94 COVID-19 patients, with 54 in the acute phase. He said that’s down from their peak in mid-January, which was at 145. They’ve had 11 deaths in February.
Executive chief clinical officer Dr. Mark Steele at University Health shared that they have a total of 91 patients, with 37 active infections. Seven patients are currently in the ICU, two are on ventilators and they’ve reported six deaths in February.
“We still have quite a ways to go to reach the lows of last Spring and early summer, which is where we’d all certainly like to be,” Steele said.
Dr. Amhad Batrash, the Chief of Staff at the VA Kansas City Health Care System, said they’re down to 17 total infections, with 15 of those active. Of the 15, five are in the ICU and one is on a ventilator. They’ve lost two veterans this week.
“This is a challenge to all of us and the only way we make sure we get out of it is to be COVID good,” Stites said.
What other questions do you have about COVID-19 in Kansas City? Ask us at kcq@kcstar.com or with the form below.
