Wichita hospitals have more ICU capacity, but COVID patients trend younger and sicker
New hospitalization numbers from Sedgwick County show more COVID-19 patients are in hospital beds and intensive care units than ever before, though more ICU beds are available than previously reported.
The new statistics from the Sedgwick County Health Department’s COVID-19 dashboard provide a fuller picture of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on local medical facilities. The new report added numbers for total intensive care unit beds and total ICU beds in use at public hospitals in Sedgwick County.
The report shows more ICU beds are available than the county had reported a week ago, though more patients with COVID-19 are in Wichita hospitals.
“We continue to be concerned as the volume of patients rises, but we are not yet seeing strain on our capacity to care for them,” Dave Stewart, the director of marketing and public relations for Wesley Healthcare, told The Eagle.
“We can designate additional COVID beds/units should the need arise; however, we have not yet needed to do so. So far, we remain confident that we are equipped to handle patient volume, but will be keeping a close eye on infection and hospitalization rates.”
As of 11 a.m. Monday, there were 58 patients with COVID-19 in Wesley Healthcare and Ascension Via Christi hospitals. That number was up four from last Monday, which was an increase of about 7%. It represents a single point in time, not total admissions during the week.
The number of COVID-19 patients in the ICU increased by four to 31, or an increase of about 15%.
The approximate number of ICU beds available, which the county had listed at about eight a week ago, was increased to 26. The county reported a total of 208 ICU beds, though 182 of those were in use on Monday.
“The number of ICU beds in use fluctuates from day-to-day, so while an increase in available beds might seem to be a positive indicator, that number can change rapidly depending on increases in the infection rate, severity of cases and individual patient need,” Stewart said.
The numbers don’t show trends that doctors at Ascension Via Christi have noticed — that patients are tending to be both younger and sicker.
“While we have a relatively small sample size, we are seeing the number of hospitalized and extremely ill patients with COVID-19 gradually go up, and the median age somewhat go down,” Dr. Sam Antonios, the chief medical officer of Ascension Via Christi’s Wichita hospitals, told The Eagle. “This may be an indication of a larger surge in the weeks to come, so we need everyone to take the proper steps to put this trend in reverse.”
Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said in a tweet last week that hospitals could hit their capacities by the end of the month due to increases in COVID-19 patients at hospitals. He said on Monday that “I dare to be optimistic” because the increase was smaller than previous weeks.
“While it is true that we were inching closer to filling our current COVID-19-dedicated beds, we have in place a COVID-19 response plan that allows for us to scale up or down as the need dictates,” Antonios said of the hospital capacity. “While we would prefer prevention over having to expand, we are prepared to do what is needed as it is needed.”
Both Wesley and Ascension Via Christi banned visitors earlier this month, except in certain situations, after the county downgraded its hospital status for the first time.
“We are staffed and equipped to safely care for all the patients coming to us, including those infected with COVID-19,” Antonios said. “Obviously, it does take an emotional toll on our caregivers to see patients suffer with this disease, particularly given that we’ve had to restrict visitation to help stem the spread.”
The number of COVID-19 patients in Wesley and Via Christi hospitals has more than doubled since the first report of current hospitalizations on June 29, from 20 to 58. The number of coronavirus disease patients in the ICU also doubled in that same time, from 15 to 31.
Hospital officials caution that these numbers fluctuate on a daily basis, or more frequently, as patients are admitted and discharged. Daily numbers on COVID-19 hospitalizations have not been released to the public.
Prior to June 29, the county only reported admissions and discharges per week. Officials said the difference between admissions and discharges did not provide an accurate estimate of current hospitalizations at the end of each week.
The change three weeks ago included a listing of the approximate number of ICU beds available to COVID-19 patients. The county health department determined the number through phone calls with hospital officials.
Last week, the county reported approximately eight of 35 ICU beds were available for coronavirus patients. The number was removed on Thursday.
County Manager Tom Stolz said at a County Commission staff meeting on Tuesday that the number was removed “because it was creating confusion.” He said there were two caveats to the number. One was that the hospitals could create surge bed capacity, but it would cut the ICU capacity for other patients. The other was that hospitals “change it as they’re managing their patient load daily.”
Its removal came the day after an image of an internal hospital document disputing the accuracy of the number was provided to The Eagle.
Hospital officials did not point to any inaccuracies in the most recent county numbers.
The hospitalized patients are mostly Sedgwick County residents, but there are patients from other counties across the region, including at least one from Oklahoma, said Commissioner Lacey Cruse.
“The scope of this (hospital) slide talks about our capacity,” Stolz said. “The capacity of our regional partners here in Sedgwick County to handle patients and to manage. ... It doesn’t matter who’s filling the beds. It reduces capacity when they fill the beds.”
The area hospital status assessment remains “moderate” with a yellow exclamation point. There is no definition or specific criteria for labeling the hospital status.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 1,497 hospitalizations statewide on Monday. That is a cumulative number since the start of the pandemic. It includes 439 admissions to intensive care units and 162 patients on mechanical ventilation. At least 1,016 patients have been discharged from hospitals.
The KDHE reported that as of last Wednesday there were 895 ICU beds, of which 595 were in use. Of those, 111 were filled with COVID-19 patients. There were 831 ventilators, of which 96 were in use, including 21 being used by COVID-19 patients. About 88% of the state’s ventilators were available.
The state statistics, which are nearly a week old, do not include the most recent days because data is expected to be incomplete.
On Tuesday, the Sedgwick County Health Department reported a cumulative total of 2,827 cases of COVID-19. There have been 33 deaths and 1,072 recoveries. There are 1,722 active cases.
Stolz suggested there may be more cases of COVID-19 in the community than public health officials know about.
“One thing about any government data, remind you, is that these are cases reported to the government, these are cases reported to the health department,” he said. “No one in any way or stretch of the imagination should say that this is all the cases in the community.
“It’s important to remember that there are people out there who have COVID and haven’t (been) tested and we can’t account for that.”
Officials at Wesley and Ascension said they have been able to care for their patients, but highlighted the seriousness of the situation.
“While we currently consider our staffing level adequate, we are concerned that, should we see further community spread, more physicians and nurses may be infected, which could impact our ability to care for patients if patient volume continues to increase,” Stewart said. “A majority of Wesley staff diagnosed with COVID-19 were infected in the community, which we consider further evidence of the seriousness of the community spread we have experienced in Wichita and Sedgwick County.”
“Like other members of the community, we have associates who have been infected or have had a potential community exposure,” Antonios said. “However, so far we are able to care for our patients appropriately. Our community needs our staff to be healthy so that they can care for those who have fallen ill. That is why it is so important that when you do go out, that you mask up, maintain at least six feet or more between yourself and others and practice good hand hygiene.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 4:47 AM.