Wichita hospital ICUs get more COVID patients, even as the ICUs remain full
The number of COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in an intensive care unit is increasing again in Sedgwick County after four weeks in a row of small decreases.
Wichita’s Ascension Via Christi and Wesley Healthcare hospitals reported a combined total of 81 COVID-19 patients in their ICUs Monday morning, according to the Sedgwick County Health Department.
The ICUs have been full since the start of November with all approximately 208 beds occupied by COVID and non-COVID patients. The hospitals “are managing through contingency operations,” the health department said, labeling the hospital status as “critical.”
The 81 coronavirus disease patients in the ICUs was an increase from 76 a week ago. It was the first weekly increase since Nov. 16, when the number peaked at 88. The health department only reports hospitalization statistics on Mondays. The numbers represent a snapshot in time as admissions and discharges fluctuate throughout the day.
Last week, the Wichita area had the lowest percentage of available intensive care unit beds of any region in Kansas, according to the Kansas Hospital Association. An update to that report is expected Tuesday.
“The issues are real,” said Jon Rolph, a Wichita businessman who hosted last week’s hospital association report. “We’re on the edge, and if the numbers spike and we do get a Thanksgiving or holiday or flu bounce, it could really start getting even more serious.”
New data from the local health department showed a post-Thanksgiving surge in the positive test rate and the rate of new cases in Sedgwick County.
The total number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals had a slight decrease, from 240 a week ago to 237 on Monday. The peak was 273 on Nov. 30.
Total COVID cases
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Monday reported 35,723 total confirmed and probable cases in Sedgwick County since the pandemic began, which was an increase of 617 since Friday’s report. Sedgwick County moved down to the second-most cases in the state now that Johnson County has had 35,973 cases.
Statewide, there have been 204,600 confirmed and probable cases, which was an increase of 4,174 over the weekend.
The KDHE reported 107 new deaths, raising the state total to 2,448. Sedgwick County had 16, raising its total to 337.
There were 92 new hospitalizations statewide, with 19 of those in Sedgwick County. There were 26 more ICU admissions, with six of those in Sedgwick County.
There have now been 6,267 hospitalizations and 1,684 ICU admissions in Kansas. Sedgwick County has had 799 hospitalizations and 210 ICU admissions.
The Sedgwick County Health Department reports significantly lower case numbers than what the KDHE reports for the county. The discrepancy is primarily due to the KDHE’s inclusion of probable cases.
The local agency only counts confirmed cases, excluding probable cases identified through rapid antigen testing. Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend including probable cases.
The county health department also reports a significantly lower number of coronavirus deaths than are in the KDHE report. It is unclear how much of the discrepancy, if any, can be attributed to probable cases. Both the state and local agencies say they use the same source for their death statistics: the KDHE’s verified COVID-19 death counts.
Monday’s update to the KDHE nursing home metric shows that Sedgwick, Reno, Butler, Harvey, Cowley and Sumner counties are all in the red zone. Kingman County is in the yellow zone.
Nursing homes in red zone counties are required to test their staff at least twice a week. The mandate was established by a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid rule and an executive order from Gov. Laura Kelly. Long-term care facilities in yellow zone counties must test their staff at least once a week.
The zones are generally based on the two-week positive test rate, with the red zone threshold set at 10%. The most recent color determinations were based on data for the period that ended Saturday.