Wichita hospitals see improving COVID patients numbers, but status remains ‘critical’
Despite improving statistics on COVID-19 hospitalizations, the Sedgwick County hospital status remains “critical” with the entire region in the red zone of national standards.
The Sedgwick County Health Department on Tuesday reported fewer current COVID-19 patients in Wichita hospitals than there were a week ago. Wesley Healthcare and Ascension Via Christi were treating a combined 205 patients with COVID-19, including 65 in intensive care units.
In the health department’s report for Jan. 11, the Wichita hospitals had 207 patients with COVID-19, with 72 of those in ICUs.
Still, the local hospital status remains “critical” with all approximately 208 ICU beds full.
Across the entire south-central Kansas region, about 19% of adult, staffed ICU beds are available, according to a Tuesday report from the Kansas Hospital Association and Kansas Department of Health and Environment. While the available ICU capacity is better than the 17% reported a week ago, that figure is in the light red zone established by the White House COVID-19 Task Force.
“The good news is that we are continuing to see kind of a consistent decline in the COVID hospitalizations in the region overall,” said Dee Dee Dewell, a representative of Ascension Via Christi, during Tuesday’s regional hospital teleconference. “We really hope that trajectory can continue. It really feels good I think for everyone to have a little bit of breathing room.
“I know here at the Ascension Via Christi St. Francis hospital here in Wichita, we have seen enough of a consistent decline ... we have actually been able to recommission or transition some of our beds back to what they were normally supposed to be used for in medical and surgical units.”
Dewell said the bed transition may help alleviate challenges with patient transfers.
Dr. Richard Watson, of Cheyenne Mountain Software, helps smaller hospitals find beds at larger facilities when they need to transfer patients. His report showed improved capacity and transfer wait times across the state.
However, Ascension Via Christi St. Francis was listed with no capacity for either COVID or non-COVID patients, either on the floor or in ICUs. Wesley Medical Center had no ICU capacity for COVID-19 patients while capacity was listed as critical for non-COVID ICU beds, as well as for COVID and non-COVID floor beds.
Watson said capacity strains are worse in the south-central region than other parts of state.
“It’s easing, but again we realize that the stress is still there” on capacity and transfer wait times, he said.
With all but one medical center reporting data, hospitals in the south-central region were treating 238 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients on Monday, according to the hospital association and KDHE reports. That is down from 271 patients a week ago.
The regional number of COVID-19 patients in ICU beds dropped from 88 last week to 77 this week. The current number meant 27% of all adult, staffed ICU beds in the region were occupied by COVID-19 patients. That percentage is in dark red zone of the White House’s standards.
Dewell attributed the improving hospital numbers to several factors, including increased compliance with public health guidance, better care for COVID-19 patients at hospitals and antibody infusions preventing non-hospitalized patients from advancing to hospitalization.
In a Jan. 10 report, the White House task force wrote: “Mitigation that Kansas implemented in November was effective to rapidly decrease hospitalizations and prevent deaths.”
Staffing, testing, vaccinating
The regional report showed less stress on staffing, though six hospitals are anticipating critical staffing shortages this week.
Heather Porter, chief nursing officer and COVID-19 incident commander for Newton Medical Center, said about 50% of their staff have been vaccinated so far. Each day, 5% to 10% of staff are out with COVID-19 due to community exposure outside the Harvey County hospital.
Health care workers expect mortality, Porter said, but the pandemic has had a higher amount of death than they are accustomed to.
“The physical and emotional toll that the last 90 days have taken has been significant,” Porter said. “Every minute they’re trying to provide life-saving care, but many times they’re watching people and loved ones die. ... This situation is real and heartbreaking. They want people to know that this disease does exist, and please do your part and wear the mask.”
As the vaccine roll-out continues, testing will remain a critical tool in managing the pandemic, said Dr. Joan Duwve, a public health advisor to the KDHE.
“We need to continue testing to identify those pockets of COVID that will remain in our communities so we can get people isolated and prevent ongoing transmission as we continue to vaccinate, building up immunity in our population,” she said.
Duwve said the more contagious coronavirus variant, which was first identified in the United Kingdom, has likely spread to Kansas.
The existing vaccines are believed to be effective against the mutated virus, but only a small fraction of the population has been inoculated. Statewide, about 3.5% of Kansans have received the first dose, but only 0.5% of the population have gotten the second dose, according to the KDHE’s statistics from Monday.
Phase 1 of the vaccine roll-out has included health care workers plus nursing home residents and staff. In Kansas, the upcoming second phase is set to include people 65 or older, essential workers and congregate populations like prison inmates. Teachers and grocery store clerks are included as essential workers, while prison inmates are included as a congregate population.
“Just because we move into Phase 2 does not mean there is going to be a big push of new vaccine,” said Seth Konkel, who advises the state government on vaccine roll-out. “... Phase 2 is probably going to take far longer (than Phase 1) because there is far more people in that (second) phase. So settle in for the long haul, and it’s going to take us a couple months for us to get through that and get enough vaccine.”
Wichita businessman Jon Rolph, who hosts the regional hospital reports, said there are approximately 150,000 people in Sedgwick County who would qualify for Phase 2. But there may only be a couple thousand doses delivered next week. One patient needs two doses about three weeks apart.
“Locals should be planning to sub-prioritize or figure out how they can best serve those populations with a very minimal amount of vaccine coming in,” Konkel said.