Coronavirus in Kansas: Nursing home and hospital visitors, prison death, colleges reopen

A Kansas prison inmate has died after being infected during a coronavirus outbreak last month, while the state’s top health official said not enough correctional staff are choosing to get vaccinated.

An inmate at the Winfield Correctional Facility who died on Tuesday had tested positive for COVID-19, the Kansas Department of Corrections said in a news release. The inmate death was the second from COVID-19 at the Winfield prison and the 21st for the entire KDOC, including residents and staff.

The inmate had tested positive on Feb. 3, about a week after a cluster was identified by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. State health officials initially feared the fast-spreading outbreak was due to a variant coronavirus, but later determined none of the cases were variants.

“We did the epidemiologic tracking and found it came in through the community through the food service workers, and then went from there to some other places,” Dr. Lee Norman, the KDHE secretary, said of the prison cluster on Jan. 26.

“It’s another great example of why correctional facilities are congregate settings that need to be immunized, because it was brought into the correctional facility and then taken back out into the community,” Norman said. “So the jail is not an island.”

Prisoners, as residents in congregate living situations, are included in the current Phase 2 of the state’s vaccine roll-out. The phase also includes people 65 and older, public safety workers, teachers, essential workers and people who work in large-scale operations, such as meatpacking plants and aircraft manufacturers.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s decision to include inmates before the general public has been criticized by Republicans.

“Prioritize law-abiding Kansans first!” the Kansas Republican Party tweeted Jan. 7.

Corrections officials did not identify the Winfield prisoner who died. They said he was a 57-year-old man serving a 130-month sentence for drug-related crimes. He had been incarcerated with KDOC since 2018, so he was approximately one-quarter of the way through serving his sentence.

The minimum-custody Winfield prison has had 429 total resident cases and 87 total staff cases, with four current staff cases and nine current resident cases as of Monday.

The close living quarters of correctional facilities have turned them into some of the largest clusters in the state. As of Wednesday’s cluster report, the KDHE had reported 46 total outbreaks at correctional facilities during the pandemic, accounting for 7,191 cases, 66 hospitalizations and 19 deaths.

Health officials know that not everyone who is eligible for a vaccine will choose to get the shot. Norman said on Tuesday that there has not been a significant difference between urban and rural counties in the percentage of eligible people getting vaccinated. However, there has been a difference between certain professions — and staff at prisons and jails were Norman’s first example.

“For whatever reason, staff in correctional facilities, for example, haven’t gotten above about 50% of the people,” Norman said. “Very curiously and unfortunately, staff at nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities are fairly low uptake.”

Nursing home visitation guidance

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wednesday issued updated guidance that allows nursing homes to expand visitation for residents during the pandemic.

“Facilities should allow responsible indoor visitation at all times and for all residents, regardless of vaccination status of the resident, or the visitor, unless certain scenarios arise,” CMS officials said in a news release.

The scenarios where federal officials say visitation should be limited include when a resident has an active COVID-19 infection or quarantine, regardless of whether they are vaccinated. Additionally, if the county positive test rate is above 10%, and less than 70% of residents in a facility are fully vaccinated, then visitation should be restricted for unvaccinated residents.

Late last month, Norman said about 88% of nursing home residents statewide had been vaccinated, though some were still waiting for a second dose, while the rest opted out. About 65% of staff in long-term care facilities had also been vaccinated as officials were looking for strategies to increase that number.

Kansas has had 644 nursing home clusters, accounting for 14,706 cases, 1,227 hospitalizations and 1,850 deaths. About 38% of all COVID-19 deaths in the state have been connected to an outbreak at a long-term care facility.

The number of clusters and cases at nursing homes has plummeted since vaccinations started in December. Kansas doctors have said inoculation of nursing home residents has been a significant contributor to the more recent drop in hospitalizations.

“We hope this will help persuade those staff members who preferred to wait and see how the vaccines went that they are safe and effective, and that by each of us doing our part, we can save lives,” said a statement from Mark Parkinson, the CEO of the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, and a former Kansas governor.

Parkinson said the organization, which represents more than 14,000 care facilities, supports CMS allowing loved ones to visit residents.

“Our dedicated staff members have done an extraordinary job filling in for loved ones and adapting visitations during this difficult time, but nothing can replace engaging with family members in-person,” he said. “The health and wellbeing of our residents will improve thanks to this important guidance.”

Dr. Lee Fleisher, the CMS chief medical officer, said in a statement that infection prevention practices should still be emphasized, “given the continued risk of transmission of COVID-19.”

“CMS recognizes the psychological, emotional and physical toll that prolonged isolation and separation from family have taken on nursing home residents, and their families,” Fleisher said. “That is why, now that millions of vaccines have been administered to nursing home residents and staff, and the number of COVID cases in nursing homes has dropped significantly, CMS is updating its visitation guidance to bring more families together safely.”

Hospital visitor restrictions eased

Ascension Via Christi’s Wichita hospitals announced Thursday that visitor restrictions are being eased.

Patients at St. Francis, St. Joseph, St. Teresa and the Rehabilitation Hospital are now allowed to have two visitors, as long as the patients are not under contact precautions. Visitation times are between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., with exceptions made on a case-by-case basis for end-of-life and other situations. Visitors must go through screening.

“We recognize the important role family plays in the healing process,” Dr. Sam Antonios, the chief medical officer, said in a statement. “Our goal is to be no more restrictive than is necessary to maintain a safe place to give and receive care.”

Wesley Healthcare made a similar announcement last week. Patients at Wesley Medical Center and other Wesley facilities will be allowed to have two visitors at a time between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. Those visitors must go through screening and wear masks.

No visitors are allowed for patients in isolation or in COVID-19 units. No visitors under the age of 12 will be permitted. One overnight visitor is allowed for pediatric patients and for women in labor.

Universities move fall classes in-person

Wichita State University announced on Tuesday that it plans to return campus operations to normal for fall 2021. The move includes an increase in in-person classes and on-campus activities, including research and community events.

Shirley Lefever, the interim executive vice president and provost, said the university will remain flexible in case circumstances change and remote classes and virtual events are required. She referred to the plans for a post-pandemic normal as “cautious optimism,” citing the declining number of cases and hospitalizations, the increased capacity for rapid testing and the effectiveness of vaccines.

Fort Hays State University announced Thursday that it intends to resume on-campus operations for the fall 2021 semester. The plan is for full in-person classes, university president Tisa Mason said Thursday in a statement.

The university plans to hold in-person commencement ceremonies for the spring 2021 graduates.

This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 6:49 PM.