Wichita’s COVID-19 hospitalization, ICU numbers continue to climb

Sedgwick County’s COVID-19 update Monday showed another uptick in hospitalized patients, further straining hospitals with the most COVID patients they’ve had since late January.

“We’re very full, so when you have somebody waiting to take a bed in the ER, then it’s not going to be open for an out-of-county transfer,” Ascension Via Christi spokesperson Roz Hutchinson said. “This is what’s been going on for weeks now.”

The county reported 181 hospitalized patients fighting the virus, including 58 in intensive care units, between Wesley and Ascension facilities. Last week, the county reported 177 patients and 53 in the ICU.

Wichita hospital status remains at red, indicating critical condition, and all four of the city’s hospitals are at full capacity with limited beds and staff.

That means patients from out of county are less likely to find a bed in Wichita, and even in-county patients may have to receive treatment from the ER while they wait for an open bed.

Staffing is also an issue for area hospitals. An AP investigation last week found that Kansas hospitals have 407 open traveling nurse positions that needed to be filled, according to Aya Healthcare, a leading travel nursing agency.

Just 48% of Sedgwick County residents are fully vaccinated against the virus, according to The New York Times vaccination tracker, and Wesley and Ascension have both reported that at least 90% of their COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that the COVID-19 delta variant is highly transmissible, and as much as two times more contagious than other strains of the virus.

This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 2:52 PM.