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Regional hospitals experience resource strain

By Madison Parry

The University of Kansas Health System and Stormont Vail Health each hit the 100 mark in the number of COVID-19 patients being hospitalized earlier this week. The rise is being seen in hospitals and health systems throughout the region, putting a strain on available resources.

Earlier this week, two regional hospital systems saw a new record high in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients being treated at their facilities.

Stormont Vail Health reached 100 COVID-19 patients Tuesday according to its COVID-19 Scorecard, following just a day behind a similar announcement from KU Health.

Nearly half of the 100 patients at KU are in intensive care, the health system said Monday. From that number, 26 were on ventilators as of Monday.

KU Health System’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Steve Stites, expressed his concern about the rising number in cases and hospitalizations in the metro and beyond during a Monday video conference.

“We are on fire in the Midwest,” Stites said, going on to say that one-third of the patients currently admitted at KU are arriving from outside the Kansas City region.

On Nov. 18, Stormont Vail recorded a total of 90 patients currently admitted for COVID-19.

Stormont’s 10-person jump over the last seven days addresses a concern from healthcare providers in the metro. Rising cases and hospitalizations have already begun to put a strain on regional resources as hospitals face a capacity problem.

While KU reported a dip in hospitalized COVID-19 patients Wednesday with 91 patients and 46 cases in the recovery phase, a feared new wave of COVID-19 remains for healthcare workers who are already struggling to keep up.