Kansas Hospitals Get Relief From COVID-19. Now, They Await Post-Holiday Surge.

By Sherman Smith, the Kansas Reflector

December 30, 2020

TOPEKA — Medical professionals across the state say they finally have seen some relief from months of increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients and deaths.

John Rolph, who leads weekly regional calls with health care providers, told members of the State Finance Council on Wednesday that hospitals are more readily finding beds for COVID-19 patients in critical care. He said the software system used for locating available intensive care unit space now shows it takes just an hour and 15 minutes to find a bed for patients with severe conditions — an improvement from last week’s average of two hours.

“We’re still close to the edge,” Rolph said, “but there’s been some relief this week. And you could just feel that I think across the system.”

He said hospitals still find themselves in “strange new places.” A Concordia doctor said patients this week were transferred by plane to Hays, something she had never seen before. And in Emporia, the hospital’s ICU exceeded capacity.

And if there is a surge in patients from the more than 90 million Americans who traveled for Christmas, it won’t be felt for another three weeks.

“Everybody’s waiting to see what will happen with bated breath,” Rolph said.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Wednesday reported another 193 deaths from COVID-19, bringing the pandemic’s total deaths in Kansas to 2,741. More than 222,000 infections have been recorded since the virus was first detected in Kansas in early March.

Gov. Laura Kelly was set to become the latest Kansan to be inoculated from the virus by receiving an injection of a COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday evening.

Check back for updates as this story develops.

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