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By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
HaysMed is full and hijacks transfers from rural hospitals, the hospital’s medical director said Wednesday morning.
The hospital census for COVID patients took place in the mid-1930s over the last month, accounting for about half of the hospital’s staffed beds, medical director Dr Heather Harris said on Wednesday. from HaysMed, at a University of Kansas Health System press conference.
The average age of COVID patients admitted to HaysMed is 76, which is younger, Harris said. The average length of stay is 10 days, which is considered a long stay.
Those who return home may have long periods of convalescence, returning home weak or on oxygen.
HaysMed receives referrals from 40 counties in Kansas.
The hospital has only closed for transfers twice in the past 14 years. In November, HaysMed refused 103 transfers from other hospitals.
Harris said the closure affected the hospital’s ability to care for patients. HaysMed has always been open to patients with acute heart attacks and strokes. However, when it closes for transfers, it stops accepting all other patients outside of Ellis County.
“I think some of the rural areas felt protected because of their geography from the virus,” Harris said. “Clearly it is not.”
Dr David Wild, vice president of healthcare system performance improvement, said the problem with transfers occurs statewide and it means patients are waiting longer and being transported further to receive care.
“There is no doubt that there is an impact on patients in the community with diseases other than COVID,” he said.
A few counties in western Kansas still do not have a mask warrant. These counties represented 30 of HaysMed’s inpatients.
“I think rural people need to be careful as well,” Harris said. “Wear masks, try to distance yourself socially and don’t get together in large groups and try to protect yourself so you don’t get sick.”
Harris said the lingering crisis had been difficult for local caregivers.
“People are dying from this disease,” she said. “I see this is a constraint for nurses and providers. When you take care of people for more than 10 days and the patients cannot have families in the hospital, you connect with those people.
“We are for the purpose of healing people. I think it’s also a constraint. People are tired. People are tired, stressed and sad.
Kevin Myers, director of infection prevention at HaysMed, said all caregivers must wear PPE, which makes it difficult to provide the human touch they’re used to providing, which is a struggle for patients and caregivers.
Clinic providers are also seeing an increase in the number of patients with COVID.
Ellis County had a positive rate of 27-30% through November. Sixty to 100 people are tested every day.
Although the COVID numbers were lower on Monday, Harris said it was just the result of the lower tests over Thanksgiving weekend. She predicts the numbers will be up Wednesday and Friday and into the next week.
Myers said the coming cold and flu season is likely to make it even more difficult to care for the community, a factor that keeps him awake at night.
More than half of people who say they are COVID positive do not know who they contracted the virus from, Harris said.
“I ask the question, ‘Have you been with anyone? “but I don’t know anymore that the question is so important at this point,” she said, “because a lot of people are just shocked because they didn’t know they were around someone who had been sick. .
“I think you have to be careful in all settings now.”
Myers said a handful of people still don’t want to believe COVID-19 is real.
“When he finally gets to the home front, they have a lot of questions,” he said. “That’s why it’s important for us to be there.”
Myers said he always took calls to answer questions he said would now be known to everyone.
“It’s like starting over on day one with some people, but it’s totally OK,” he said. “I’m here to help people get back on their feet because they’ve been removing it or denying it for so long.”
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