Month: August 2021

Crowded emergency rooms a challenge for hospitals

Crowded emergency rooms are posing a challenge for area hospitals, according to doctors at the University of Kansas Health System.

The topic of full hospitals and emergency departments was discussed at a Wednesday morning media update with Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at KU Health System. The crowded conditions are caused by a surge in Delta variant cases of COVID-19, according to the doctors.

Dr. Chad Cannon, chair and clinical service chief of emergency medicine at the health system, said the emergency department used to start the day half full, but now the 55 beds are almost full at the beginning of the day. As the day goes on, patients pile up into the hallways and waiting rooms, he said.

Often, patients are in the waiting room for several hours, Dr. Cannon said. They are seen by an emergency physician. Sometimes they have to wait six to 10 hours to be admitted to a bed, he added.

Dr. Ryan Jacobsen, EMS physician adviser and medical director of Johnson County EMS, said it is currently a huge issue for ambulance crews to find a hospital that has space. All hospitals are at capacity, he said, and have been for some time.

As hospitals become full, typically the patients are waiting longer to be seen. EMS crews call it “wall time” when EMS has to sit and wait with a patient on an EMS cot before a hospital can find a bed, he said. Locally, in the Kansas City region, they often have to wait 30 to 45 minutes, according to Dr. Jacobsen.

If the patient can communicate, the patient tells an ambulance crew what hospital to go to. That presents problems sometimes for the crews, as often times the emergency departments are full. Sometimes they have to call three or four hospitals to find a spot for the patient. It puts the ambulance crew in a continual conundrum trying to explain that to the patient, he said.

They value the patient’s hospital preferences, but they also have to make sure ambulancs are in service to the community, he said.

Dr. Jacobsen said there are places in the Midwest, not in Kansas City, where there is a three to four hour wall time.

Dr. Cannon said it’s frustrating for staff to see what’s happening. As the surge continues, the staff knows there is a vaccine that can prevent it from happening, he said. They know that if people would take the vaccine, the surge wouldn’t be happening.

Dr. Jacobsen said the community should reserve 911 calls for emergencies, such as heart attacks, strokes and car accidents. If people have a minor illness or injury, they should call a primary care physician, he said.

Doctors also urged people not to participate in the milk crate challenge seen on social media and the internet. The participants climb on stacked milk crates and often fall, sometimes breaking arms, legs or getting head injuries, according to the doctors. It just creates more unnecessary medical emergencies and crowds hospitals and emergency rooms, according to the doctors. More information from this update is online at https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=254341950028768&ref=notif&notif_id=1629896257063397&notif_t=live_video.

KCK plans program that could reduce frequent use of 911 system

Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Chief Michael Callahan said at the Aug. 23 Unified Government Public Works and Safety Committee meeting that there were some individuals who were using the 911 system more than they should. The program will try to assist some individuals who make frequent 911 calls.

Kansas City, Kansas, will implement an 18-month community paramedicine program in conjunction with a grant from Vibrant Health, he said.

A registered nurse and firefighter paramedic will go out on nonemergency calls to houses that activate the 911 system more than they should, he said.

They would make sure that individuals have access to care they need without activating the 911 system, he said. This program also will check to make sure individuals are taking medications and they are taking them as prescribed, that there is food in the home, and they will check for slip and fall hazards in the home, he said.

They will provide assets to individuals so they don’t have to activate the 911 system, he said. For more information, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAeC10oPlvI.

Free vaccines available

Free COVID-19 vaccines will be available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday at the Kmart vaccination site, 7836 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. Vaccines are free for people ages 12 and older. There are gifts available, and a “Spin to Win” promotion is ongoing for Wyandotte County residents, as supplies last.

The Health Department announced it would increase the Spin to Win prizes, starting Aug. 18, for first vaccines given at the Kmart site, according to a Health Department spokesman. Previously prizes were as high as $50, and now they will go up to $100.

Currently, the incentives and prizes are only at the Kmart site, and only available for people who live in Wyandotte County and come in for their first dose. There have been other prizes at some of the community events that the mobile vaccine team has attended.

For more information on the Unified Government Health Department’s vaccine schedule, see WycoVaccines.org.

The Health Department has announced it will give a third vaccine shot to moderately to severe immunocompromised patients. For more information, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/health-department-to-provide-third-vaccine-doses-for-immunocompromised-people/.

A free vaccine and testing event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, at Cross-Lines Community Outreach, 736 Shawnee Ave. These events are being held in conjunction with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Mobile vaccines can still be requested online at WycoVaccines.org or by calling 3-1-1 (913-573-5311).

Other sites available for vaccinations

Some doctors’ offices offer COVID-19 vaccinations. If you haven’t received your vaccination yet, call your doctor’s office to see if it is available now.

Free vaccinations at KU Health System are open to the public. Current patients may use MyChart to make an appointment. Others may call 913-588-1227 or visit kansashealthsystem.com/vaccine to make an appointment to get vaccinated. KU Health System currently is vaccinating residents of Kansas and Missouri who are 12 or older, by appointment only. Those under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian throughout the appointment.

There are also pharmacies giving free COVID-19 vaccinations in Wyandotte County by appointment, when available. These include Price Chopper and Hen House pharmacies, which are now also accepting walk-in vaccinations or appointments, and are starting vaccinations for age 12 and up at those pharmacies that are giving Pfizer vaccine (see https://www.ballsfoodspharmacy.com/).

CVS has announced walk-in appointments for COVID-19 vaccine at some of its stores. Those interested in getting a vaccination at a CVS pharmacy are asked to visit a CVS website in order to make sure there is vaccine available. The website is at www.cvs.com/. Walgreens and Walmart also were listed on www.vaccines.gov as giving vaccinations.

Other pharmacies and sites giving vaccines are listed at www.vaccines.gov. The website also tells whether vaccines are in stock at the locations.

Case numbers reported

On Wednesday morning, KU Health System reported 66 active COVID patients, the same as Tuesday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at KU Health System. Eight were vaccinated, and all eight had significant health problems such as end stage liver disease, solid organ transplant, chemotherapy, lung disease and diabetes. Twenty-six patients were in the ICU, the same as Tuesday. Two of the ICU patients were vaccinated, one has cancer and the other is immunocompromised from a transplant. Fourteen were on ventilators, the same as Tuesday. Thirty-three other patients were still hospitalized because of COVID, but were out of the acute infection phase, the same as Tuesday. There were a total of 99 COVID patients, the same as Tuesday. Children’s Mercy Hospital reported 15 positive COVID patients, a decrease of three since Friday.

Wyandotte County reported a cumulative 22,146 cases on Wednesday, an increase of 156 since Tuesday, according to the Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. There was a cumulative total of 324 deaths reported, an increase of one since Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Aug. 25, the Unified Government Health Department reported that 45.83 percent of Wyandotte County residents had received at least one dose of vaccine. Those completing their vaccinations totaled about 37.87 percent.
The percentage of Wyandotte County residents who were age 12 and older who had received at least one dose was 56.4 percent.

The Mid-America Regional Council on Wednesday reported 193,842 cases in Greater Kansas City, a nine-county area. There were a total of 2,608 deaths. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 141.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 362,321 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Kansas on Wednesday, Aug. 25, an increase of 3,478 since Monday, Aug. 23. There were a cumulative 5,535 deaths, an increase of 37 since Monday.

The KDHE reported 68,446 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Johnson County on Aug. 25, an increase of 482 since Aug. 23. Leavenworth County had 8,894 cases, an increase of 77 since Aug. 23. Sedgwick County (the Wichita area) reported 65,132 cases, an increase of 839 since Aug. 23.

Douglas County (the Lawrence area) had 10,260 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Aug. 25, an increase of 101 since Aug. 23, according to KDHE. Shawnee County (the Topeka area) had 21,188 COVID-19 cases, an increase of 241 since Aug. 23. Riley County (the Manhattan area) had 7,027 cases, an increase of 15 cases since Aug. 23.

On Wednesday night, there were a cumulative 38,223,219 COVID-19 cases in the United States, with cumulative 632,272 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Free testing available

Free COVID-19 testing is available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday at the UG Health Department’s central location, the former Kmart, 7836 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. Free gift cards are available to those who get a test, while supplies last.

Free COVID tests through WellHealth are being held at the Kansas National Guard Armory, including tests from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday at 100 S. 20th St., Kansas City, Kansas. There also are tests at the Armory from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Appointments can be made at gogettested.com/Kansas.


For more information on Health Department testing, visit www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept.

COVID-19 testing is available at several locations in Wyandotte County.

Visit gogettested.com/Kansas and https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19 for more sites.

Wyandotte County residents may contact the Health Department at wycohelp.org to sign up for a test to be delivered to their home.

For more details about free COVID-19 testing offered by the UG Health Department, visit https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19, https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept or call 3-1-1.

To view the mask order in Kansas City, Kansas, visit https://www.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/mask-mandate-resolution-r-47-21-effective-august-6-through-september-16-2021.pdf and https://www.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/ug-issues-mask-order-for-kck-and-other-portions-of-wyco.pdf.

Medical certifier relied on symptoms in report of early COVID-19 death in Leavenworth County

by Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — A medical certifier recently concluded COVID-19 contributed to a Jan. 9, 2020, death in Leavenworth County based on the person’s symptoms.

The case would be the first known death from COVID-19 anywhere in the United States, altering the understanding of where and when the virus first spread. Previously, the first known death from COVID-19 in Kansas was two months later, on March 11, 2020.

“The local medical certifier made the decision to amend the death certificate, months after the death, because the individual’s symptoms were similar to other COVID-19 death symptoms,” said Matt Lara, spokesman for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. “It is unclear — and seems unlikely given the early date of this death — that a COVID-19 test was administered to confirm the virus as the cause of death.”

Lara said KDHE doesn’t have information to evaluate the conclusion that COVID-19 was a factor in this case.

“However,” Lara said, “the determination made in this case isn’t just an outlier — it conflicts with all of the data we have on COVID cases in Kansas and the region at the time of the individual’s death.”

The revelation that deaths from the early days of the pandemic had been added to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention database was first reported by the San Jose, California, Mercury News.

KDHE initially refused to provide basic information about the January 2020 death, then reversed course after Kansas Reflector and other news outlets reported on the situation. Kansas law prohibits the release of personally identifiable medical records, but KDHE has reported the dates and counties of COVID-19 deaths and cases throughout the pandemic.

COVID-19 has now killed 5,535 Kansans, including 37 deaths reported by KDHE between Monday and Wednesday. There were also 3,478 new cases and 101 new hospitalizations since Monday.

Nearly all of the new cases are attributed to the highly contagious delta variant, and nearly all of the new hospitalizations and deaths involve people who are not vaccinated. CDC numbers show 56.3% of eligible Kansans are fully vaccinated, and 67.1% have received at least one dose of the free, safe and effective vaccines.

Kansas Reflector stories, kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2021/08/25/medical-certifier-relied-on-symptoms-in-report-of-early-covid-19-death-in-leavenworth-county/.

Federal charges filed against restaurant owner, managers in multi-state RICO case

The owner of dozens of Mexican restaurants in several states, along with the company’s president, chief financial officer, controller and sales manager, were among 19 defendants charged in a federal racketeering case to hire undocumented workers.

The case was filed in federal court in Kansas City, Missouri. Eight current or former managers also were charged in the case, including one in Overland Park, Kansas. There were 64 counts listed in the indictment. No individuals at Wyandotte County restaurants were named as defendants.

Homeland Security Investigations agents, with the assistance of numerous local, states, and federal agencies, executed a series of search warrants today at 10 locations in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. Federal agents have so far arrested 14 of the 19 defendants.

The federal indictment alleges that 17 of the 19 co-defendants were part of an organized criminal enterprise from July 2003 to Aug. 10, 2021, that smuggled Mexican, Guatemalan, and El Salvadoran nationals who were not authorized to live or work in the United States. Conspirators allegedly harbored them in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Charges were brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Jose Luis Bravo, 51, a naturalized U.S. citizen, of Claremore, Oklahoma, was alleged to have, with other persons, created a network of restaurants operating as LLCs in states in the Midwest. According to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of Missouri, they allegedly did not pay the appropriate state and federal payroll taxes, did not pay overtime and worker’s compensation for unauthorized employees.

Bravo, identified in the indictment as the leader of the enterprise, is the owner of Specialty Food Distribution in Joplin, Missouri. Bravo is also the owner of a group of restaurants registered as Bravos Group, LLC, including El Charro, El Charrito, Playa Azul, Itza, LLC, Cantina Bravo, and El Chango. Specialty Food Distribution is a wholesale distributor of food, supplies, and equipment to restaurants throughout the Midwest.

The federal indictment named a person who until recently was the manager of Bravos Mexican Grill in Overland Park, Kansas.

According to the federal indictment, the investigation began when the Kansas Department of Labor contacted Homeland Security Investigations regarding allegations that unauthorized aliens were employed at the Bravos Mexican Grill in Overland Park.

When HSI announced a Form I-9 inspection on July 16, 2018, agents discovered that 14 of the 17 Bravos employees whose I-9 forms had been inspected were ineligible to work, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. During another inspection of Bravos on Feb. 28, 2019, agents identified eight unauthorized aliens working there. Five of those employees had been identified previously as ineligible to work.

The indictment also contains forfeiture allegations against several defendants, which would require them to forfeit to the government the funds contained in several bank accounts as well as real estate located in Great Bend, Pittsburg, and Augusta in Kansas; Butler, Joplin, and West Plains in Missouri; and Claremore, Okmulgee, Muskogee, Enid, and Tahlequah in Oklahoma.