Category: Health

Vaccination and testing site at former Kmart to close March 30

The COVID-19 vaccination and testing site at the former Kmart building at 7836 State Ave. will close on March 30, according to an announcement today from the Unified Government Health Department.

The last day for COVID-19 testing at the site will be Wednesday, March 30, and the last day for vaccinations there will be Friday, March 25, according to the announcement.

“The first COVID vaccine dose was administered at the Kmart facility on December 23, 2020,” Dr. Allen Greiner, chief medical officer for the Health Department, said in a news release. “When the Kmart facility first opened, it was one of the only places in the State of Kansas administering COVID vaccinations. Now, however, the vaccines are much more accessible, and Wyandotte County residents have many choices about where to go to get vaccinated or tested, throughout the community.”

Where to get vaccinated

Residents of Wyandotte County should still be able to find other ways to get vaccinated and tested.

Some of these include:

• COVID vaccines are available by appointment only for anyone 5 years and older at the Health Department at 619 Ann Ave. in KCK.
o Appointments are available Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 913-573-8855 to make an appointment.
o Booster shots for those 12 and older are also available at the Health Department.
o Vaccine hours at the Health Department will be extended in April. More details will be announced later this month.
• Find other COVID vaccination sites at vaccines.gov.
Find additional information at WycoVaccines.org.

Where to get tested

• For COVID testing locations visit www.wycokck.org/covid-19 and click on “COVID-19 Test Info.”
• Additional testing locations can also be found by visiting https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/280/COVID-19-Testing.
• Now residents can order two sets of 4 free COVID At-Home test by visiting COVIDTests.gov. Anyone who ordered their first set of tests before March 7, 2022, can now order a second set.

The Health Department encouraged Wyandotte County residents to watch social media for updates on pop-up vaccination and testing events throughout the community. They can do this by visiting the Health Department Facebook and Twitter pages (@UGHealthDept) for the latest information.

It’s still important to get tested and vaccinated, Health Department says

According to the CDC’s county-by-county online database, which evaluates several metrics to determine each county’s current COVID community level, Wyandotte County has a “high” level of community COVID-19. The CDC recommends the following guidelines to help stop the spread of COVID in our community:
• Wear a mask indoors in public
• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
• Get tested if you have symptoms
• Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness

The importance of the Kmart facility

The mass vaccination and testing facility at the former Kmart site has been an important tool for the Health Department in combatting the spread of COVID-19 in Wyandotte County, a Health Department spokesman stated.

Some statistics about the work done at the Kmart vaccination and testing site:

• As of March 10, 2022, there have been 90,477 doses administered at Kmart since it first opened in Dec. 23, 2020.
• Across all of the Health Department’s vaccination sites (which includes the Kmart facility, the Armory, the former Best Buy location in the Legends, the Health Department site at 619 Ann Ave. and all vaccinations administered by the Mobile Vaccination Unit), there have been 148,020 doses administered and 70,380 people vaccinated, from Dec. 23, 2020, to date.


For more information and latest statistics on the status of COVID-19 in Wyandotte County, visit WycoVaccines.org.

  • Information from the UG Health Department

Updated COVID-19 numbers

The rolling average of total confirmed and probable COVID cases in Wyandotte County. (UG Health Department graphic)

On Tuesday, Wyandotte County reported a cumulative total of 39,806 COVID-19 cases, with 484 deaths. The trend in daily cases and in regional hospitalizations was decreasing, according to the UG’s COVID-19 website.

Wyandotte County residents who had at least one dose of vaccine totaled 62.18 percent, and those who completed vaccination were 52.08 percent, according to the Health Department’s COVID website.

On Monday, March 14, the state of Kansas reported 768,820 cumulative cases, with 8,028 cumulative deaths. It was an increase of 95 cases from Friday. There were 22 COVID-19 deaths from Friday to Monday in the state.

On Tuesday, doctors at the University of Kansas Health System reported a total of 64 COVID patients, a decrease of 13 from Monday. There were 12 patients with the active virus, as compared to 18 on Monday. No COVID patients were in the intensive care unit, the same as Monday. No COVID patients were on ventilators, the same as Monday.

New community violence dashboard launched

A new community violence dashboard has been launched by the Unified Government Health Department.

The dashboard provides statistics about patterns of ongoing community violence in Wyandotte County, along with information about resources available for victims of violence and those who want to help lower incidents of violence in the community, according to a spokesman.

To view the new dashboard visit https://dashboards.mysidewalk.com/violence-outcomes/violence-is-a-public-health-crisis.

“This dashboard provides guidance to help our community take action to prevent violence,” said Hannah Conner, epidemiologist with the Unified Government Public Health Department. “We feel the information provided on this dashboard is important to educate community members and stakeholders about how social determinants of health, including structural racism, have led to increased violence in the community. The data provided by the dashboard can also help inform policy and organizational decisions about violence and violence prevention in the community.”

Information on the new dashboard includes:

• An overview of social determinants of health, and how big, systemic patterns can cause local health consequences
o Healthy People 2030 provides this definition: “Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.”
(https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/social-determinants-health)

o One of the biggest SDOH impacting Wyandotte County is structural racism, caused by historical decisions, policies, and norms that have disproportionately segregated communities of color, especially Black communities, from important resources. Learn more about racism and health: https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/racism-disparities/index.html .

• Current statistics on violence in Wyandotte County.

o Homicide is the number one cause of death among residents aged 15-44 in Wyandotte County.

o Deaths by firearms for youth ages 15-24 occurred at twice the rate of people ages 45-54 from 2014 to 2018.

o Tracking years of potential life lost (YPPL) emphasizes the impact of deaths among youth. Black community members are consistently losing more years to homicide than White or Hispanic community members.

• Detailed reports of risk and protective factors and how they rank in Wyandotte County

o Examples of protective factors against violence in a community include access to mental healthcare, community connectedness, and quality schools.

o Examples of risk factors for violence in a community include neighborhood poverty, housing problems, and lack of economic opportunities.

• Current initiatives in Wyandotte County to reduce and prevent violence

o This list includes a variety of initiatives and organizational partnerships working to prevent violence across the county. It also includes organizations that help residents of the county have access to everything they need to thrive.

o You can go directly to the list at this link: https://dashboards.mysidewalk.com/violence-outcomes/current-initiatives-within-wyandotte-county.

  • Story from UG Health Department

Despite concerns about CDC influence, Kansas Senate approves Janet Stanek as health secretary

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Kansas senators voted Wednesday to confirm Janet Stanek as the new leader of the state’s health department.

The decision to approve Stanek comes after the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee chose to advance the governor’s nominee without a recommendation. During the confirmation hearing earlier this month, conservative Republicans expressed concerns about how Stanek would adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rules and the performance of Lee Norman, the previous Kansas Department of Health and Environment secretary.

But during debate on the floor, senators said they were pleased with Stanek’s efforts to follow up and clarify answers from the hearing. Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, R-Baxter Springs, said not only did she come across as genuine in her desires to improve relations with the Legislature, but also soothed concerns she would immediately resort to mandates.

“I do believe that she’s sincere when she talks about wanting to have open communication with the legislative body and about getting information out,” Hilderbrand said. “She has been very responsive whenever I have asked a question or asked for information, and I appreciate that because that’s not the way it’s always been.”

Stanek was appointed to her current role shortly after Norman was forced to resign in November, for what he said was a lack of adherence to a tight, scripted message the governor’s office wanted to send. Only five members, all Republicans, opposed Stanek’s nomination.

The Senate also unanimously approved the nomination of Angela Coble to the Kansas Court of Appeals. Coble, a Salina attorney, previously served as counsel to two U.S. District Court judges and most recently worked for U.S. Magistrate Judge Gwynne Birzer.

Before taking her new post, Stanek served as the director of the State Employee Health Benefits Program. She spent several decades in health care leadership positions in Pennsylvania, New York and Kansas, including 21 years at Stormont Vail Health in Topeka.

Because Stanek is not a medical doctor, she will lead the state agency as its secretary while somebody else serves as the state’s top health officer. Joan Duwve became the acting state health officer in January.

“As a skilled and qualified leader in the world of health care, secretary Stanek is well equipped to handle the changing scope public health has taken since the beginning of the pandemic,” Gov. Laura Kelly said. “The state is in good hands with the thoughtfulness, collaboration, and sound judgment she brings to the agency.”

Those who opposed Stanek’s confirmation were concerned with her approach to CDC recommendations regarding masks, vaccines and COVID-19 treatments. However, Sen. Alicia Straub, an Ellinwood Republican, said her decision came down to the state’s quarantine statute, not Stanek’s qualifications.

“Our statutes allow for an unelected government official to quarantine or even seize our children from our own homes,” she said. “Until we correct Chapter 75, I would vote no, no matter who it is.”

Ultimately, Stanek expressed a desire to have working relationships with legislators regardless of how they voted. Stanek also told legislators during the confirmation hearing the agency stopped airing COVID-19 vaccine advertisements after some Republican lawmakers expressed concerns with calling the shot safe and effective.

She said she was committed to improving that line of communication and further building on her work with the department thus far.

“I have been impressed with the work of the KDHE team, particularly in leading the state’s response to the pandemic,” secretary Stanek said. “I look forward to continue to work with the entire team and our stakeholders throughout the state to build on their outstanding work as we move out of the pandemic and into the future.”

Kansas Reflector stories, www.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/2022/03/10/despite-concerns-about-cdc-influence-kansas-senate-approves-janet-stanek-as-health-secretary/.