Tag: COVID-19

Blood drives canceled, walk-in donations canceled

Blood center moves to appointment-only schedule with longer open hours

Blood donors needed

Because of COVID-19 and the stay-at-home mandate, the Community Blood Center is canceling all blood drives through the end of April, and extending the open hours at its donor centers.

According to a spokesman, the CBC also is doing away with walk-in donations and all donations are now scheduled.

They are urging healthy donors to make appointments to help maintain the region’s blood supply at this critical time, the spokesman said.

Blood collection sites are disinfected frequently, and they are taking extra precautions to help prevent the person-to-person spread of COVID-19 as per CDC recommendations, the spokesman stated.

CBC staff are also practicing health self-assessments prior to presenting at work, according to the spokesman. As always, people are not eligible to donate if they’re experiencing a cold, sore throat, respiratory infection or flu-like symptoms.

Beginning Monday, March 23, all seven of CBC’s donor centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday – Thursday and from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday – Sunday.

Donors can schedule appointments by calling 1-877-468-6844 or visiting savealifenow.org/coronavirus.

To help donors travel to and from the donor centers, CBC is providing a letter to donors that indicates they are traveling in order to provide lifesaving blood products, the spokesman said. This letter will be sent to all donors with appointments and will also be available online at savealifenow.org/coronavirus. Police have stated they will not be stopping people only for being on the road.

In order to protect the staff, healthy blood donors and the community blood supply, individuals are instructed to avoid donor centers if they are experiencing a fever or other symptoms of COVID-19 (cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing), have had close contact with someone diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19 in the last 14 days, or been diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19 until 28 days after their illness has resolved. CBC does not test for COVID-19.

For more information, visit savealifenow.org/coronavirus.

COVID-19 prompts Kansas governor to ease rules for telemedicine and medical shipments

by Kansas News Service

Last week, Gov. Laura Kelly made her state’s children the first in the country sent home for the rest of the school year. This weekend, she took unilateral action to clear the way for more telemedicine, to temporarily license more health care workers and to let heavier trucks move on Kansas highways.

The orders, Kelly’s office said in a news release, “will make sure Kansas families can access needed care and supplies until we have weathered this storm.”

Governors in states where the COVID-19 coronavirus hit hardest and spread most quickly have taken even more drastic action. First, authorities in the Bay Area told residents to isolate themselves at home. Then California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered people throughout the state to stay at home except for the most essential tasks. New York and Illinois have taken similar measures.

And on Saturday, a range of local governments across the Kansas City area — on both the Kansas and Missouri sides — said that starting Tuesday residents would be under orders to isolate in their homes except for a handful of circumstances. Much the same rules will apply in Leavenworth County and Douglas County.

Kelly’s latest executive orders apply to regulations that have long sparked controversy.

In one order that lasts until at least May, she cleared the way for more telemedicine — typically when a physician consults with a patient by phone or video conference rather than face-to-face.

Kelly’s emergency action waives some existing rules to allow doctors, including those licensed in other states but not in Kansas, to prescribe drugs. Without that order, some treatments could only be ordered after in-person visits.

She also gave the state’s Board of Healing arts the power to grant temporary licenses to health care workers to help with the crush on hospitals and clinics expected if the spread of the virus continues to escalate.

As of Sunday afternoon, the state had 64 confirmed cases among Kansas residents, two more from non-residents in the state and one death each in Johnson and Wyandotte counties.

Her order did not apply to abortions. The state has seen political and legal battles over telemedicine abortions, where doctors use remote connections to guide patients taking the abortion pill.

The governor also took action she argued would speed the delivery of medical supplies to, and through, the state.

Public health officials across the country have been warning, with increasing alarm, about a coming shortage of the medical gear needed to deal with the pandemic. In particular, the country is running dangerously low on protective gear to protect medical professionals from contracting the new coronavirus.

Kelly’s action allows trucks to carry 10 percent above their licensed weight, up to 90,000 pounds, for the next two weeks. The shipping industry has long argued for higher weight limits to make its hauls more efficient. Critics say heavier trucks more easily damage highways and that heftier loads create more violent accidents.

The relaxed trucking rules only apply to shipments somehow related to reactions to the COVID-19 crisis.

“Expediting the transport of resources into the state will enable us to meet the increasing demand for medical supplies, groceries — and yes,” Kelly’s office said in a statement, “even toilet paper.”

The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
See more at https://www.kcur.org/post/covid-19-prompts-kansas-governor-ease-rules-telemedicine-and-medical-shipments

Doctors urge residents to stay home

A graph from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment showed COVID-19 cases increasing in the state during the past several days. There were 64 cases statewide as of Sunday. (KDHE graph)

Doctors at the University of Kansas Health System said today that “stay-home” orders have been found to be effective in stopping the spread of COVID-19 in other places.

Wyandotte County and surrounding areas are under a “stay-home” order starting at midnight tonight and lasting until April 23.

Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, Kansas, said the data are strong that stay-at-home orders can make a difference in stopping the spread of COVID-19. The purpose of the order is to lower the number of people who become ill, to lower the number of people who die and to lower the number of people who come into the health care system.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control infectious diseases at the University of Kansas Health System, agreed and urged everyone to follow the guidance, stay home and stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“Everyone wants to know what the secret sauce is,” Dr. Stites said. “It’s not a secret. It’s wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands, wipe down surfaces you touch, and then don’t touch your face.”

Dr. Hawkinson said making a conscious effort not to touch your face can help avoid the spread of COVID-19. Keeping a distance from others (social distancing), also is important, the doctors said.

Wyandotte County reported 16 COVID-19 patients as of 5 p.m. Sunday night, an increase from 14 on Sunday morning, according to Unified Government Health Department figures. Johnson County reported 31 cases on Monday morning, an increase from Sunday’s total of 28, according to Johnson County Health Department statistics.

In the hospital, proper hand washing and hygiene is being stressed, the doctors said. Those who work at the hospital are tested through taking temperatures and answering questions about their health as they come to work. Visitors have been limited, and those who visit also have their temperatures checked.

The doctors said the health professionals were using personal protective equipment. The hospital currently is in good shape with the number of beds and ventilators available, they said.

Dr. Hawkinson said for the past week, they have been having discussions with doctors at the University of Nebraska in Omaha about reusing personal protective equipment, developing ultraviolet light technology possibly allowing the equipment to be reused.

Testing has mostly been limited to patients who are sick enough to be admitted to hospitals, and there has been a shortage of tests reported in the nation. Tests from private labs have now been added, and the doctors are exploring using other places.

The doctors said what happens in New York, where COVID-19 is more widespread, affects here in that there may not be as many testing kits available. They have been planning on how many patients they can expect, know the capacity and believe they have the right amount of hospital beds and equipment, but it depends on the curve, according to the doctors. If the curve goes straight up, it doesn’t matter how many masks they have as it could overwhelm the entire area.

According to the doctors, 80 percent of the people who get COVID-19 will be fine after a few days. “If you don’t go out and are not around people to make you sick, you’re not going to get sick,” the doctors said. COVID-19 generally has a period of 2 to 14 days until the patient shows symptoms, after exposure.

The KU Hospital is using hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in treating COVID-19 patients, according to Dr. Hawkinson. It is a medication usually used on malaria patients.

KU Health Systems also is rolling out a telemedicine program for mental health this week, which will be available for patients, he said. It may extend to the outpatient area over the next few weeks.

The UG’s COVID-19 response website is at
https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information

The Kansas COVID-19 website is at
https://govstatus.egov.com/coronavirus

COVID-19 information from the CDC is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.