'Reliving a bad dream' | Hospital president details current COVID situation in Riley County, Kansas
Jul. 13—The head of the local hospital says Riley County and Kansas could be back in trouble with the coronavirus.
Ascension Via Christi President Bob Copple told The Mercury on Tuesday the hospital has seven COVID patients in its care, and the situation is like "reliving a bad dream."
"It is just like last year," he said. "You're going to have a bunch of people get positive, you're going to have a percentage of them who actually get so sick that they've gotta come to the hospital. And of those, there's a percentage who are going to get even sicker, and they're going to end up in the (intensive care unit). And then you have a percentage of that, that people are actually going to die."
Copple said he didn't think any of the current patients had been vaccinated.
"I am fearful that we're going to have more before we have less," he said. "But we're waiting. We've got to give it time, got to be patient. It's just hard."
He knows of one patient who came to the hospital in June who tested positive for coronavirus after getting vaccinated; that person has since recovered, Copple said.
"They were in and out of here in a couple days. They weren't that sick," Copple said.
Because the patient was vaccinated, their symptoms weren't as bad, which is the effect the vaccine is supposed to have, Copple said. Health officials say the vaccine doesn't necessarily provide total protection from getting the virus, but studies have shown it reduces the likelihood of becoming severely ill or dying.
"(It) is somewhat of a challenge for all of us to understand why people aren't getting vaccinated," Copple said. "... The vaccines are free. Free. Let's compare that to your $1,000-plus bill to come to the emergency room."
Because of the recent increase in coronavirus hospitalizations, Copple said he felt compelled to write the Riley County commissioners (who also serve as the county Board of Health), asking the commission to have a conversation on mask-wearing and talk about the current situation in the county. He plans to send the letter to the commission this week.
Copple said it's been hard to transfer non-coronavirus patients to other hospitals. In the last month, there have been been days when the hospital couldn't transfer them to any other facility in Kansas because hospitals are at capacity. This is another reason why Copple raised the red flag and wants to alert the county commission.
Additionally, the hospital is reverting back to one visitor per patient with some exceptions, beginning Wednesday morning. Staff also set up a separate area for coronavirus patients, away from non-coronavirus patients, Copple said.
"Just the look on the staff's face was heartbreaking because it's like, 'Please, no,'" he said. "Everybody's just tired."
Copple said that more than half of Riley County residents are at risk for coronavirus right now. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), 39.4% of Riley County residents are fully vaccinated, as of Monday. KDHE said 42.8% of residents are vaccinated with one dose.
Kansas' rate of fully vaccinated people was 39.5% Monday. KDHE said 44.9% of Kansans had received at least one dose of the vaccine Monday.
Copple said Kansas' vaccination rate is similar to Missouri's, which concerns him. A study by Georgetown University found five cluster areas that put the entire country at risk. One of the areas is southwest Missouri. He said that is another red flag for him.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 39.8% of Missourians are fully vaccinated and 45.4% had at least one shot.
