Metro hospitals brace for more COVID patients while battling the flu in Missouri
By ANGIE RICONO
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — Hospitals across the Kansas City metro area and all of Kansas will host a conference Jan. 3 to discuss capacity issues and staffing challenges.
They’re dealing with a new Covid-19 variant, staffing shortages and high rates of flu.
Kansas is the top five states for flu outbreaks, according to the latest CDC map. It’s considered “high.”
Missouri is in the moderate range.
“None of us thought that we were going to be here at this point,” said Casey Pickering, ICU nurse manager at the University of Kansas Hospital.
Pickering says staff members are deeply exhausted both physically and mentally.
“You look around and you know that New Year’s Eve parties are happening and all of these things continue to carry on,” Pickering said. “You know, many people for all intents and purposes have kind of moved on with their lives and moved on from this. Health care providers-we’re all still here and we’re very much still in it.”
Pickering’s pager kept going off as they discussed rising patient loads and frustrations.
“I think a lot of us have kind of just lost hope and people in general right and people’s willingness and ability to sacrifice a little bit to do the right thing for the greater good,” he said. “So, it’s hard to know what do you say to people at this point is going to change their mind or get them to do the right thing?”
The metro area has seen an increase in COVID cases and demand for testing.
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