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Dear Community Partners, The delta variant of the COVID-19 virus has become the dominant strain spreading across Kansas. It is now causing increases in infection rates and hospitalizations almost exclusively among those who have not received the COVID-19 vaccination. The delta variant is highly contagious with a much higher rate of transmissibility and is impacting…

Dear Community Partners, Kansas is facing a new surge in COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths. The highly contagious and transmissible delta variant of the virus is now the dominant strain in our state. At highest risk are people who are not vaccinated for COVID-19. Look to our neighbors in Missouri and Arkansas, where the delta…

Dear Community Partners, As we see increases in COVID-19 infections fueled by the delta variant spreading across Kansas and now in our backyard, we are making preparations to ensure our organization is ready and our team members are supported. As of today, we have 22 inpatients with COVID-19. The acuity and complexity of patients we…

Dear Community Partners, The year 2020 was a challenging one with the COVID-19 pandemic impacting nearly every facet of our lives. We pined for 2021 to get everything back to “normal.” Now the delta variant of the virus is spreading through our region and we are faced with the reality that the pandemic isn’t gone.…

Dear Community Partners, The delta variant is changing the COVID-19 pandemic playing field, adding a layer of complexity to understanding how the virus spreads and infects individuals. Additionally, vaccination status has become a topic of discussion with this highly transmissible variant. What is known is that those individuals who are unvaccinated have a higher risk…

Dear Community Partners, Get vaccinated. Wear a facemask – especially in public indoor settings. Social distance. Wash your hands. It’s déjà vu. These are all precautions we have heard and hopefully practiced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with the highly transmissible and contagious delta variant in our region, these precautions are advised again, even for…

Dear Community Partners, Just three hours and 28 minutes away from Topeka, a COVID-19 nightmare is playing out. Hospitals in southwest Missouri are overwhelmed with patients as the delta variant surges. Deaths are mounting. The two Springfield hospitals reported 27 COVID deaths last weekend alone. As of the past Monday, those hospitals combined had had…

Dear Community Partners, We are at a crossroads in the COVID-19 pandemic that will define our lives and our community’s future. While there is mounting frustration among us – those who believe in or who dispel the value of the vaccines – we individually must listen to our conscience as a guide. As you consider…

Dear Community Partners, Beginning with today’s COVID-19 Scorecard, we will provide the vaccination status of hospitalized patients. We will also be providing the number of COVID-19 patient discharges and deaths from the previous day and cumulative numbers of hospitalized and discharged patients and deaths. We are adding context to the COVID-19 positive testing rate related…

Dear Community Partners, Like other hospitals across the region, we have a growing concern about how the nursing shortage impacts our ability to care for our communities in the middle of a pandemic. As a regional hospital that provides a layer of support to smaller critical access hospitals, we take care of patients transferred to…

Dear Community Partners, All the indicators of community spread of COVID-19 are on the rise: inpatient admissions, patients in the Enhanced Primary Care, drive up COVID-19 testing, and calls this week to the “Call Before You Go” hotline. The Enhanced Primary Care program provides supportive outpatient services to help keep people out of the hospital.…

Dear Community Partners, All the indicators of community spread of COVID-19 are on the rise: inpatient admissions, patients in the Enhanced Primary Care, drive up COVID-19 testing, and calls this week to the “Call Before You Go” hotline. The Enhanced Primary Care program provides supportive outpatient services to help keep people out of the hospital.…

Dear Community Partners, Today we have 31 inpatients who are suffering from COVID-19 infections. Of those, 17 are in intensive care or intermediate care, and the others are being cared for in regular medical patient rooms. The past couple of days more of our COVID-19 patients have needed a higher level of care. Intensive care…

Dear Community Partners, August often is a month we see transitions and new beginnings. A new school year starts. Fall sports leagues begin their practices. The hot, humid summer temperatures begin the transition into fall with cooler nights. Gardeners see their summer gardens winding up, but can plant cool season vegetables to take them into…

Dear Community Partners, Demand for adult inpatient beds continues to outpace supply. Like most healthcare organizations in Kansas we are facing staffing challenges, which means we are unable to take all of the patients needing a transfer for hospital care. Because the COVID-19 surge is widespread across the Midwest, the situation is further exacerbated. From…

Dear Community Partners, The resistance of some to get a COVID-19 vaccine may at times be less about resistance and more about barriers. I recently learned of a situation in which a person “resisting” the vaccine was actually willing to get it but resisted because of language barriers she faced. The person believed she didn’t…

Dear Community Partners, Here are today’s updates: COVID-19 Scorecard (Scorecard: English | Spanish) COVID-19 Vaccines COVID-19 Scorecard Here’s a look at today’s COVID-19 scorecard: We have 55 inpatients who are COVID-19 positive. The percentage of hospital patients who are unvaccinated is 85%. Vaccinated is defined as fully vaccinated individuals for greater than 14 days since the last immunization.…

Dear Community Partners, Here are today’s updates: COVID-19 Scorecard COVID-19 Vaccines COVID-19 Scorecard Here’s a look at today’s COVID-19 scorecard: We have 55 inpatients who are COVID-19 positive. The percentage of hospital patients who are unvaccinated is 85%. Vaccinated is defined as fully vaccinated individuals for greater than 14 days since the last immunization. From…

Dear Community Partners, Today marks a wonderful milestone for Stormont Vail Health and for 41 of our nurses. We are celebrating the completion of a nurse residency program by these new graduate nurses. This is a program that was developed through the work of an interdisciplinary team to help new nurses receive a thorough orientation…

Dear Community Partners, Here are today’s updates: COVID-19 Scorecard (English and Spanish) COVID-19 Vaccines COVID-19 Scorecard Here’s a look at today’s COVID-19 scorecard: We have 54 inpatients who are COVID-19 positive. The percentage of hospital patients who are unvaccinated is 83%. Vaccinated is defined as fully vaccinated individuals for greater than 14 days since the…