COVID-19, RSV and the flu cases are filling up emergency rooms in the metropolitan area.

Respiratory viruses this Winter may be even more deadly than last Winter with COVID.
A combination of COVID-19, RSV and the flu has created a “tripledemic” filling up hospital beds across the metro. The CDC reports that flu activity in Missouri and Kansas is very high. Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) has reported a 17% increase in COVID cases since December 1st and see no end to the rapid rise. This increase in both Flu and COVID (along with RSV) is pressing in emergency departments.

Most area hospitals are now at capacity, with some even putting beds in the hallways. All of this is overwhelming nurses already stretched thin. The combination of COVID-19, RSV and the flu has created a “tripledemic” filling up hospital beds across the metro. COVID and Flu deaths are on the increase and expected to go much higher.

Children’s Mercy reported last week that its downtown hospital was at capacity due to the strain of respiratory infections. An overflow of emergency care patients and admitted patients needing beds in the emergency department has pushed Saint Luke’s and The University of Kansas Hospital to put patients on beds in the hallways.

Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, said the hospital has had no choice but to temporarily use hallway beds. “We try not to do that, but if we have more sick folks than we have beds, then we have to put them someplace,” Stites said. “We really try to avoid the hallway — there's not a lot of privacy and it's not real personal. But sometimes we have to do that while we wait for beds to open up.” Stites said the health system tries to use “alternate care locations,” transferring patients to another floor, like the recovery unit, once they’re stable enough. But that’s not always possible.

Stites estimates that the hospital admitted 40 patients with influenza in the past week and more than 60 patients with COVID just on Friday alone.

“We know nobody wants mask mandates, we know that nobody wants to be forced to get vaccinated,” Stites said. “That's all great until people get really sick and the hospitals get really full. If you think of the (fact) that these new variants are more immune evasive, then having had COVID won't be as protective. I think we're just nervous about what's to come.” NPR

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The United States Overall

"Coronavirus tally: U.S. cases continue to climb and are now up 56% from two weeks ago. The average for hospitalizations was up 28% at an average, while the number of deaths was up 40%. With flu, RSV and other respiratory illnesses also circulating, experts are cautioning that it's sensible to wear a face mask in indoor public settings." Market Watch Published: Dec. 12, 2022