Newsworthy

Dear Community Partners,

The Race Against Breast Cancer (RABC) 5K Run/Walk will celebrate its 30^th anniversary on Friday, Sept. 17, at Reynolds Lodge at Lake Shawnee, 3315 S.E. Tinman Circle. The RABC 5K Run/Walk event was the brainchild of Billie Hall, manager of the Stormont Vail Women’s Center 30 years ago. She was disturbed to see women unable to schedule a mammogram because of financial need. She worked with the American Cancer Society, the Junior League of Topeka and St. Francis Health Center to get RABC started. Billie, now president and chief executive officer of the Sunflower Foundation, will serve as one of the honorary chairs for this year’s event.

Stormont Vail has sponsored the event through all of those years, says Connie Wagers, Director of Medical Imaging, who is serving as the 5K chair this year. Four years ago, an internal campaign called “Give Breast Cancer the Boot” was also started to benefit RABC, and Connie notes that Stormont Vail team members truly embraced that opportunity to help further.

Funds raised go to pay for a full range of screening and diagnostic mammography services to those who live and work in 11 northeast Kansas counties and are unable to pay for the services. RABC typically pays for more than 400 mammography and associated services each year.

The beginnings of the Race Against Breast Cancer and reasons why mammograms and screening remain important today, especially during a pandemic, will be featured tonight on WIBW-TV’s “To Your Health”. Connie and Dr. Mehmood Hashmi, oncologist, will provide insights on the segment at 10 p.m. on Channel 13. Additionally, a cancer survivor will share her story about how a no cost mammogram provided by RABC saved her life.

The To Your Health segment will first air at 10 p.m. tonight, then typically repeats at 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Fridays on 13 News This Morning and will be posted on wibw.com.

More information about registering for the 30^th Anniversary event and supporting RABC is available on the RABC website.

Here are today’s updates:

• Patient Volumes Remain High
• COVID-19 Scorecard (English | Spanish)
• COVID-19 Vaccines

Patient Volumes Remain High

We are experiencing an increased number of pediatric patients requiring hospitalization or services through our Outpatient Bronchiolitis Clinic (OBC). This morning our inpatient pediatric census was at 17. Hospitalizations were for a number of medical reasons, and high on the list was Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

OBC has been experiencing a marked increase in patient visits since May. Bronchiolitis is an inflammation of the airways that can cause mucus and breathing difficulties in young children and is the leading cause of hospitalization for children under the age of two.  Parents are directed to the clinic after their child is diagnosed with a viral infection like RSV after seeking care from their regular doctor, an urgent care clinic or the Emergency Department.

Adult inpatients filled most of our staffed beds this morning in critical care, intermediate care and medical-surgical departments. Additionally, there were 13 patients in the Emergency Room with admission orders waiting for rooms to open up from today’s discharges.

Yesterday, we were able to accept four patients transferring from other health care facilities, but were unable to take 12. Requests came from across Kansas and also included hospitals in Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Our four Express Care clinics (urgent care) provided care yesterday for 263 patients, with 137 of those for respiratory visits.

COVID-19 Scorecard

Here’s a look at today’s COVID-19 scorecard:

• We have 60 inpatients who are COVID-19 positive. The percentage of hospital patients who are unvaccinated is 87%. Vaccinated is defined as fully vaccinated individuals for greater than 14 days since the last immunization.
• From the previous day – COVID-19 inpatient discharges: 5. Deaths: 0.
• We have 84 COVID-19 positive patients in the outpatient Enhanced Primary Care program.
• The percentage of patients testing positive for COVID-19 at Stormont Vail facilities the past seven days is 15.0% percent. The percent of positive cases who are unvaccinated is 78%.

COVID-19 Vaccines

• We have administered 88,486 vaccinations, which includes first and second doses of the vaccine.
• All Kansans age 12 and older are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
• COVID-19 vaccines are available through the Stormont Vail Retail Pharmacy, 2252 S.W. 10^th
• To schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment:
  • Go through your Stormont Vail MyChart
  • Use the online scheduling assistant at stormontvail.org/covid19/vaccine
  • Call (785) 270-4786.
• Walk-ins are welcome from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

We together,
Dr. K