If there is a spike in coronavirus cases over the coming days in Kansas, much of that could be related to delayed test results.
On the KVOE-Newman Regional Health COVID-19 Community Briefing on Friday, Chief Executive Officer Bob Wright said Newman Regional Health is mindful of the limited number of test kits available through the Kansas Department of Health Environment, so the hospital has been using Quest Labs out of Lenexa — and turnaround times are now 6-10 days in some cases as those tests now are going from Kansas to California and back.
Wright says the hospital has four patients in its COVID-19 Care Unit. It has treated four other patients, all who have either been discharged or transferred.
Newman Regional Health has been planning for a shipment of personal protective equipment next week, but it recently learned the surgical and procedure masks now won’t come in until May. The hospital should have enough of those masks for three weeks with the current policy of using one mask per day. Wright is urging residents to keep making cloth masks for hospital patients to help the effort.
The KVOE-Newman Regional Health COVID-19 Community Briefing airs at 10:06 am Tuesdays and Fridays on KVOE and KVOE-TV at KVOE.com.
