Alex Smith
Health ReporterAlex Smith is a health care reporter for KCUR 89.3 FM. Alex Smith is a health care reporter for KCUR 89.3 FM. You can reach him at alexs@kcur.org.
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About three-quarters of Kansas and Missouri counties lack intensive care units, forcing critically ill rural patients to seek care in major cities. -
Coronavirus hospitalizations are now several times higher than during the initial spring wave.
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Nearly a quarter of intensive care units in the Kansas City metro are occupied by COVID-19 patients.
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Some doctors say Missouri's official hospital capacity data is exaggerated because it includes beds that aren't staffed by health care workers.
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Hospital workers say that capacity is already reaching tipping points.
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Unlike other parts of the country, new case growth in Kansas and Missouri has been slowly climbing since the middle of the summer.
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State officials say COVID-19 hospitalizations in Missouri have been undercounted for several days.
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With COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations near all-time highs, hospitals' capacities could be tested by surges in cases of the coronavirus, influenza and colds.
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Testing data suggests that Missouri has been missing many cases in its counts.
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Missouri's health department will no longer provide regular COVID-19 case and death updates via social media.
