A big hospital in the Kansas City area is celebrating a major pandemic milestone today.
Prime Healthcare, which operates St. Joseph Medical Center in Kansas City, announced on March 8 that they no longer have anyone in COVID-19 isolation in their intensive care unit.
While the hospital said that it currently has no COVID patients in isolation in its ICU, it added that has it still has some patients in the hospital. “Not having any” patients in the ICU, it said in a statement, “is a big milestone since where we started.”
The news comes as local hospitals are seeing decreasing numbers of COVID-19 cases and patients. Daily new COVID hospitalizations in the Kansas City area stand at 82, their lowest level since September. Average daily new COVID-19 deaths are at their lowest point since July, according to the Mid-America Regional Council’s data hub chronicling local COVID statistics.
St. Joseph Medical Center’s spokesperson said she believes that vaccines have played a pivotal role, as well as better mask-wearing and hand washing.
“We have a milestone celebration today in ICU—no patients in COVID isolation,” an email from Prime Healthcare read. “We have seen our cases decrease here and trend down significantly across the nation.”
Prime Healthcare manages St. Joseph, Providence Medical Center in Bonner Springs, St. John Hospital in Leavenworth, and St. Mary’s Medical Center in Blue Springs.