County swamped by surge

Like other locations across the state and nation, Kingfisher County is riding a surge in COVID-19 cases that is slamming health care providers, canceling events and closing some schools, businesses and government offices.

Statewide, 48,143 new cases were reported last week, nearly two and a half times as many as the week before, according to health department data.

“As of today (Thursday), Kingfisher County has a seven-day average of 140 active COVID-19 cases,” Diane Hernandez, public information officer for Kingfisher, Blaine, Canadian, Garfield, Grant, Logan and Major county health departments, said.

A total of 181 active cases were reported among the seven county zip codes in the state health department’s online data Thursday, including 79 in Kingfisher, 46 in Hennessey, 32 in Cashion, 15 in Okarche and 9 in Dover.

County HD Response

“County health departments are pivoting to meet the testing demand by offering extended hours across the district,” Hernandez said.

Both rapid and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests are available free of charge at the county health department. Rapid test results are available the same day, while PCR test results are available in three to five days, Hernandez said.

Rapid tests can be scheduled by calling the health department directly at (405)375-3008 and PCR tests can be scheduled online at any health department at OSDH. immytech.com.

The county health department was open until 6 p.m. Thursday and also will be open from 10 a.m. to noon on Sunday to accommodate additional testing appointments.

“We are seeing a high volume of testing in Kingfisher,” Maggie Jackson, community engagement and health planning director, said. “We have done 536 tests from Jan. 3-13.”

The health department recommends testing for anyone exhibiting even one of the following symptoms: fever greater than 100.4, sore throat, cough, difficulty breathing, diarrhea or vomiting or a new loss of taste or smell.

Jackson said testing also is recommended for anyone exhibiting three or more of the following symptoms: runny nose, nasal congestion, muscle or body aches, fatigue, chills, nausea, loss of appetite, severe headache or elevated temperature that is less than 100.4.

Like every other employer, the health department is struggling to maintain staffing levels during the current surge, Jackson said.

“We know businesses and schools are struggling with the impact of missing work time and sick employees,” she said. “We encourage employers to look at and follow the new updated isolation and quarantine guidance to limit exposure at the workplace.”

Medical Facilities Busy

Deb Perdue, advanced practice registered nurse, clinical nurse specialist and hospitalist at Mercy Hospital Kingfisher, said the local hospital is seeing increasing numbers of COVID patients with all of the above symptoms.

“We have seen an increase in the cases coming to the hospital to be tested because they have symptoms or they have been exposed,” she said. “We’ve seen an increase in admissions and an increase in patients needing therapy for problems due to COVID.

“These are people who are not strong enough to go home and need more therapy before they can go home.”

Perdue said all COVID patients first go through the ER to be evaluated to determine if they meet criteria for inpatient status (“are they sick enough to be admitted.”)

Anyone under the age of 18 or those requiring more advanced care are sent on to Oklahoma City hospitals.

“We’re seeing positive cases in all age groups right now,” Perdue said. “We don’t admit anyone under 18 years of age because we don’t have pediatric services and other patients we would send on are those who are too sick for our hospital.”

As of Thursday, open beds were available at the local hospital, but they are limited due to staffing constraints, Perdue said.

“Staffing is always an issue,” she said. “As our staff is exposed it increases our risk of becoming ill.

“It seems like it goes in waves with staffing and right now we’re doing OK. I don’t know that we have anyone out due to COVID.”

Meredith Huggins, Mercy senior media specialist, said testing and staffing “are our two biggest issues system-wide.”

“If you’re asymptomatic but you need a test to return to work or for travel or to go on a cruise or whatever, the ER is really not your best bet,” she said. “Help us reserve our ER providers for those who have emergency needs and try to seek out an alternative testing site.”

“That’s absolutely true in Kingfisher,” Perdue added. “We have multiple phone calls for walk-in testing and we don’t have enough tests available.”

Rachel Cameron, advanced practice registered nurse and owner of Trail Creek Wellness Center, said staffing, testing and demand for treatments such as monoclonal antibody infusions have all been challenges at her clinic in recent weeks.

Cameron and colleague Bridge Keast, physician’s assistant, also staff the free monthly Compassion Clinic, which had to shift to a telemedicine format last Monday to limit exposure for volunteers and patients.

“I had four staff members COVID positive this weekend and went up (to the clinic) Saturday myself to test patients. I have at least 14 patients to send for monoclonal therapy tomorrow,” Rachel said Sunday, Jan. 9.

“It’s been a tough week. Lots of COVID cases.”

School Closures

Both Kingfisher and Lomega schools pivoted to distance learning last week, due to high absenteeism among both staff and student populations.

Lomega schools closed Tuesday through Friday and Kingfisher schools closed Thursday and Friday. All sports and other extracurricular activities were canceled during that time period.

Both districts plan to return to in-person instruction on Tuesday after the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

“It is our hope that by taking this step that the threat of contact and transmission of COVID will be reduced and that any positive cases in our school system are recovered,” Lomega Superintendent Steve Shiever said in a letter to parents last week. “The decision was not made lightly and (we) feel it is in the best interest of our students and our community.”

Kingfisher school administrators made the decision Wednesday to shift to virtual learning when about 16% of the staff and almost 10% of the students were absent and more were scheduled to be tested due to exposure to known cases, Superintendent Dr. Daniel Craig told the Times & Free Press. will allow the illnesses to subside and our absences to decline,” he said.

Districts across the state found themselves in the same position, with new closures announced each day last week.

While other districts in the county and Chisholm Trail Technology Center are still offering in-person instruction, a number of sporting events and other contests were canceled or rescheduled due to sick or quarantined team members at competing schools.

Employer Impacts

Nearly every local business, organization and government office has been dealing with staffing shortages due to actual illness or exposures requiring quarantine.

Kingfisher County Commissioner Ray Shimanek (District 2) and Kingfisher Vice Mayor Wendell Prim and their respective spouses tested positive in recent weeks and have been experiencing symptoms to varying degrees.

Shimanek has been absent from the last two weekly county commission meetings as he and his wife Jamie recover and the city’s monthly meeting was postponed from Monday to Thursday due to anticipated absences.

The full board attended Thursday’s meeting, including a still-recovering Prim who received a negative test the day before.

“This stuff is no joke and don’t let anyone tell you different,” Prim said after the meeting. “This is the first day I’ve even tried to leave the house in two weeks and I’m still not over it.”

The Kingfisher County Treasurer’s Office was temporarily closed to the public due to employee absences and Heath Dobrovolny, Board of County Commissioners chairman, said every courthouse office has been impacted by staffing challenges.

“Every office has absent/ sick employees,” he said. “We are definitely seeing an impact but we will continue to serve the public as best we can.”

Among Kingfisher city employees, flu is also an issue, City Manager Dave Slezickey said.

“I think flu is hitting us harder than COVID right now,” he said Thursday. “We have five out with flu and three out with positive tests for COVID.”

Sheriff Dennis Banther said he is following strict procedures which have so far kept COVID out of his inmate population, but staff absences are still a problem.

“We have zero COVID in our inmate population. We have a policy of isolating new inmates for several days to make sure they don’t have COVID before moving them to a pod,” he said.

“Staffing is a different issue. It seems like as soon as we return some members, others are infected. We can’t see a pattern where they are infected at work, though.

“Amongst the front office, 911 dispatchers and deputies, we have maintained distance from each other daily to limit exposure,” he said. “But we have to respond to calls for service and never know when we may come into contact with it (in the public).”

Kingfisher Police Chief David Catron said he is fully staffed at present, with one officer just returning from quarantine.

Businesses Closed

At least one local restaurant was closed for a few days due to COVID-related staffing problems, according to its Facebook posts, and Interbank closed its lobby last week when four out of seven lobby employees tested positive.

“We’ll all be back on Tuesday after the holiday,” Tim Abercrombie, Interbank vice president, said. “We closed as a security measure.”

Ounce of Prevention

While symptoms from the Omicron variant (now comprising about 80% of Oklahoma’s new cases) are statistically less severe, local health officials and practitioners alike are urging everyone to continue with safety precautions to curb the spread.

“If you’re sick, stay home. Wash your hands, do the basic hygiene, wear a mask in public, try to avoid large crowds,” Perdue said.

While Perdue said she respects all personal decisions regarding vaccines and the local hospital will continue to provide “nonjudgmental care to everyone,” she noted that current admission trends show vaccines do reduce risk.

“We’re definitely seeing more people being admitted who are not vaccinated or who have not received their booster, along with people with underlying conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes,” she said.

“Vaccines make a difference. Those who have had the vaccine can still get COVID but it seems like their symptoms are a lot milder.”

That statement also is borne out by health department statistics, which showed that 92.8% of those hospitalized statewide last week due to COVID complications were not vaccinated.

In Kingfisher County zip codes, 50-60% of the Dover and Okarche eligible populations are fully vaccinated, 40-50% in Cashion, Kingfisher and Omega and 30-40% in Hennessey and Loyal, according to state statistics.