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Sept. 10, 2021Wichita, Kan. |  By: AP

Looming flu season worries COVID-strained Kansas hospitals

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas' hospitals are worried about the upcoming flu season because they're already strained by the surge in COVID-19 cases.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Wichita's four hospitals have been operating for weeks at full capacity, with limited beds and staff. At various points, they have had to ask ambulances to take patients to other facilities.

Sam Antonios, the chief clinical officer at Ascension Via Christi, says the prospect of COVID-19 being combined with typical flu and other seasonal respiratory illnesses is "alarming."

Lowell Ebersole, the chief medical officer at Wesley Healthcare, also sounded the alarm about the coming flu season. Meanwhile, The University of Kansas Health System said 13 COVID-19 patients died at its facilities in less than a week.