Kansas man dies after waiting for ICU bed as hospitals fill up with COVID-19 patients

A Kansas man with a non-COVID-related condition died this week after being forced to wait for an ICU bed because they were full of coronavirus patients.

After Rob Van Pelt went to a local hospital for a routine procedure last Tuesday, his heart suddenly stopped. He was then airlifted to a Wichita hospital, but doctors said he need to go to another facility with a neurological intensive care unit.

"Hospital staff searched for a place that could take him," according to a report from the Kansas City Star.

"Due to COVID-19, the waiting list for a bed is unknown," Van Pelt's family wrote at the time, on a fundraising page seeking help with his medical expenses.

With COVID-19 cases spiking thanks to the spread of the Delta variant, Kansas hospitals have been facing staff and bed shortages.

On Friday, medical staff started the process of getting Van Pelt transferred to a hospital in Oklahoma City, but that fell through, according to the Star's report. Later in the day, a bed opened up at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis in Wichita, and he was transferred.

With more than 90 COVID patients, Ascension hospital had converted some of its neurological ICU beds into beds for COVID patients.

Van Pelt's wife reported on Sunday that he had died.

"Somer Van Pelt said she will never know if anything would have changed medically had he been able to get a bed earlier, but that with access to the care he needed, he could have been monitored with the right equipment," the Star reported. "She urged people to get vaccinated and wear a mask."

Dr. Sam Antonios, chief clinical officer for Ascension Via Christi, said: "With already unseasonably high overall patient volumes, it is adding to the challenge of finding the right bed with the right staff at the right time for every patient being referred to us for care."

Read more here.