Health

Over 950,000 Americans die each year from cardiovascular disease. Since February is National Heart Month, Veterans Memorial Hospital provides the following facts and tips on heart health:
• 250,000 people die within one hour of onset of a heart attack.
• 60-70% of those individuals are male.
• Heart disease is the #1 killer of American women and men.
• 75-80% of arrests happen in the home.
• Bystander CPR does improve the outcome once someone has arrested.
• Traditional CPR courses are not reaching those who live with high-risk populations.
• Rapid defibrillation is the most important treatment for victims.
• For every minute delay in defibrillation there is a 10% loss for chance of survival.
• In the case of heart attack, “Time is Muscle.”
• In the case of stroke, “Time is Brain Tissue.”

Veterans Memorial Hospital is encouraging individuals in the area communities to sign up to participate in Live Healthy Iowa for the next 10 weeks. The Live Healthy Iowa web-based program offers many advantages over the In-Step program, including personal on-line fitness tracking, weekly motivational emails and unlimited access to recipes, workouts and other health information, all easily accessible on the Live Healthy Iowa website.
Registration for Live Healthy Iowa is going on now. The cost to participate in Live Healthy Iowa is $20 per person. For that fee each team member will receive a Live Healthy Iowa t-shirt and a free magazine subscription to one of many popular magazines. To get your team signed up, go to www.livehealthyiowa.org and click the sign up button.

The statistics are alarming:
• One in three women and one in four men die of heart disease.
• Heart disease takes the lives of about 375,000 Americans each year - more lives than all forms of cancer combined.
There is some good news. Deaths from heart disease fell by nearly 40 percent from 2001 to 2011 according to the American Heart Association. “We are better at recognizing symptoms and risk factors. In addition, there are things you can do to lower your risk for heart disease,” reports Jenny Stegen, PA-C, physician assistant and the Gundersen Waukon Clinic.

The radiology department at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon now has new High-Definition Ultrasound Equipment with four-dimensional (4D) capabilities. This is especially exciting for expecting families in the community, as they will be able to view their baby in a whole new way. In addition to the black and white images that are sometimes hard to visualize, there will also be 3D and 4D images taken.
“Having an ultrasound for new moms is exciting as it is, and now we are excited to announce this new feature,” shared Veterans Memorial Hospital Radiology Supervisor Amanda Leiran.“Not only can you see the baby’s profile, but you can see his or her entire face.”
Like regular ultrasounds, 3D and 4D ultrasounds use sound waves to create an image of the baby in the womb. What’s different is that 3D ultrasounds create a three-dimensional image of the baby, while 4D ultrasounds show moving 3D images of your baby, with time being the fourth dimension.

The next LifeServe Blood Center Blood Drive will be held Thursday, February 4, from 12:30 to 5 p.m., at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon. Blood drives are held the first Thursday of every month in Waukon to allow for more donors to give. The LifeServe Blood Center supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with their blood and blood products.
The LifeServe Blood Center is seeking donors to ensure a safe and plentiful blood supply in Iowa. Because there is no substitute for human blood, the need for donors is continuous.
Over half of the United States population is eligible to donate blood, yet less than four percent donate on a regular basis. A single donation of blood can be used to save up to three lives and help in treatment of cancer patients, accident victims, hemophiliacs and surgery patients. The LifeServe Blood Center is committed to serving the needs of Iowans by saving lives through volunteer blood donation.

Americans are working harder than ever. Many toil ten hours or more a day, sometimes without breaks. Does this sound like you? Breaks, especially lunch breaks, are vital to being successful on the job and maintaining your health. Many people feel that they do not have time for a lunch break or that it is time that would be better spent working. In actuality, breaks help workers achieve higher rate of productivity.
Benjamin Ross, M.D., family physician at Mayo Clinic Health System - Franciscan Healthcare in Waukon, says, “Using your lunch break wisely will allow you to better focus on your afternoon work and enjoy physical and mental health benefits.”

Pictured here, in back, is Dawn Rae Blocker with Ashley and Brittany Liddiard, all of Waukon. Together, these neighbors have joined forces working together on making fleece blankets in an effort to give back to the community. Recently, they made and donated these fleece blankets for the first baby girl and first baby boy of 2016 born at Veterans Memorial Hospital following the first baby of the year. Submitted photo.

Veterans Memorial Hospital is encouraging individuals in the area communities to sign up to participate in Live Healthy Iowa for the next 10 weeks, beginning Monday, January 25, and running through April 1. Veterans Memorial Hospital will then be awarding all those in the 10-week challenge with a participation prize at their annual wellness fair held Wednesday, May 11.
Three years ago, the hospital discontinued the In-Step with VMH eight-week community wellness program and encouraged participation in the Live Healthy Iowa state-wide wellness program instead.

You did it! After years of trying, you finally established a workout routine. Everyone is happy: You love the way you look and feel, and your healthcare provider is pleased. But now it’s the middle of winter. The days are short and temperatures are dropping.
But don’t let winter freeze your workout routine. Erica Krause-Wagner, FNP, a nurse practitioner at the Gundersen Lansing Clinic has the following tips to help you stay active all year round:
The rower at the gym can give you an amazing workout. Even though you are seated, each stroke of the rowing machine gives you a full-body workout that can send your heart rate zooming. Concerned that a long solo row is boring? Try a rowing class and really see the results soar.

The staff at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon has achieved a 95% flu immunization rate again this year. Nearly every staff member has been vaccinated against the flu by either a flu shot or the flu mist, in an effort to keep themselves and the patients they serve safe from spreading the flu virus this winter.
Sheryl Darling-Mooney, R.N., Public Health Supervisor of Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care, has worked together with hospital staff to achieve this high vaccination rate, which is one of the highest in the state.
“We highly encourage all staff members to receive the flu immunization each year for the safety of everyone around them, including themselves,” states Mooney.  “We feel it is our social responsibility to not only give the best care to our patients, but to care for our patients in the safest, healthiest environment as well, and we feel we are achieving just that.”