News Center newsletter

Veterans Memorial Hospital will be offering the next recertification course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for health care providers (those working in health related fields such as physicians, nurses, EMS, etc.) Thursday, December 2, beginning at 5 p.m. This “Health Care Professional” CPR class will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of the hospital.

There is a small fee to attend this class and all registrants should bring along their own pocket mask, if they have one. Upon successful completion of the class, the participant will receive an electronic card certifying them as a BLS Healthcare Provider for a two-year period.

Pre-registration plus a minimum of three participants is required for the class to be held. All participants will be screened at the entrance, required to physically distance during the class and wear a mask.

Veterans Memorial Hospital has offered Babysitting classes for area youth for years and will now begin to offer Grandparenting classes as well.

Corinne Cook, RN, Babysitting Class instructor, is going to begin to offer Grandparenting Classes Saturday, December 4 at 9:30 a.m. In these classes, new or soon-to-be grandparents will learn all the new protocols to use when caring for their new grandchild. Some topics covered will include basic baby care, car seat safety, Tylenol/Ibuprofen dosing charts, home safety, poison control information, infant/child CPR, choking and other emergency medical information, as well as tips to support parents such as handling the baby blues and postpartum depression.  Free-will donations will be accepted to cover the costs of the class.

During the winter months, blood donations are especially needed to help prevent a critical blood shortage. Local hospital patients rely on life-saving blood donations from volunteer blood donors. Help is needed to guarantee an adequate blood supply is available at all times.

The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Monday, December 6 from 12-5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon. Blood drives are held monthly in Waukon to allow for more donors to give. The LifeServe Blood Center supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with their blood and blood products. Here are some interesting blood facts from the LifeServe Blood Center:

Veterans Memorial Hospital will hold a Prepared Childbirth Education class (formerly called Lamaze) Saturday, December 18, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Large Conference Room.

The Prepared Childbirth Education classes at Veterans Memorial Hospital are offered in one half-day session. Tours of the OB Department are available with these sessions as well. There is a small fee per session for the Prepared Childbirth Education classes that are offered every three months at Veterans Memorial Hospital.

Preregistration is necessary, as seats are limited. To register, email childbirth@vmhospital.com or contact Jayne McCormick, RN, Nursing and OB Manger at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Shirley Elliott by Dave and Karen Mathis, Cindy Barness, Angeline Schulte, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Ron and Nancy Brandt, Mary Ann Hager, Thomas and Judy Kemp, and Pat Pettingill.

Memorials were also received in memory of Eleanor O’Neill by Jerry and Linda Siegrist, Sandra Williams, Mary Axmear, Kay Carter, Kathy Clark, Nan Grangaard, Jim and Jill Kiesau, Roger and Rita Ludwig, Dave and Laurie Martin, Dale and Rita Mathis, Don and Connie Nagel, Sigurd and Barb Ness, Diane Regan, Gary and Janis Schulte, Larry and Nancy Straate, Terry and Laurie Welch, Barb White, and Chuck and Lois Votsmier.

In addition, the Foundation received memorial donations from Albin Massman in memory of Verna Massman, by Jeff Moe and Mary Ann Hager in memory of Dominick Damiano, and by Carol Paus and Richard and Sue Schulte in memory of Willard Meyer.

Lisa and Erik Hagen of Waterville announce the birth of their son, Matthew William Hagen, born October 20, 2021 at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, WI. He weighed 7 lbs. 3 ozs. and measured 19-1/2 inches in length at the time of his birth. He joins siblings, Michael Hagen (19), Katherine Hagen (15), Hannah Hagen (13) and Mark Hagen (6).

Grandparents are Elmo and Sheri Hagen of Waterville and the late Willard and Marsha Bieber of Waukon. The late Viola Moen of Waukon is a great-grandparent.
 

Dan and Kari Ness of Cedar Rapids announce the birth of their son, Rylan Daniel Ness, born October 31, 2021 at University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City. He weighed 8 lbs. 6 ozs. and measured 20-3/4 inches in length at the time of his birth. He joins a brother, Easton (2-1/2).

Grandparents are Rodney and Linda Zitek of Cedar Rapids and Scott and Karen Ness of Waterville. Great-grandparents are Betty Zitek of Cedar Rapids, Mary Fink of Waukon and Sig and Barb Ness of Waukon. Joyce Kuhse of Postville is a great-great-grandparent.

To the Editor:

It’s hard to know which spurious claim to address in any given Lowell Engle letter, so I threw a dart and went with climate change.

In his letter of November 10, Mr. Engle dismisses the threat posed by climate change, writing, “There is not a meteorologist that I have heard who agrees with that.” Without knowing how many meteorologists Mr. Engle has heard, I decided to check with the American Meteorological Society (AMS) to see if I could get an overview of their opinions.

Right off the bat, the AMS website states: “Climate Change is among the most pressing issues facing the world today.”

To the Editor:

With regards to the flag that flies in Rossville: Yes, the owner has a legal right to fly it, but is it morally right? How do you open up a conversation with someone who feels the need to express themselves with vulgarity, no matter the rationale?

A recent letter writer said that he does not know a meteorologist that believes in the threat of climate change.

Decades of scientific data, including satellite images, show that human-caused climate change is real and affecting our planet at an alarming rate, according to multiple agencies and organizations including the United Nations, the National Academy of Sciences, NASA, NOAA and the American Meteorological Society.

The Nobel Prize for Physics this fall was given to two pioneering climate scientists who laid the foundation for our understanding of the role of human activities and greenhouse gases in climate change, calling climate change “a major crisis”.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
November 25: Office closed in observance of Thanksgiving
December 6: Deadline to Return COC Ballots
December 15: Fall Seeded Crop Certification Deadline
March 15: ARCPLC Program Deadline