Health

Reality 101 was held at the Waukon High School Friday, March 7, for all the senior high school students in the Lansing, Monona, Postville and Waukon schools. This was the first time this event has been offered since it was canceled in 2020 due to COVID. Approximately 175 students participated, visiting the 20-plus stations that all represented a different monthly living expense. The students had to choose a career and then received a paycheck for one month of income, then pay taxes, open a banking account, find a place to live and a vehicle to drive, then continue to visit all of these stations paying their monthly expenses. After making all these choices and paying all these bills, they had to be sure their budget was balanced with at least a small profit by the end of the month.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Community and Home Care-Allamakee Public Health and the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS) are working together to raise awareness about shingles (herpes zoster virus) and the vaccine that helps prevent it. Shingles is a viral infection that affects one in three people during their lifetimes, causing a painful rash that can lead to chronic nerve pain, vision loss and other serious health problems. Despite these risks, many people don’t know that shingles is preventable.

by AngieMettille, RN,
Diabetes Educator
Veterans Memorial Hospital

Diabetes Alert Day is observed annually the fourth Tuesday in March. In 2025, this day falls March 25. Established by the American Diabetes Association, it serves as a “wake-up call” to raise awareness about the seriousness of diabetes and the importance of understanding your risk.

On this day, individuals are encouraged to take the Type 2 Diabetes Risk Test, a free and anonymous assessment that takes about a minute to complete. The test evaluates factors such as age, family history, and physical activity levels to determine one’s risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

Understanding your risk is crucial, as approximately 38.4 million Americans have diabetes, and 8.7 million are unaware of their condition. Additionally, around 97.6 million adults have prediabetes, placing them at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

In today’s fast-paced society, with people eating on the run and not planning ahead, eating has become a mindless act. Distractions have shifted our attention away from the actual act of eating towards televisions, computers and smart-phones. This can be problematic, since it takes your brain up to 20 minutes to realize you’re full.

When we are dividing our attention, we usually eat faster and often overeat. If you eat too fast, the fullness signal may not arrive until you have already eaten too much. This is one of the contributing factors to our obesity crisis today.

Mindful eating is a technique that helps you gain control over your environment and eating habits.  Mindful eating is about using mindfulness to reach a state of full attention to your experiences, cravings, and physical cues while eating. Using mindful eating has been shown to promote weight loss, reduce binge eating and help you feel healthier.

Allamakee County Public Health shares the following poison prevention tips compliments of the Iowa Poison Control Center, in observance of National Poison Prevention Week.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, March 20 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held at Veterans Memorial Hospital in the Large Conference Room, located on the lower level of the hospital.

This month’s topic is specifically how food affects blood sugars. They will be looking into Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) Data and seeing how certain foods affect blood sugars. Diabetes Educator Angie Mettille has many varieties of foods to show, which should be very interesting to all attending.

This diabetes class is open to everyone who has diabetes or has a friend or loved one with diabetes.  For more information on the Diabetes Support Group, call Angie Mettille, RN, Diabetes Educator, at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week was celebrated last week, March 9-15. Local Pulmonary Rehabilitation is a program offered at Veterans Memorial Hospital that teaches a person to live and breathe better with chronic lung disease. Conditions such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma, restrictive lung disease and cystic fibrosis can make doing everyday activities difficult due to shortness of breath and low activity tolerance. Participation in a pulmonary rehab program can help increase strength, manage shortness of breath, decrease anxiety and depression and implement a consistent at-home exercise program.

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Dr. Bill Withers by Joel and Mary Anderson, Scott and Linda Lea Anderson, Stan and Patricia Anderson, John Bauercamper, Brad and Erin Berns, Jacqueline Carr-Peeler, Keel and Danielle Clemmens, Dale Crozier, Sandra and Dennis Deal, Dave and Brenda Dougherty, Tim and Kristi Fahey, Ferring Construction, R.

by Connor Meyer
Respiratory Therapist
Veterans Memorial Hospital

Anyone who struggles to get a good night’s sleep, may have an underlying reason.  Common causes include stress, irregular sleep schedule, anxiety and depression, physical ailments, neurological problems, and sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that is caused by brief, repeated episodes of interrupted or shallow breathing during sleep. These episodes can last from a few seconds to several minutes.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea include snoring (most common), headaches, daytime sleepiness, frequent wake-ups at night, night sweats, waking up out of breath, and restlessness.

March is National Nutrition Month and March 12 is National Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day. A registered dietitian nutritionist is a food and nutrition expert who can translate the science of nutrition into practical solutions for healthy living. Registered dietitian nutritionists have a degree in either nutrition, dietetics, public health or a related field from well-respected, accredited colleges or universities. They have completed an internship, passed examinations, and use their nutrition expertise daily to help individuals make unique, positive lifestyle changes.

Registered Dietitian Nutritionists work throughout the community in hospitals, such as Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH), in schools, public health clinics, nursing homes, fitness centers, food management positions, food industry, universities, in research or in private practice.