Health

by Tami Gebel, OTR/L,
Veterans Memorial Hospital

“Living Life to its Fullest.” What an inspiring statement. This creed has been adopted by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) in celebration of April being National Occupational Therapy month. Occupational therapists throughout the U.S. are celebrating the month dedicated to acknowledging the profession.

The annual “Family Wellness Fair” will be held Wednesday, May 8 from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Free health testing, exhibits and healthy snacks will all be providing a complete evening of entertainment and education for families of all ages.

This is the 22nd annual event sponsored by Veterans Memorial Hospital and will include many attractions for all ages. Everyone in the area communities is welcome to attend this free event.

More details on the upcoming Family Wellness Fair will follow in a future edition of The Standard and be available on our website. For any additional information, contact Erin Berns, Public Relations Director at Veterans Memorial Hospital, at 563-568-3411.
 

“National Laboratory Professionals Week” is April 21-27. Lab professionals all over the country are promoting the theme, “Laboratory Professionals Get Results!” The Veterans Memorial Hospital Lab Techs directly handle samples from collection to reporting, giving them total confidence in the integrity of the samples they run since 70% of all medical decisions are based on lab testing. They enjoy the fact that in this small town hospital, they get to know the patients whose sample they are running, as well as be there to answer any questions. Additionally, working in a small hospital lab gives these Lab Techs experience in many specialties. Each one of them must be prepared to crossmatch and issue units of blood, spot possible Leukemias, identify a urinary tract infection, describe an infection-causing agent or call a chemistry result to the ER indicating a heart attack, just to name a few. Pictured above are VMH’s Lab Techs, which have a total of 160 years combined experience.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will again be offering a pain control presentation for the public April 24 and 25.   Dr. Dave Schwartz will again be hosting these informative pain control presentations which will both detail the two new pain control options he offers at Veterans Memorial Hospital. Both presentations will include the same information, but are being offered on two different days at different times to try to suit more schedules.

The Wednesday, April 24 presentation will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of Veterans Memorial Hospital. The Thursday, April 25 presentation will begin at 10 a.m. and will also be held in the hospital’s Large Conference Room.

The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Thursday, May 2 from 12-5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church located in south Waukon. Blood drives are held once a month in Waukon to allow for more donors to give. The LifeServe Blood Center supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon with its blood and blood products.

Blood centers across the United States see a decrease in blood donations during the busy summer months.  During the summer, people become more active, have busier schedules, spend more time outdoors and take vacations. While donations decline, hospitals see an increase in the need for blood. 

More driving can mean more automobile accidents. A person who has suffered severe injuries from an automobile accident can need up to 50 units of blood.

by Tami Gebel, O.T.,
Veterans Memorial Hospital

April is National Occupational Therapy Month. Occupational therapists work in outpatient clinics to assist people in recovery from work-related injuries. Many times careless mistakes lead to injuries. Other times injuries occur due to an obscure accident or just repetition of the same movement over and over.

However an injury occurs, it often leads to pain, time off from work, a change in work duties, and inability to complete all activities (even non-work related activities). Employers do not like work-related injuries because they often result in a loss in wages, production and manpower.

“Welcome to Medicare” is a free, two-hour seminar offered by the Veterans Memorial Hospital Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) counselors.  This program will be held Monday, April 22 from 5-7 p.m. in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of Veterans Memorial Hospital.

“We’re excited to be offering another free seminar to the community,” says Russ Hagen, SHIIP volunteer.  “Medicare is such an important program and understanding what it offers helps assure that anyone eligible gets the health benefits they deserve.”

“Welcome to Medicare” will cover Medicare Part A and Part B benefits, the prescription drug benefit (Part D), Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare supplement insurance.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will again be offering a pain control presentation for the public April 24 and 25.   Dr. Dave Schwartz will again be hosting these informative pain control presentations which will both detail the two new pain control options he offers at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Both presentations will include the same information but are being offered on two different days at different times to try to suit more schedules.

The Wednesday, April 24 presentation will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of Veterans Memorial Hospital. The Thursday, April 25 presentation will begin at 10 a.m. and will also be held in the hospital’s Large Conference Room.

The Care for Children Foundation, based out of Altoona, made an incredible donation to Veterans Memorial Hospital in April for the benefit of all the pediatric patients served by the hospital. Educational toys, therapy items, art supplies, an iPad, play mats, tie blankets, and even a child recliner were all dropped off by these friends of the Foundation pictured in the accompanying photo below.

It is the right of the patient to choose the medical care they wish in any situation, even when the patient is too sick or hurt to tell their family members or their physician. The way to ensure the correct healthcare wishes are carried out is to complete an Advance Directive. Advance Directives include: Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare and/or a Living will.

1. In order to have an Advance Directive the patient will need to discuss their wishes with their family and physician. An Advance Directive should be done by discussing your wishes with your family and physician and then completing our Power of Attorney for Healthcare form.