Health

More EMTs greatly needed in area

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Business and Community Solutions will be offering an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course in Waukon through video conferencing broadcast from Calmar. This 138-hour course will begin Tuesday, October 5.

Areas of study include an introduction to emergency medical services systems, roles and responsibilities of EMTs, anatomy and physiology, medical emergencies, trauma, special considerations for working in the pre-hospital setting, and patient transportation.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital together with Elliott Jewelers of Waukon will be hosting their 16th annual Women’s Health Day wellness event and luncheon Tuesday, September 28 at the Waukon Banquet Center. All ages are invited to attend any part of this educational event, beginning at 11 a.m. with a wellness fair offering a variety of free health tests and information, and a salad luncheon and program held from Noon to 1 p.m.  Due to COVID-19, attendees will be asked to wear masks at the event until they sit down for the meal and again when finished eating. Fewer vendors will be on site this year in order to more safely distance the tables with fewer attendees sitting at each table.

Currently, Veterans Memorial Hospital is experiencing a very limited supply of COVID-19 testing kits and asks that anyone experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms seek one of the following testing options:

• Test Iowa Kits are available free of charge at the main reception desk at Veterans Memorial Hospital. With these kits you collect your saliva and send the test in free of charge via UPS.  All instructions are clearly included in the kit with a phone number to call if you have any questions. There is currently just a 24 hour turn-around time for results. The Test Iowa Kits are available at the hospital from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekends and holidays.   
• Over the counter test kits can be purchased at all local pharmacies. These have immediate, rapid results; however this is an unverified form of testing and no work excuses can be given based on these results.

Veterans Memorial Hospital was again made aware last week of another phone scam involving the hospital name. This time the caller is offering a Medicare insurance package. Veterans Memorial Hospital does not have any association with these calls and wishes to warn anyone who receives them to hang up.

For any questions on any emails or phone calls that may have been suspiciously received from the hospital, feel free to call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411 for more information.
 

How much blood is needed by certain patients? Here are some facts from the LifeServe Blood Center:

• Cancer patients can use up to eight units of blood a month.
• Bone Marrow Transplant patients can use up to two units a day.
• Cardiovascular Surgery patients can use between two and 25 units.
• Liver Transplant patients can use up to 100 units.
• Auto/Trauma Accident patients can use up to five to 100 units.
• Premature infants can use up to one to four units.
• Burn victims can use up to 20 units of platelets.
• Heart surgery patients can use up to three to eight units of red cells and from one to 10 units of platelets.
• Organ transplant patients can use 10-30 units of blood.

The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Monday, October 4 from 12-5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital, together with Elliott Jewelers of Waukon, will be hosting their 16th annual Women’s Health Day wellness event and luncheon Tuesday, September 28 at the Waukon Banquet Center. All ages are invited to attend any part of this educational event, beginning at 11 a.m. with a wellness fair offering a variety of free health tests and information, and a salad luncheon and program held from Noon to 1 p.m.

Due to COVID-19, attendees will be asked to wear masks at the event until they sit down for the meal and again when finished eating. Fewer vendors will be on site this year in order to more safely distance the tables with fewer attendees sitting at each table.

“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, September 20 from 5-7 p.m. in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of Veterans Memorial Hospital.

“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.

SHIIP, the Senior Health Insurance Information Program, is a service of the State of Iowa. Local SHIIP counselor Russ Hagen is trained by the State and does not sell or promote any insurance companies, policies or agents. New volunteer Nancy Schoh is now also available for SHIIP counseling at Veterans Memorial Hospital, which is a local sponsor for SHIIP in Allamakee County.

With COVID-19 cases on the rise in this area, many are caring for someone at home who has been diagnosed with the virus. The following is a list of ways to care for and support those sick at home with COVID-19 from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):

Provide Support
• See if over-the-counter medicines for fever help the person feel better.
• Make sure the person who is sick drinks a lot of fluids and rests.

Watch for warning signs
• Call their doctor if the person keeps getting sicker.
• For medical emergencies, call 911 and tell the dispatcher that the person has or might have COVID-19.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, September 16 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. Masks will be required to be worn.

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 at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon has rolled out its new patient portal, called My Care Corner. Patient portals allow patients online, easy access to their personal medical record. The hospital emailed out a notification to all patients directing them to register on this new app.

Patients are instructed to click on the register link, then hit “continue” to create a new account or log in with current patient portal credentials, if the patient has already set an account up.

Anyone having difficulty with this new program is advised to create a new account in the My Care Corner application. All previous data will then transfer into this new patient portal.

Those who may need assistance with their account should call Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon at 563-568-3411.