Health

Two new injection options are now available at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon to help with chronic pain or soft tissue musculoskeletal pain - Bone Marrow Concentrate (BMC) and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP). These new procedures provide patients with another option for pain control instead of only traditional means, such as surgery or pain pills. Both procedures have been successful in reducing or relieving pain, making it possible for many patients to resume their normal activities or delay surgery. The following is a series of questions and answers about these procedures as answered by the provider, Dr. Dave Schwartz.

Veterans Memorial Hospital, together with the Alzheimer’s Association®, will be offering another day of presentations concerning Alzheimer’s and Dementia for both the general public and for caregivers of anyone with these conditions.

The second of this three-part series will be held Wednesday, July 3 in the ICN Conference Room of Veterans Memorial Hospital.  The first session that day will be held at Noon for the general public. Anyone who wishes to attend is welcome to bring their own sack lunch in with them to enjoy during the session which is entitled, “Know the 10 Signs.” This program will teach the 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease, plus hear from people who have the disease and find out how to recognize the signs in oneself and others.

One in seven people entering the hospital will need blood. Attend the next LifeServe Blood Center Blood Drive to be held Thursday, July 11 from 12-5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon. Blood drives are held once per month in Waukon. The LifeServe Blood Center supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with its 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.

Veterans Memorial Hospital, in cooperation with the American Heart Association, is offering a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for lay people (those not working in healthcare), which includes child care providers, Wednesday, July 17 from 5-8 p.m.

The CPR class, which will cover adult, child and infant CPR, will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of the hospital. The cost of the class, for certification or recertification, is the same. Upon successful completion of the class, the participant will receive an electronic card certifying them in Heartsaver CPR AED for a two-year time period. This class does not include a first aid certification.

CPR is administered when someone’s breathing, pulse, or both, stop. When both of them stop, the victim has suffered sudden death, which can be caused by poisoning, drowning, choking, suffocation, electrocution, smoke inhalation, or the most common cause, heart attack.

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon will begin the next Prepared Childbirth Education classes (formerly called Lamaze) Monday, July 8, and those classes will continue for two more consecutive Monday evenings, beginning at 6 p.m. for each session, in the Large Conference Room.

The Prepared Childbirth Education classes at VMH are offered in three sessions that allow the expectant parents to choose which topics they wish to learn more about. They may choose to attend one, two or all three sessions. Session 1 covers labor, delivery and the postpartum period following delivery; Session 2 includes relaxation, breathing and pain management; and Session 3 covers infant care. Tours of the OB Department are available with each session as well.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital will be holding its monthly Euchre Marathon for all individuals of the community interested Thursday, July 18. Men and women are welcome to attend, even if not an Auxiliary member. The Euchre marathons are held the third Thursday of each month at the Senior Citizens Room at the Waukon Wellness Center.

The Auxiliary’s Euchre Marathons begin at 11:30 a.m. with dinner, if chosen.  Call Northland Agency on Aging at 877-838-8077 if choosing to eat dinner. Card playing will follow at 12:30 p.m. until approximately 2:30 p.m. Anyone wishing to stay and play cards following the Senior Citizens meal is more than welcome to do so. All proceeds go towards the Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital. Prizes will be awarded.

Anyone interested in attending, but preferring to play Bridge is also welcome to join in. It is asked that they come with their own table of four players, however.

The next Caregiver Support Group meeting will be held Monday, July 15 at 1:30 p.m. in the Meditation Room in the front entrance of Veterans Memorial Hospital.  When a person is diagnosed with a chronic illness, a lot of focus and attention is put on how to keep that person as independent and as healthy as possible.

When a person loses some of their abilities to care for themselves the burden of care is often assumed by the spouse, a child (or children), or sometimes friends and neighbors. While everyone who becomes a caregiver handles the added responsibility with different skill sets, attitudes and understanding levels, there is no question that there is a very real strain associated with care giving.

Recent studies have estimated that the stress caused just by becoming the caregiver of an adult with a chronic illness or disability will take seven years off of a person’s life. With more and more Iowans aging, this is a real concern within the local community.

The local Grief Support Group will hold its monthly meeting at Veterans Memorial Hospital Tuesday, July 9 at 5 p.m. in the Education Conference Room.

This informal meeting is open to anyone suffering from any type of loss, whether it be death, divorce, illness or some other grief.

Feel free to attend and bring a friend. This grief support meets the second Tuesday of each month at Veterans Memorial Hospital.
 

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will not hold a regular meeting in July. The group will begin holding its regular monthly meetings again in August.

For more information on the Diabetes Support Group, call Angie Mettille, RN, Diabetes Educator, at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

Veterans Memorial Hospital will not be offering a CPR course in July. The next class available will be offered Wednesday, August 21, and will be offered for health care professionals.

The cost for all CPR classes, for certification or recertification, at Veterans Memorial Hospital is the same and all registrants should bring along their own pocket mask. The card received with the course does certify attendants in CPR for two years.

Pre-registration plus a minimum of four participants is required. For more information and to register for next the CPR Course, call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.