Health

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 patient can use between two and 25 units.
·Liver Transplant patients can use up to 100 units.
·Auto/Trauma Accident patients can use anywhere from five to 100 units.
·Premature infants can use up to one to four units.
·Burn victims case use up to 20 units of platelets.
· Heart surgery patients can use three to eight units of red cells and 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 Thursday, November 2 from 12:30-5 p.m. The blood drive will be held at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon.

Reservations are being taken now for the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation’s 26th  Annual Christmas Fantasy to be held Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, November 10, 11, 12 and 13 at the Allamakee Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. The theme for this year’s event will be “A Christmas To Remember.”

Reservations are now being taken for the popular Saturday and Monday Noon luncheons and the Saturday evening Wine, Cheese and Dessert Event.

The luncheons are sponsored by the Allamakee County Cattlemen’s Association and will be held Saturday, November 11 at Noon, and again Monday, November 13 at Noon. A full meal will be served plus entertainment will be provided at both events. All guests will have ample time to view all of the displays.

Reservations can be made by calling 563-568-6262.

Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care is offering flu shots every Wednesday afternoon during regular immunization clinics. The next flu shot clinics will be held Wednesday, October 25 from 1-4 p.m. and again Wednesday, November 1 from 1-6 p.m.  The Community and Home Care Immunization Clinic is located on the upper level of Veterans Memorial Hospital.

Immunization clinics are held from 1-6 p.m. the first and third Wednesdays of the month, and from 1-4 p.m. all other Wednesdays. Flu vaccine, pneumonia vaccine and a combination of flu and pneumonia vaccine will all be available. Tetanus shots will be offered as well.

Medicare does cover the costs for a flu shot. Billing for Medicare will be completed by the Community and Home Care staff, but participants will need to bring their physician’s name and their Medicare number with them.  Pneumonia shots and Tdap shots are also available.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will be offering a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for health care providers (those working in health related fields such as physicians, nurses, EMTs etc.), Monday, November 13, beginning at 5:30 p.m. This “Health Care Professional” CPR class will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of the hospital.

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 three participants is required. For more information and to register, call Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon at 563-568-3411.
 

The next LifeServe Blood Center Blood Drive will be held Thursday, November 2, from 12-5 p.m., at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon. Blood drives are held once per month. 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.

Over half of the United States population is eligible to donate blood, yet less than four percent donate on a regular basis. A single donation of blood can be used to save up to three lives and help in treatment of cancer patients, accident victims, hemophiliacs and surgery patients. The LifeServe Blood Center is committed to serving the needs of Iowans by saving lives through volunteer blood donation.

Veterans Memorial Hospital’s Diabetes Self-Management Education Program will be offering another free educational program on “Diabetes Prevention” out in the area communities served by Veterans Memorial Hospital.  This time the diabetes staff will be hosting a program in the community of Monona,  Monday, October 30, at the Monona Community Center from 6-7:30 p.m. Teresa Myers, RN, Certified Diabetes Educator, and Angie Mettille, RN, will be teaching all those attending how to reduce the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes.

Pre-Diabetes is a condition that comes before Type 2 diabetes when the blood glucose (sugar) levels are higher than normal, but aren’t high enough to be called diabetes. It is a silent disease, meaning someone can have it without even knowing it. Cutting back on calories and fat, being physically active and losing weight can reverse pre-diabetes and therefore delay or prevent Type 2 diabetes.

Veterans Memorial Hospital has set October 20 as the date for an open house at its new Monona Clinic. The event will be held from 1-6 p.m. that day with a ribbon cutting hosted by the Monona Chamber of Commerce at 1 p.m. Everyone from the area communities is welcome to attend.

The new clinic providers will be all be on site including Dr. Andrea Venteicher, Nurse Practitioner Krista Begalske and Nurse Practitioner Lori Vlazny. Dr. Venteicher is currently working at the clinic full-time. Begalske is scheduled to begin in mid-November. Vlazny will then begin working part-time hours at the clinic to help ensure two providers will be available most every day. Guided tours of the clinic will be available from the entire clinic staff.

Hospital staff will also be on hand to perform free blood sugar/diabetes tests. Hemoglobin tests and blood pressure checks will be provided by the Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care Department.

Veterans Memorial Hospital’s Diabetes Self-Management Education Program will be offering another free educational program on “Diabetes Prevention” out in the area communities served by Veterans Memorial Hospital. This time the diabetes staff will be hosting a program in the community of Monona, Monday, October 30 at the Monona Community Center from 6-7:30 p.m. Teresa Myers, RN, Certified Diabetes Educator, and Angie Mettille, RN, will be teaching all those attending how to reduce the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes.

Pre-Diabetes is a condition that comes before Type 2 diabetes when the blood glucose (sugar) levels are higher than normal, but aren’t high enough to be called diabetes. It is a silent disease, meaning someone can have it without even knowing it. Cutting back on calories and fat, being physically active and losing weight can reverse pre-diabetes and therefore delay or prevent Type 2 diabetes.

VMH will sponsor a Babysitting Seminar Saturday, October 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The class will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of Veterans Memorial Hospital. Intended participants are individuals 10 years of age and older who are responsible for their own care after school until their parents come home from work, and individuals who care for other children in or outside of their own home. Girls are not the sole babysitters in this society. Boys are also welcome and encouraged to attend.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  The Radiology Department at Veterans Memorial Hospital holds extended hours into the evening to allow for more mammogram appointments to be scheduled after work, making the option of mammography more accessible.

Mammography (an x-ray picture of the breast) is the single most effective method to detect breast changes that may be cancer, long before physical symptoms can be seen or felt. Early detection, followed by up-to-date treatment, provides women with better chances for long-term freedom from the disease.

But mammography screening must be done routinely.