Health

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon will again be holding its regular Weekend Clinic over the New Year holiday weekend. The Weekend Clinic will be available Saturday, December 31, Sunday, January 1 and Monday, January 2, from 1-5 p.m. each day for all non-emergencies.

Weekend Clinics are held every Saturday and Sunday at Veterans Memorial Hospital, all year long, from 1-5 p.m. each day for non-emergencies. Non-emergencies are considered ailments that could be seen by a physician in a clinic and do not require an emergency room visit, such as minor injuries, sore throats and/or ear aches that cannot wait until regular clinic business hours. These Weekend Clinics save families the cost of regular emergency room fees on the weekends when the other local clinics are closed.

Anyone needing to utilize these special weekend clinics over the holiday is asked to enter the hospital through the main entrance and register with the receptionist. Walk-ins are welcome.

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Bob Butler by the 9:00 a.m. Coffee Guys, in memory of Arlene Ahlstrom by Elsa Hager and Richard and Dorothy Sandry, and in memory of Marty Osier by Wayne and Nona Sawyer, Audrey Angel, Kay Zimmerman, Jane Butler, Wayne and Janet Kreitzer, and Dave and Laurie Martin.

The Gundersen Lansing Clinic will be starting the New Year with additional hours. Beginning the week of January 3, Gundersen Lansing will be open Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. This means the clinic will now be open five days a week from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

In addition, Gundersen Lansing has added family medicine physician Coley Barbee, MD, to their team. Dr. Barbee joins Erica Krause-Wagner, NP, and provides the full scope of family care for patients of all ages. This includes well-woman care, contraception management, preventative care and chronic disease management. Dr. Barbee’s practice includes obstetrics, and she will help patients deliver their babies at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon.

Dr. Barbee began seeing patients at the Gundersen Waukon Clinic in November and now will spend one day a week in Lansing.

Waukon State Bank recently made a generous $5,000 donation toward this new ambulance serving Waukon and the surrounding area, bringing the fleet to three fully equipped ambulances at Veterans Memorial Hospital. Pictured above, left to right, are Waukon State Bank Senior Vice President Dawn Farley, Veterans Memorial Hospital Administrator Mike Myers, Waukon State Bank President Gail Prestemon and Veterans Memorial Hospital EMS Supervisor and EMT-P Jeff Mitchell. The City of Waukon recently made an addition on to the current city ambulance garage to house this unit. Veterans Memorial Hospital, the Veterans Memorial Hospital Foundation, the City of Waukon and the Waukon Rural Ambulance Board together approved and purchased a new ambulance for the Waukon area service. The hospital’s ambulance runs have increased by over 75 % in the last five years, averaging 1.7 runs per day and eight to 10 transfers per week.

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon will be offering special Christmas  Weekend Clinics Saturday, December 24, Sunday, December 25, and Monday, December 26, from 1-5 p.m. each day.

The following weekend for the New Year’s holiday, the weekend clinics will also be available Saturday, December 31, Sunday, January 1, and Monday, January 2, from 1-5 p.m. each day.
Weekend Clinics are held every Saturday and Sunday year-round at Veterans Memorial Hospital for non-emergencies and help save families the cost of regular emergency room fees on the weekends when the other local clinics are closed.

Anyone needing to utilize these special weekend clinics over the holiday is asked to enter the hospital through the main entrance and register with the receptionist. Walk-ins are welcome. For more information, call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

Veterans Memorial Hospital is offering a new one-year weight loss program for anyone wanting to lose weight. This newly structured program includes a 12-month accountability calendar and monthly support classes. All enrollees will also have access to the weekly weight loss video blog hosted by Veterans Memorial Hospital.

This new weight loss program is designed for those who have a hard time getting to weekly classes or feel that they may need more accountability to lose weight.

It will begin Wednesday, January 4. The same program will be offered at noon and again at 6 p.m. that same day so any interested individuals can choose which meeting time works best for their schedule.

The special price for this program is only $25. Call Registered Dietitian Jill Fleming at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411, ext. 567 to reserve a space for this weight loss class.
 

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Don Lyon by Dave and Laurie Martin, Irene Allison, Jim and Sue Bieber and Carol Lyon, and in memory of LaVerne Peterson by Bob and Judy Iseli, Jim and Bev Needham, Bob and Marilyn Bulman, and family and friends of LaVerne Peterson.

Memorials were also received in memory of Pat Kerndt by Patsy Kerndt and Kerndt Brothers Savings Bank, and in memory of Fran Busness by Fred and Geralyn Smith, Mae Jean Bakke, Jack and Sally Hagensick, Byron and Darlene Schultz, Lyle and Marilyn Larson, Dave and Laurie Martin, and Jerry and Linda Siegrist.

Memorials and donations are greatly appreciated by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation.  The Foundation is a 501C3 organization. All donations to the Foundation are tax deductible. Memorials and donations can be sent to 40 First Street SE, Waukon, IA  52172.
 

Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A) has announced that it is supporting a national campaign led by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a), in collaboration with the AARP Foundation, to raise awareness of the growing problem of social isolation and loneliness in older Americans. It is estimated that one in five adults over age 50 are affected by isolation, a problem that has been associated with higher rates of chronic disease, depression, dementia and death.

This topic is the focus of the annual Eldercare Locator Home for the Holidays Campaign, developed to encourage discussion of important issues affecting older Americans at a time of the year when family and friends often gather together. The campaign features a consumer brochure, “Expand Your Circles: Prevent Isolation and Loneliness As You Age,” which offers information and resources to help older adults reduce their risk of becoming isolated or lonely.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Radiology Department has announced they have completed an upgrade to a new, fully digital radiography system which included a complete equipment upgrade and remodel of the radiology rooms.

One of the new machines that has recently been installed is a digital radiography room. Now when an X-ray exposure is taken, the image comes up instantly on the computer monitor, just like a digital camera at home. Previously, the image would be exposed onto a cassette, and run through a reader, which took about 90 seconds. The advantage of this new system is to be able to get patients done with their radiography exams quickly so they can get results faster. The new digital system not only allows for quicker exam time, but also reduces radiation dose to the patient.

MedLink AIR, Gundersen Health System’s emergency and critical care air transport service, will permanently add a second helicopter to provide the best emergency care for the local region.

The Gundersen Board of Trustees has approved the purchase of a second helicopter. Gundersen has been leasing a second helicopter since June on a trial basis.

Stephanie Hill, program director for MedLink AIR, says Gundersen will continue to lease until the new helicopter is purchased and ready for service and additional crew members are hired and trained.

When the new, second helicopter and crews are ready by the end of 2017, the two helicopters will be permanently based outside La Crosse, one at the Decorah Airport and one at the Sparta-Fort McCoy Airport.