Health

The local Grief Support Group will be holding its monthly meeting at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Tuesday, June 11 at 5 p.m. in the Meditation Healing Center, located just inside the main entrance of the hospital.

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 group meets the second Tuesday of each month at Veterans Memorial Hospital.
 

May is Older Americans Month. Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care-Allamakee Public Health has a mission of aiding older Americans to remain in their homes, living independently for as long as possible. Sometimes the role of the home caregivers is long-term, other times just for a short, transitional period of time.

Registered nurses and trained home care aides travel the Allamakee County and surrounding area offering nursing care and in-home assistance to people of all ages. They offer a variety of services including nursing visits, medication set-up and administration, dressing cares, IVs, catheter and colostomy cares, overseeing rehabilitation in-home programs, and all personal cares.  RN staff is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s ok to have a mental illness and it’s important those with a mental illness know it’s ok to not be ok in order to help reduce the stigma and encourage them to seek the care and treatment they need.

Tara Fink, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, joined the Veterans Memorial Hospital Clinic staff nearly two years ago to offer behavioral health care to help meet the great need for mental health care in northeast Iowa. Tara provides consultations at both the Waukon and Postville clinic locations and offers medication and non-medication management options for all mental illnesses.

May is American Stroke Month.  There’s an old saying: April showers bring May flowers. “The showers are the bad things that happen to us in life and the flowers are the good things that come from it,” reflected Danny Schlitter at the most recent stroke support group. Last month the group learned about the importance of drinking water to keep bodies healthy. This month the group planted seeds to represent the good things that come from those showers in life; hence, April showers bring May flowers.

No two strokes are the same. They can affect either the left or right side of the body and can range from mild to severe. Someone with a mild stroke may only have trouble remembering words at times, whereas, someone with a severe stroke may have difficulty walking, talking, or swallowing safely.

Some strokes may only take a few months to recover while others could take a lifetime.

Dr. Val Lyons of Charles City recently announced his retirement, effective May 31, 2024. He traveled to Waukon and many other communities providing orthopedic consultations and surgeries. He had been practicing in Veterans Memorial Hospital since 1992, serving hundreds of area patients in those 32 years. He recently made the decision to move to a new chapter in his life.

“I am honored to have served the Waukon and surrounding community for over 32 years and will certainly miss my interactions with my patients over the years. I have enjoyed working with the staff and in particular the specialty clinic and operating room staff,” states Dr. Lyons. “I am truly thankful to Veterans Memorial Hospital for accommodating and facilitating my practice over the years and wish them continued success.”

Summer is a time of high blood demand in all communities. Donating blood is easy and one single blood donation can save the lives of up to three sick or injured hospital patients.

The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Monday, June 3, from 12-5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon.

The members of the Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) will be holding their second annual garage sale at Freedom Bank in Waukon in conjunction with the Waukon City-Wide Garage Sales. The Auxiliary garage sale will be open Thursday, June 6, from 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. and again Friday, June 7, from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital is devoted to providing the hospital and its patients and visitors with many services. The Auxiliary also holds annual fundraisers such as the Women’s Health Day Luncheon the last Tuesday of September, the Pillow-Perk in mid-October, the Gift Case at the hospital and its annual membership drive each July.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) and both the Waukon and Postville Clinics will be undergoing a telephone system upgrade Thursday, May 30. The Postville Clinic will transition to the new system in the morning, with the hospital and Waukon Clinic completing the transformation in the afternoon that same day.

It should only take a very short while for this process to be completed, but in the case of a delay, be sure to call the hospital or clinic back within just a few minutes to be connected.

As always, anyone with any type of emergency should be sure to call 9-1-1.

The Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation’s 31st Annual Benefit Golf Tournament will be held Monday, June 17, at the Waukon Golf and Country Club beginning with a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m.

Teams of three will play 18 holes of golf. Breakfast rolls, lunch, dinner and prizes for everyone will all be provided for the donation of $75.

This is the 31st annual golf tournament the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation has sponsored.  All those interested are asked to pre-register their team by calling the Waukon Golf and Country Club at 563-568-9939.

The Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation is a volunteer board who raise funds to help promote health care in the area communities served by Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH).

This is National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week. National EMS Week honors the lifesaving care EMS providers offer nationwide, 24-hours a day, seven days a week. The national theme for EMS Week this year is “Honoring our Past, Forging our Future.”

EMS Week began in 1974 after a proclamation was called on the nation to support efforts to improve emergency medical care across the county. Much has changed in the care provided by emergency medical professionals since that time, but the dedication to help others continues.

The theme this year recognized all of those past contributions, saving more lives with less suffering.  The theme also inspires EMS professionals who are just starting out, to build on the successes of the past and forging the future of the next generation and the tools they will need to deliver compassionate care and alleviate suffering in communities everywhere.