Health

Friday evening, May 10, for the second year in a row, eleven original members of four local bands, reunited as Bandmates, Brothers and Friends, performed once again in Waukon to benefit the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation.   The crowd at the Allamakee Fairgrounds Pavilion was estimated well over 500 who attended the event to witness this second reunion and celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Toe Tappers band as well.

The Toe Tappers never had the opportunity to celebrate this milestone due to COVID, but were overwhelmed by fans at this event. Joe Sweeney, who has always been the one concrete member of this band all these years, opened the show with Lyle Hanson, another long-time member, in addition to Dean Mielke and Sis Stemper.

According to the Healthiest State Initiative, there are steps you can take to help a friend or family member through a mental health crisis. A mental health crisis could look like suicidal thoughts and behaviors, self-injury, a panic attack, a reaction to a traumatic event or disruptive/aggressive behavior.

by Brandy Strub, MS, RD/LD, Dietitian, Veterans Memorial Hospital

Spring has sprung! That means it’s time to start thinking about getting your vegetable garden started, if you haven’t already. Never had a vegetable garden... then now’s a good time to start one, especially if you want to eat a little healthier, increase your activity level, need to decrease some stress, want to save some money on groceries, or need to increase your vitamin D level with a little sunshine.

The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Monday, June 3, from 12-5 p.m., at the First Baptist Church located in south Waukon. Blood drives are held the first Monday of each month in Waukon, to allow for more donors to give. The LifeServe Blood Center supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with their blood and blood products.

Blood centers across the United States see a decrease in blood donations during the busy summer months.  During the summer, people become more active, have busier schedules, spend more time outdoors and take vacations. While donations decline, hospitals see an increase in the need for blood.  More driving can mean more automobile accidents.  A person who has suffered severe injuries from an automobile accident can need up to 50 units of blood.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) has been serving northeast Iowa since 1950. The hospital staff is known for caring for their patients, treating them just like family, as witnessed many times by Jan Lotza from Monona.

Jan’s husband, Lawrence Lotza, had a few lengthy hospital stays at Veterans Memorial Hospital this last year. First, he suffered a stroke on a Sunday morning in October and came to the hospital’s Emergency Room (ER) where he received immediate treatment.

“Within a couple minutes, Lawrence had six people working on him in the ER, getting him stabilized,” explains Jan. “He stayed at Veterans Memorial Hospital on skilled care and received wonderful therapy that helped him get back home.  Then a few months later, as he was coming into the hospital for therapy as an outpatient, he had a heart attack and again received that wonderful immediate care before being transferred to La Crosse.”

National Hospital Week is an annual event recognizing the 5,000 hospital, health systems and networks in the United States, as well as the more than six million people who provide care to individuals in communities.

Hospitals play a huge role in the economic health of the state. According to the Iowa Hospital Association, in Iowa alone, there are 123 hospitals in 90 counties, paying $5.7 billion in wages and benefits to the 77,000 people employed in Iowa hospitals. Another 145,000 additional jobs are supported by Iowa hospitals. One in 21 nonfarm-employed Iowans work for hospitals.

“For Veterans Memorial Hospital, we have a payroll of just over $17,000,000 that has an economic impact of just over $50,000,000 in northeast Iowa,” stated Michael Coyle, CEO of Veterans Memorial Hospital.  “VMH completes about 55,000 outpatient visits per year which allows our patients and their families to have lower healthcare costs while receiving outstanding patient care locally.”

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) “Family Wellness Fair” welcomed a huge crowd of over 300 visitors this year during its Hospital Week celebration. Visitors toured the Medical Clinic, Hospital and Gundersen Clinic in their route to over 40 booths and educational displays, demonstrations, activities, and giveaways provided by the numerous agencies who service Allamakee and northern Clayton counties, as well as from nearly 20 hospital departments.

Entertainment for the evening included balloon artist Mike Chapman, face painting by VMH Paramedic Claire Butchkoski, a fly-in with helicopter tours by Gundersen Air, and a Waukon Fire Department fire truck and one of the hospital’s ambulances all on site.

Gundersen Clinic welcomed guests with a huge, inflated walk-through colon showing what a healthy colon and a cancerous colon can look like, encouraging regular colonoscopies with Dr. Yee.

The Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation annual Three Person Best-Shot Golf Tournament is set this year for Monday, June 17 at the Waukon Golf and Country Club.

Teams of three will begin the day with a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. and play 18 holes of golf. Breakfast rolls, lunch and dinner and prizes for everyone will all be provided for the donation of $75.

All those interested in joining the event are asked to pre-register their team by calling the Waukon Golf and Country Club at 563-568-9939. For more information about the golf tournament, call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Community and Home Care/Allamakee County Public Health has announced the release of a 50-page resource directory for all services in Allamakee County. The guide is available on the Veterans Memorial Hospital website, under the  www.veteransmemorialhospital.com/service/community-and-home-care/ link, and also on the Allamakee County Economic Development website.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, May 16, at 10 a.m.  The meeting will be held at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in the Large Conference Room, located on the lower level of the hospital.

This month, Minji Na, NP, who is the latest addition to the Veterans Memorial Hospital Waukon Clinic provider team, will attend and present at the meeting.  She will discuss wellness in the later adult years as well as vitamins/supplements to help explain what is good and should be a part of a daily routine.

This diabetes class is open to everyone who has diabetes or has a friend or loved one with diabetes. For more information about the Diabetes Support Group, feel free to call  Angie Mettille, RN, Certified Diabetes Educator at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.