Health

The Waukon West Elementary School, from Preschool through second grade, recently donated over 200 gift items to Veterans Memorial Hospital in lieu of a gift exchange this year. Donations included stuffed animals, picture books, fleece blankets and puzzle books. These items were all given by the students and their families to be handed out to the patients at the hospital in the ‘spirit of giving’ to help brighten their stay and keep them entertained and comfortable. All of these gifts have been made available in a variety of departments around the hospital such as the patient floor, Surgery, Emergency Room, Maternity and Ambulance. Pictured above are the West Elementary students and their teachers with some of the Veterans Memorial Hospital Nurse Managers accepting their boxes of donations. Submitted photo.
 

Veterans Memorial Hospital’s Urgent Care is held every Monday-Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and each Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Urgent Care will not be available on New Year’s Day, Saturday, January 1.

This week, the Urgent Care will be offered at the following times and days:
December 31, New Years Eve - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
January 1, New Years Day - Closed, no Urgent Care available.

Urgent Care is designed for treating injuries or illnesses requiring immediate care, but not serious enough to require an emergency department visit.

Veterans Memorial Hospital is once again able to allow visitors but with some restrictions. All visitors to the hospital must wear a mask at all times, even when in the room with the patient. Patients will be allowed up to three visitors in one day.

Only visitors who are feeling well and not experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 or been diagnosed with COVID-19 within the last 14 days will be allowed to visit.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Birthing Center will continue to only allow the significant other and siblings of the infant in to visit, again remaining masked at all times.

All visitors to the hospital must enter through the main front entrance of the hospital and complete the screening before visiting.
 

The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Thursday, January 6, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon. Blood drives are held every month in Waukon. The LifeServe Blood Center of Iowa supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with its blood and blood products.

The LifeServe Blood Center of Iowa 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. Many Iowans are encouraged to make donating blood on a regular basis their New Year’s resolution this year.

Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care/Allamakee County Public Health will be offering another walk-in clinic for the booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Wednesday, December 29, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the ICN Conference Room located on the southeast side of the hospital. Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available. Park along the orange cones along the golf course for easy access to the vaccine location.

Flu shots will also be available and can be safely administered at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine.

With COVID-19 cases on the rise in this area, many are caring for someone at home who has been diagnosed with the virus. The following is a list of ways to care for and support those sick at home with COVID-19 from the CDC:

Provide Support
• See if over-the-counter medicines for fever help the person feel better
• Make sure the person who is sick drinks a lot of fluids and rests

Watch for warning signs
• Call their doctor if the person keeps getting sicker.
• For medical emergencies, call 911 and tell the dispatcher that the person has or might have COVID-19.

All visitors to Veterans Memorial hospital are again restricted in an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus within the community. In the event of a special circumstance, such as a terminal patient, family members may call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411 and speak with the charge nurse.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will continue to post updates through the local newspapers and radio stations as well as the hospital’s Facebook page and website at www.veteransmemorialhospital.com.

Veterans Memorial Hospital’s Urgent Care is held every Monday-Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Urgent Care will not be available Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. This holiday season, Urgent Care will be offered at the following days and times:         

• December 24: Christmas Eve, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• December 25: Christmas Day, Closed - No Urgent Care
• December 31: New Years Eve, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• January 1: New Years Day, Closed - No Urgent Care.

Urgent Care is designed for treating injuries or illnesses requiring immediate care, but not serious enough to require an emergency department visit.

The flu has hit Iowa, but there is still time for immunization. Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care continues to offer flu shots every Wednesday afternoon by appointment. Appointments can be made by calling 563-568-5660.

COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines may be administered at the same visit, on the same day. For example, COVID-19 vaccines can safely and effectively be administered the same time as the flu vaccines.

The cost for a flu shot is covered by Medicare. Billing for vaccinations will be completed by the Community and Home Care staff, but participants will need to bring their physician’s name and their Medicare number or private insurance card with them. Those who do not have insurance that covers these vaccines can also pay for them; however, the COVID-19 vaccine is free.

How many know that one pint of whole blood can save up to three lives? The next local LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Thursday, January 6, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon. Blood drives are held every month in Waukon, allowing for more donors to give.

LifeServe Blood Center supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with its blood and blood products.

Anyone who lives to the age of 72 will have a 95% probability of needing blood or blood products at sometime in their life, so blood donors are greatly needed.