Health

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, July 15 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held at Veterans Memorial Hospital in the Large Conference Room, located on the lower level of the hospital. Masks will be required to be worn.

This diabetes class is open to everyone who has diabetes or has a friend or loved one with diabetes.  For more information on the Diabetes Support Group, call  Angie Mettille, RN at Veterans Memorial Hospital  in Waukon at 568-3411.
 

The local Grief Support Group will be holding its monthly meeting at Veterans Memorial Hospital Tuesday, July 13 at 5 p.m. in the Meditation Chapel Room, located just inside the main entrance of the hospital. Masks will be required.

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, and be sure to wear a mask. All attendees will be able to physically distance during the meeting.  This grief support meets the second Tuesday of each month at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon.

The 28th annual Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation Golf Tournament was held Monday, June 21 at the Waukon Golf and Country Club. Twenty-nine teams of three participated in this tournament. Each team enjoyed 18 holes of golf plus lunch and dinner prepared by Rich Schulte, Marge, Bud and Rich Strike, Jim and Linda Ryan, and the Foundation Directors.

The Foundation gives credit for the success of this tournament to the many local businesses that provide great prizes so everyone participating wins. Plus many businesses serving this area contribute as hole sponsors to the tournament making it an enjoyable, community-wide event.

The new Veterans Memorial Hospital Waukon Clinic recently received another park bench donation for outside the clinic building for patients and family members who choose to wait outdoors. This bench is donated by the Tom Baxter family, in his memory. Tom passed away a year ago and believed in the need for Rural Healthcare. Beth Baxter, Tom’s wife, states, “He understood the importance of specialized care but firmly believed in the importance of rural healthcare at every level, whether it was routine care or in an emergency situation. Tom loved and enjoyed the Waukon community and always had time to sit and have a visit.

The COVID-19 virus is still on the move through unvaccinated individuals in the county, but those who are vaccinated can continue normal lifestyles without wearing masks, according to health officials offering guidance on the matter.

In May, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) declared that anyone vaccinated for COVID-19 can gather indoors without masks with others who are fully vaccinated, and limit social distancing, and that still remains true. For those not yet vaccinated, Allamakee County Public Health does have a good supply of vaccine and is highly encouraging everyone to receive it.

Vaccine clinics are readily available every Friday afternoon for both prime and boost doses for Moderna. Currently, Johnson and Johnson one-dose vaccine is also available. These are held at the main entrance to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Call 563-568-5660 to schedule.

The Test Iowa location in Decorah, facilitated by Winneshiek Medical Center, will close Thursday, July 15.  This closure aligns with the State of Iowa’s announcement that it is discontinuing the service.

Last fall, Test Iowa, a statewide initiative to expand the availability of COVID-19 testing, collaborated with Winneshiek Medical Center to open a testing site for northeast Iowa. The site opened October 12, 2020. Since the onset of the local service, Test Iowa, staffed by Winneshiek Medical Center employees, has provided 6,272 COVID-19 tests to people of the region.

“Welcome to Medicare” is a free, two-hour seminar offered by the Veterans Memorial Hospital Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) counselors.  This program will be held Monday, July 12 from 5-7 p.m. in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of Veterans Memorial Hospital.

“Welcome to Medicare” will cover Medicare Part A and Part B benefits, the prescription drug benefit (Part D), Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare supplement insurance. SHIIP, the Senior Health Insurance Information Program, is a service of the State of Iowa. Local SHIIP counselor Russ Hagen is trained by the State and does not sell or promote any insurance companies, policies or agents. Veterans Memorial Hospital is a local sponsor for SHIIP in Allamakee County.

Not 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, July 8 from 12-5 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 in Waukon 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.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Respiratory Therapy Department was recently informed that Philips Respironics has issued a recall on their CPAP, BIPAP and ASV machines.

Patients who are currently using a CPAP, BIPAP or ASV machine are asked to call 1-877-907-7508 to check the status of their device or visit www.philips.com/src-update for more information on the recall.

For further assistance, feel free to call the hospital at 563-568-3411 and ask for the Respiratory Therapy Department.
 

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory Walter “Wally” Johnson by Marvin and Marjorie Strike, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, and George Pickett; in memory of Marilyn Moose by Jane Dietrich; in memory of Ronald Goeke by Jane Dietrich; in memory of Larry White by Jim and Jill Kiesau; in memory of Delores “Jean” Kroack by Jane Dietrich; in memory of Abby Balque by Dr. Bill Withers; in memory of Lois Beneke by Jane Dietrich; and in memory of Elizabeth Ellickson by Eric and Stephanie Palmer.

Memorials were also received in memory of Sharon “Deal” Henschel by Dennis and Sandy Deal, Greg and Jan Gordon and Todd and Dawn Mulbauer, and in memory of Edward Lauerman by Audrey Angel, Ann Rademaker and Jane Dietrich.