Health

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon will be hosting a free weight loss support group the first Tuesday of each month at VMH. The focus of this support group will be learning how to stop emotional eating and over-eating, creating new habits that support each one’s journey to weight loss and discovering the importance of mindfulness in eating and lifestyle.

Those interested in attending may register online by going to the hospital’s website at www.veteransmemorialhospital.com. This support group will be offered two different times the first Tuesday of each month, at Noon and again at 5 p.m., so those attending can choose the time that is most convenient for them.  Face masks will be required to attend.

For more information or assistance in registering, call Jill Fleming, Registered Dietitian, at 563-568-3411 ext. 567.
 

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, June 17 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 who has a friend or loved one with diabetes. For more information on the Diabetes Support Group, call  Angie Mettille, RN at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.

The local Grief Support Group will be holding its monthly meeting at Veterans Memorial Hospital Tuesday, June 8 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.

Those attending should 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.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will hold a Prepared Childbirth Education class (formerly called Lamaze) Saturday, June 26 from 8 - 11 a.m. in the Large Conference Room.

The Prepared Childbirth Education classes at Veterans Memorial Hospital are now offered in one half-day session. Tours of the OB Department are available with these sessions as well. These Prepared Childbirth Education classes are available for a small fee per session and will be offered every three months at Veterans Memorial Hospital. Following the June 26 class, the next class is scheduled for September 25.

Pre-registration is necessary, as seats are limited. To register, email childbirth@vmhospital.com or contact Jayne McCormick, RN, Nursing and OB Manager at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

Veterans Memorial Hospital will be hosting their bi-annual Safety Day Camp for children ages 6 to 14 Thursday, June 10, at the Allamakee Fairgrounds from 8:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. The camp is open to all children in the area.  It is a afety camp that instructs many areas of safety in every child’s life.

Each year, many children are killed or injured on America’s farms and at home. This summer, safety day camps, such as the one being hosted by Veterans Memorial Hospital, are being held to teach children how to prevent injuries and reduce the risk of accidents. During the camps, children participate in interactive activities that reinforce the importance of taking responsibility for their own safety, respecting parents’ safety rules and sharing safety tips with their family and friends.

Individual topics covered at this year’s safety camp will include the following:

Donations continue to be received for the Veterans Memorial Hospital Waukon Medical Clinic. Recently, a donation of $5,000 was received from Kerndt Brothers Bank. Pictured above, left to right, at the new outdoor sign at the entrance to the clinic parking lot, are Dr. Dave Schwartz, Clinic Physician; Patrick Dinan, Market President for Kerndt Brothers Bank; Laura Baxter, Clinic Director; Halie Ruff, Nurse Practitioner; Cathy Buhl, Kerndt Brothers Bank Waukon Branch Manager and Sue McMillan, Nurse Practitioner. Needed renovations to the clinic building are complete and the clinic has been open since May 3. Donations are still being accepted by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation. All gifts to the Foundation are tax deductible. Anyone with any questions about the campaign or Foundation is invited to call the hospital at 563-568-3411. Submitted photo.

This bench was donated for the new Veterans Memorial Hospital Medical Clinic in Waukon by the Virginia Roe family in her memory.  Virginia was a dedicated RN who worked many years at Veterans Memorial Hospital and Allamakee County Public Health and utilized the hospital as a patient in her later years. She passed away in 2020. Pictured are her four children around her bench, from left to right, Chris (Roe) Anthony, Bill Roe, John Roe and Sue (Roe) Schulte. Submitted photo.

The COVID-19 virus is still on the move through unvaccinated individuals in the county, but those that are vaccinated are now able to do more and limit time spent wearing masks. According to the CDC, once vaccinated for COVID-19, you can again gather indoors without masks with others who are fully vaccinated, and limit social distancing. This can begin two weeks following your second or final COVID-19 vaccination. Keep using all personal protective tools until that two week wait time has expired.

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. Call 563-568-5660 to schedule.

by Steven Mazzafield, Speech-Language Pathologist at Veterans Memorial Hospital

“I don’t need a Speech Therapist. I talk fine!” You would be surprised how often I hear this when I go in to see a new patient in the hospital.

When most people think about a Speech Therapist, they typically imagine someone who works with young children in a school, teaching them to say specific sounds such as the “s” and “r” sounds. And you would be right to think this; 51% of Speech-Language Pathologists, or SLPs for short, work in a school compared to only 39% that work in a medical setting such as a hospital or nursing home.

The Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation’s 28th Annual Benefit Golf Tournament will be held Monday, June 21, 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 28th 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.