Health

The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Thursday, May 6, from 12 - 5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church located in south Waukon. Blood drives are held once a month in Waukon, to allow for more donors to give. The LifeServe Blood Center supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with its 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 actually see an increase in the need for blood. More driving during the summer months can mean more automobile accidents. A person who has suffered severe injuries from an automobile accident can need up to 50 units of blood.

The new Veterans Memorial Hospital Waukon Clinic received a very generous donation of $50,000 from the Alice Hermeier Foundation.  This donation will be used for telehealth technology and behavioral health services. Dr. Richard (Rick) Hermeier of Waukon established the Alice Hermeier Foundation in memory of his sister.

“This gift is a way to give back to the community that my family grew up in and that contributed immensely to my own personal success,” stated Dr. Hermeier. As a retired child psychologist, Dr. Hermeier defined the goal of this gift as to improve the mental health of the Waukon community and surrounding area. Adding behavioral health services to this clinic meets that goal.

Allamakee County Public Health officials has announced they are now offering the COVID vaccine to anyone age 18 and over. These vaccines will now be offered at walk-in clinics only and will be administering the Moderna vaccine.  The online sign-up previously used to schedule vaccination appointments will be discontinued; however, anyone on that list will be contacted for an appointment for a vaccine.

The COVID Walk-In Vaccination Primary/First Dose Schedule for Allamakee County is as follows:

Allamakee County Public Health weekly clinics for both prime and booster doses are held at Veterans Memorial Hospital. Call 563-568-5660 to schedule.

Monday, May 3: Walk-In Vaccination Clinic in Postville, 4:30-7 p.m., at the Northeast Iowa Wellness Center. No appointments for anyone age 18 and over. The booster clinic for these vaccinations only will be held Tuesday, June 1 from 4-7:30 p.m.

The Rehabilitation Department at Veterans Memorial Hospital is providing Astym treatment technique for patients who have experienced a traumatic or overuse injury resulting in chronic pain, weakness and limited motion. Astym is an evidence-based treatment technique developed by physicians and therapists at Ball Memorial Hospital, Ball State University, Purdue University and Central Indiana Orthopedics and Sports Medicine.

Tami Gebel, Occupational Therapist at Veterans Memorial Hospital, is certified to perform Astym treatments on individuals who have experienced an injury in the past and had minimal success at getting rid of the pain, had a lingering achiness, weakness or limited ability to complete daily activities and sports.

The need for blood does has not stopped during COVID-19 and is in even higher demand, so the local blood drives continue to be held. LifeServe team members only report to work if they are healthy and only healthy donors are eligible to give blood.

Blood drives are essential medical services and not considered mass gatherings. The number of donors is limited to ensure donor separation, and staff has strict cleaning and disinfection schedules. Other measures are also in place to ensure the safety of the blood supply so these lifesaving donations can continue during COVID-19.

The next blood drive will be held Thursday, May 6 from Noon to 5 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Waukon.

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon will be opening the new Waukon Clinic Monday, May 3. Those wishing to make an appointment are invited to call the new clinic number of 563-568-5530 to schedule an appointment for May or beyond.

Dr. Dave Schwartz will be the medical physician provider in this new clinic. He has been serving this community since 1995 and will continue by seeing patients in the new Waukon clinic while also continuing to provide care at Veterans Memorial Hospital, especially in one of his favorite departments, Maternity Services.

by Tami Gebel, Occupational Therapist,
Veterans Memorial Hospital

April is National Occupational Therapy Month. Occupational therapists work in outpatient clinics to assist people in recovery from work-related injuries. Many times careless mistakes lead to injuries. Other times injuries occur due to an obscure accident or just repetition of the same movement over and over.

However an injury occurs, it often leads to pain, time off from work, a change in work duties, and inability to complete all activities (even non-work related activities). Employers do not like work-related injuries because they cause a loss in wages, production and manpower.

Elliott Jewelers of Waukon has made a very generous donation to the renovation of the new Veterans Memorial Hospital Waukon Clinic. Owners, John and Shelly Elliott, pictured above inside their store in downtown Waukon, have personally pledged $10,000 in support of this clinic project.

Appointments are now being scheduled at the new Waukon Clinic which will open Monday, May 3. Those interested in setting an appointment with one of the clinic providers for a date in May or beyond are invited to call the new clinic phone number at 563-568-5530 to schedule. 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.

Congratulations to the numerous students who completed the recent Veterans Memorial Hospital Babysitting classes Saturday, April 10. The classes were instructed by Corinne Cook, RN, assisted by Kim Gossling, RN, and consisted of teaching the qualities of a good babysitter including basic child care, accident prevention and first aid.

These new babysitters learned CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and the Heimlach Maneuver thanks to hospital staff members Kelly Baxter, Laura Baxter, Elizabeth Hoins and Mary Jo Meyer, who taught the Baby Shark Hands Only CPR program. Police Chief Paul Wagner from the Waukon Police Department also attended and discussed personal safety. Chris Dahlstrom from the Fire Department instructed the students on fire safety.

The LifeServe Blood Center reported a great number of donors at the April blood drive with 45 total units collected. In addition, there were five first-time donors who attended.

The local blood drives continue to be held during COVID-19 since the need for blood does not stop. Life Serve team members only report to work if they are healthy and only healthy donors are eligible to give blood. Blood drives are essential medical services and not considered mass gatherings. The number of donors is limited to ensure donor separation and staff has strict cleaning and disinfection schedules. Other measures are also in place to ensure the safety of the blood supply so these lifesaving donations can continue during COVID-19.