News Center newsletter

Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care/Allamakee County Public Health continues to offer walk-in clinics for all doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, each Friday afternoon in February from 1:30-3:45 p.m. in the ICN Conference Room located on the southeast side of the hospital.  Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available.

Parking is available by 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. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Be sure to wear a mask and bring your insurance card and vaccination card if you are coming for your second or booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Both Hartig Drug and Nightingale Pharmacy in Waukon have vaccine available for ages 12 and older. Parental/guardian consent is required. Call ahead to schedule an appointment.

“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, February 21 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 counselors Russ Hagen and Nancy Schoh are trained by the State and do not sell or promote any insurance companies, policies or agents.   Veterans Memorial Hospital is a local sponsor for SHIIP in Allamakee County.

Helping Services for Youth & Families is highlighting Teen Dating Violence Awareness during the month of February. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly a quarter of adult victims of rape, physical violence and stalking by an intimate partner first experience partner violence between the ages of 11 and 17. In addition, nearly one in 11 female high school students and approximately one in 14 male high school students report having experienced physical dating violence in the last year.

Dating violence is not only physical abuse but may also include excessive texting, checking up on, or telling a person what to wear or who to hang out with as just a few tactics abusers may use to control their partner. Abusive relationships are all about power and control, and abusive patterns can start at any age.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, February 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 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.

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Emma Jane Schoh by Ken and Rose Beardmore, Brad and Judy Herman, Gil and Sharon Hunstad, Patricia Kammeyer, Marlys Leiran, Lesa Moose, Scott and Karen Ness, Ernie and Donnalee Osland, Carol Paus, Dave and Gail Prestemon, Ann Rademaker, Diane Rathbun, Wayne and Nona Sawyer, Ruby Schoh, Linda Siegrist and Jane Dietrich.

Memorials were also received in memory of Romandus “Sam” Gisleson by Madonna Stumme and Joan Gisleson; in memory of Jeanette McCormick by Mary Fink and John and Lorna Kerndt; and in memory of Darlene Leas by Marlys Leiran and Sandy and Dennis Deal.

Memorials and donations are appreciated by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation, which is a 501C3 organization. All donations to the Foundation are tax deductible. Memorials and donations can be sent to 40 First Street SE, Waukon, IA  52172.
 

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.” (John 1:1-3)

Some years ago, on a family vacation to Chicago, we visited the Field Museum of National History. Most captivating for me during our visit was a detailed, special exhibit on the Big Bang Theory, science’s leading hypothesis for how the universe began.

Simply put, the Big Bang Theory suggests that the universe as we know it started at an infinitely hot, dense, single point that exploded in a nanosecond some 13.8 billion years ago. That enormous blast created all the chemical elements now composing the universe. The conflagration also triggered a warp-speed cosmic expansion that continues today.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
Feb. 18: Dairy Margin Coverage Program
Feb. 25: Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program
Mar. 15: ARCPLC Program Deadline

Annual Forages for Grazing
by Jacob Hawes, Soil Conservationist

Maximize your fertilizer dollars

Farmers wishing to maximize the profits from their fertilizer dollars will want to attend one of 15 in-person workshops or a virtual workshop hosted by Iowa State University. The workshop series, called Soil Testing Interpretations and Recommendations: Maximizing Return on Investment, will be held in February and March. This series will address the profitable management of soil fertility in Iowa, as conditions continue to change with increased fertilizer input costs and a rising demand for nutrients from higher-yielding crops.

“These workshops will lead farmers through the basics of soil testing, analytical tests, calculating crop nutrient removal, understanding return on investment from fertilizer applications, how crop response correlates to soil test levels and what is known about crop response to micronutrients,” says Josh Michel, field agronomist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

Associates are available to help farmers study their numbers and plan ahead

As farmers begin to make financial projections for the new year, there are resources available from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach that can help. A popular choice is the Farm Financial Planning Program, which includes access to seven different farm financial associates, in addition to software and helpful publications and guides.

Nancy Brannaman, a financial associate from east central Iowa, said the program allows producers and the associate to take a broad look at what’s going on within an operation, where the operator would like to be in the future and what must be done for success.

Alive & Running Iowa will make presentations to Waukon High School students and general public

Monday, February 28 will be a day devoted to raising awareness for suicide prevention in Waukon and the surrounding community, as the Alive and Running Iowa organization will conduct a pair of events aimed at helping save lives and reducing suicidal behaviors.

Alive & Running Iowa began as a running event held annually in the small Iowa town of Dunkerton but has grown into a non-profit organization to help raise awareness about suicide and suicide prevention. Co-founders Troy Belmer and Ryan Nesbit organized Alive & Running Iowa in 2009 in honor of their friend, Roger, who they lost to suicide when they were sophomores at Dunkerton High School in 1991.