Health

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH), Elliott Jewelers and Waukon Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Health Day will be celebrated Tuesday, September 1, from 4-7 p.m. at the Allamakee Fairgrounds Pavilion. The theme of this years’ event is, “The Strength Within.”

A total of seven different speakers on a variety of popular health and wellness topics will outline the night with nearly 50 health, wellness and family agencies and vendors on site ready to visit about the services they offer.  Goodie bags will be shared with the first 200 ladies who come through the doors.  Sandwiches with a large variety of hors d’oeuvres will be served throughout the evening and a cash bar will be available.

August is National Immunization Awareness Month.  The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that history shows that vaccines are the safest, most effective way to protect yourself and your family from many preventable diseases.

Everyone should get all recommended vaccines at the recommended times. It is especially important for children and adolescents to get catch-up doses of any missed vaccines or vaccine doses as soon as they can. Adults should get all recommended vaccines for their age or other risk factors such as health condition or occupation. All adults should get tetanus boosters, seasonal flu and COVID-19 vaccines, and any vaccines missed in childhood.

Vaccines strengthen the body’s natural defenses. To be immune is to be partially or fully resistant to a specific infectious disease or disease-causing organism. A person who is immune can resist the bacteria or viruses that cause a disease, but the protection is never perfect.

by Katy Maker, Nurse Midwife and Nurse Practitioner, Veterans Memorial Hospital Medical Clinics

Choosing whether to breastfeed or formula feed your baby is only one of the many decisions expectant parents will make. It takes time to make such an important decision because it will not only affect your baby’s life but also the lives of the entire household. Breastfeeding is a commitment that both parents are involved in as it takes support from the partner to be successful.

“National Breastfeeding Week is an excellent time to think about lots of issues around how we feed our children,” states Katy Maker, Nurse Midwife at Veterans Memorial Hospital and Clinics. “The neat thing about breast milk is that it’s always ready, it’s made specifically for that one child, and there are many ways to involve the whole family.”

World Senior Citizens Day is August 21 and a time to honor the older adults who strengthen families, workplaces, and communities through their experiences, wisdom, and contributions. 

Often times, senior citizens are lonely, depressed and in need of mental health support. Veterans Memorial Hospital’s (VMH) Senior Life Solutions (SLS) provides outpatient mental health services for older adults, including group therapy, individual therapy, psychiatric evaluation, and medication management.

This World Senior Citizens Day, celebrate older adults and encourage continued care for the mind, body, and spirit. Call 563-568-5560  or visit the Senior Life Solutions section of Veterans Memorial Hospital’s website to learn more at https://www.veteransmemorialhospital.com/services/senior_life_solutions/.

You can become a Dementia Friend by attending a one-hour information session to learn about living with dementia and the simple things you can do to support someone living with dementia. This session is free and open to the public at Robey Memorial Library in Waukon.

This one-hour session will be led by Madison Montorsi Dementia Service Specialist with Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A). At the session, you’ll learn some basics of dementia such as what dementia is, how it can affect a person, some tips for communicating with people who have dementia, and other ways to support people with dementia. No registration required and feel free to bring a friend.

- Thursday, August 27: 5-6 p.m. at Robey Memorial Library, 401 1st Avenue NW, Waukon, IA 52172

For more information, contact Madison Montorsi at MMontorsi@nei3a.org.

A sleep guide for parents

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, August 20 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of the hospital.     

This month’s topic will focus on diabetes and exercise. Through the generosity of the Postville and Waukon Lions Clubs, resistance bands have been purchased to promote exercise and building muscle. These bands will be shared with hospital outpatients with diabetes as well as all attendees to the August support group. At that meeting, Brad Krambeer, PTA, will be there to demonstrate some exercises that can be done with these resistance/exercise bands.

They will also discuss how exercise of different kinds can assist with blood sugar management.

Memorials were received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Marian Hesla by Cindy Barness, James and Rebecca Beardmore, Wendy Bucheit, Robbie and Brenda Burrett, Mike and Cindy Gibbs, Don and DiAnne Haler, Rudolph Hesla, Mary Lou and Wayne Leidahl, Richard and Joan Leiran, Dave and Karen Mathis, James and Janice Pfiffner, S.L. Ronan, Wayne and Nona Sawyer, Joan and Scott Schmidt, Lillian Schmieden, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Terry and Laurie Welch, Bill, Jim, Jane, and John Withers and families, as well as an anonymous donation.

Memorials were also received in memory of Louise Ellingson by Ann Klees; in memory of Harvey Estebo by Trish and Corey Shelton; in memory of Irv Fosaaen by Kathy and Tom Swan; and in memory of Ruby Herman by Betty Irons, Ann Klees, Eunice Kolsrud and Beth and Bill Shafer.

A donation was also received by the Foundation in honor of Cathy Jurgen’s birthday by Joan Bieber.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) and Elliott Jewelers Women’s Health Day will be celebrating their 21st annual event this year, returning to an evening “Women’s Wellness Night Out” from 4-7 p.m., September 1, at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion. The event will be sponsored again this year by Veterans Memorial Hospital and Elliott Jewelers, in conjunction with the Waukon Chamber of Commerce.

Visitors to the Veterans Memorial Hospital booth during the downtown Waukon Corn Days meal Friday, August 14 will be invited to play Heart Health Trivia with prizes awarded. 

Adults are also invited to take advantage of the free wellness testing offered with immediate results. Free Blood Pressure Checks, Blood Sugar Tests and Hemoglobin (Iron) Tests will all be offered.  Random testing such as this opportunity at Waukon Corn Days helps to find the individuals who have high, undiagnosed diabetes, blood pressure or low iron and direct them to the professionals who can help them successfully manage the issue. Each test takes just a couple minutes to complete and does not require any fasting.

Free samples of sunblock with an SPF of 50 will also be handed out along with skin cancer awareness and prevention information, compliments of Allamakee Public Health and the Iowa Cancer Consortium.