Health

The staff of Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon pledged over $16,000 this last year to the VMH Health Care Foundation’s annual appeal campaign. The total raised in personal staff contributions was used to purchase equipment and furnishings identified by the staff that is needed in the hospital to better serve the community.

“I am overwhelmed by our staff’s generosity this past year, going over and above previous year’s donations,” stated Mike Myers, hospital administrator. “Our staff members on the Culture Committee took a leadership role in identifying hospital-wide needs, setting a financial goal, and organizing this employee campaign which was extremely successful. This process is an indication of the great dedication the hospital staff has to the service of our patients.”

The flu has hit Iowa, but there is still time for immunization. Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care continues to offer flu shots every Wednesday afternoon during its regular immunization clinics.

The next flu shot clinics will be held Wednesday, January 9 from 1-4 p.m. and then Wednesday, January 16 from 1-6 p.m. and each Wednesday afternoon thereafter. The Community and Home Care Immunization Clinic is located on the upper level of Veterans Memorial Hospital.

Immunization clinics are held from 1-6 p.m. the first and third Wednesdays of the month, and from 1-4 p.m. all other Wednesdays. Flu vaccine, pneumonia vaccine, and a combination of flu and pneumonia vaccine will all be available. Tetanus shots are always offered as well.

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

This 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 Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital will be holding its monthly Euchre Marathon for all individuals of the community interested Thursday, January 17. Men and women are welcome to attend, even if not an Auxiliary member. The Auxiliary’s Euchre Marathons begin at 11:30 a.m. with dinner, if chosen. Call Northland Agency on Aging at 877-838-8077 if choosing to eat dinner. Card playing will follow at 12:30 p.m. until approximately 2:30 p.m. Prizes will be awarded.

Anyone interested in attending but preferring to play Bridge is also welcome to join in. It is asked that they come with four players.

For more information, call Auxiliary President Nona Sawyer at 563-568-3105.
 

Veterans Memorial Hospital in cooperation with the American Heart Association is offering a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation for lay people (those not working in healthcare), which includes child care providers, Wednesday, January 16 from 5-8 p.m.

The CPR class, which will cover adult, child and infant CPR, will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of the hospital. The cost of the class, for certification or recertification, is the same. The card received with the course does certify attendants in CPR for two years.

CPR is administered when someone’s breathing, pulse, or both, stop. When both of them stop, the victim has suffered sudden death, which can be caused by poisoning, drowning, choking, suffocation, electrocution, smoke inhalation, or the most common cause, heart attack.

The local Caregiver Support Group meets monthly at Veterans Memorial Hospital. The meetings take place the third Monday of each month at 1:30 p.m. The next meeting will be held Monday, January 21, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in the ICN Conference Room, located on the lower level of the hospital.

This informal meeting is open to anyone who provides care and support for a family member or friend. Feel free to attend and bring a friend. This new Caregiver Support Group meets the third Monday of each month at Veterans Memorial Hospital.
 

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Virgil Herman by Les and Ada Marie Kerndt, in memory of Willard Halverson and Philip Sandbeck by Eda Halverson and family and friends, and in memory of Jamie Scholtes by Robert and Judy Iseli.

Memorials were also received in memory of Bob Heffern by Gary and Joan David, Dr. Bill and Libby Withers, Darren and Rebecca West, Jim and Jill Kiesau, Dan and Traci Byrnes, Russ and Mary Jo Meyer, Dave and Sandy Lyons, Jim and Patty Clarke, Mary Ann Hager, Joel and Teresa Sommer, Marlys Leiran, Cyril and Shirley Larkin, Dennis and Sandy Deal, and family and friends of Bob Heffern.

In addition, the Foundation also received a donation from The Standard newspaper from its Breast Cancer Awareness and Prevention fundraiser.

A large donation of a variety of toys was recently donated by Bob and Karen Fossum of rural Waterville through Thrivent. These toys have been made available in a variety of departments around the hospital for children visiting or being cared for in those departments. The donation was made by the Fossums to help ease anxiety and provide comfort for all children at the hospital. Bob and Karen are pictured above surrounded by toys they recently donated. Submitted photo.
 

Veterans Memorial Hospital physicians and staff will be awaiting the arrival of the first baby born at the hospital in the New Year 2019. This fortunate child and his or her family will receive a large number of beautiful gifts compliments of area merchants.

The first baby of the year will receive the following in cash and prizes:

The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Thursday, January 3, from 12-5 p.m., at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon. Blood drives are held every month in Waukon. The LifeServe Blood Center of Iowa supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with their blood and blood products.

The LifeServe Blood Center of Iowa is seeking donors to ensure a safe and plentiful blood supply in Iowa. Because there is no substitute for human blood, the need for donors is continuous.  Many Iowans are encouraged to make donating blood on a regular basis their New Year’s resolution this year.