Health

By Jill Fleming, MS, RD/LD, Dietitian, Veterans Memorial Hospital

Most people know that an apple is a better choice than a donut for good health.  And everyone knows that taking a walk is a healthier choice than sitting on the couch watching television.  So why do so many people struggle to break free from these bad habits? It is simply a matter of repetition. Your body craves what you give it, whether it is your choice of foods or your daily activities.

Getting healthy and losing excess body fat does not require you to go on a restrictive diet and start running marathons. It just requires you to choose a few new habits in the areas of nutrition, movement, stress reduction and sleep. Each new choice should be approached as a permanent addition to your life, not a short-term fix for quick results.

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon will sponsor a Babysitting Seminar Saturday, October 13 from 8:30 a.m. - Noon.  The class will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of Veterans Memorial Hospital.  

Veterans Memorial Hospital will begin the next Prepared Childbirth Education classes (formerly called Lamaze) Monday, October 8, and classes will continue for two more consecutive Mondays, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Large Conference Room.

The Prepared Childbirth Education classes at Veterans Memorial Hospital are offered in three sessions that allow the expectant parents to choose which topics they wish to learn more on. They may choose to attend one, two or all three sessions. Session 1 covers labor, delivery and the postpartum period following delivery; Session 2 includes relaxation, breathing and pain management; and Session 3 covers infant care. Tours of the OB Department are available with each session as well.

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

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital will be holding its monthly Euchre Marathon for all individuals of the community interested Thursday, September 20.  Men and women are welcome to attend, even if not an Auxiliary member. The Euchre marathons are held the third Thursday of each month at the Senior Citizens Room at the Waukon Wellness Center.

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. Anyone wishing to stay and play cards following the Senior Citizens meal is more than welcome to do so. All proceeds will go toward the Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital. 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 their own table of four players, however.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital together with Elliott Jewelers of Waukon will be hosting the 14th annual Women’s Health Day wellness event and luncheon Tuesday, September 25 at the Waukon Banquet Center.  All ages are invited to attend any part of this educational event, beginning at 11 a.m. with a wellness fair offering a variety of free health tests and information, and a salad luncheon and program held from Noon to 1 p.m.

The theme for this year’s event is “Second Chance Gifts” in promoting organ, tissue and blood donation.   Featured speakers for the Women’s Health Day program will include Mary Nachreiner, a volunteer of the University of Wisconsin Organ and Tissue Donation and a Donor’s Mother; Bev Larson-Needham, an Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital member and a Donor Recipient; Deb Eberling, an RN with Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care and a Donor’s Wife; and Kristin Stinn, a Donor Recipient.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital will be holding its monthly Euchre Marathon for all individuals of the community interested Thursday, September 20.  Men and women are welcome to attend, even if not an Auxiliary member. The Euchre marathons are held the third Thursday of each month at the Senior Citizens Room at the Waukon Wellness Center.

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.

Anyone wishing to stay and play cards following the Senior Citizens meal is more than welcome to do so. All proceeds will go toward the Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital. 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 their own table of four players, however.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will begin the next Prepared Childbirth Education classes (formerly called Lamaze) Monday, October 8, and those classes will continue for two more consecutive Monday evenings, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Large Conference Room.

The Prepared Childbirth Education classes at Veterans Memorial Hospital are offered in three sessions that allow the expectant parents to choose which topics they wish to learn more on. They may choose to attend one, two or all three sessions. Session 1 covers labor, delivery and the postpartum period following delivery; Session 2 includes relaxation, breathing and pain management; and Session 3 covers infant care. Tours of the OB Department are available with each session as well.  

The local Caregiver Support Group meets monthly at Veterans Memorial Hospital. The meetings will take place the third Monday of each month at 1:30 p.m.  The next meeting will be held Monday, September 17 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in the Large 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.
 

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, Tuesday, September 18 from 5:30-8:30 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.