Health

September is National Suicide Prevention Month.  Dialing 988 will reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for anyone contemplating suicide.  This year, the 988 Crisis Lifeline shares the message that everyone can help prevent suicide and encourages everyone to ‘Be The 1 To’….. Ask, Be There, Keep Them Safe, Help Them Stay Connected, Follow Up and Learn More.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, September 21 at 10 a.m.   The meeting will be held at VMH in the Large Conference Room, located on the lower level of the hospital.

This diabetes 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 (VMH) and Elliott Jewelers of Waukon are excited to announce they will soon be hosting their 18th Women’s Health Day wellness event Tuesday, September 26 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 luncheon and program held from Noon to 1 p.m. This year the menu will consist of a full salad buffet, sandwiches, beverages and dessert.

All summer long, Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon has been offering “Be the Match” stem cell sampling at all area special events. Now the hospital Laboratory will be offering that same service every day, Monday-Friday, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for anyone ages 18-40 who wishes to participate and possibly save a life.

“Be the Match” connects patients with life-threatening blood cancers and diseases like sickle cell with a matching donor for blood stem cell transplants. The campaign provide patients and their families with one-on-one support, education and guidance through the transplant process, which improves patient outcomes. This is the same program that Robin Roberts from Good Morning America endorses following her own bone marrow transplant match 10 years ago. Many patients and their families are counting on drives like this to find their match.

Health Unit Coordinator Week was recently celebrated August 23-29 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon and at health care facilities across the country. The role of the Health Unit Coordinator (HUC) is vital to the operations of the patient floor in any health care facility. Veterans Memorial Hospital has three full-time health unit coordinators who help maintain the flow of patient care, providing support and communication to all staff and families on the patient floor. Pictured at right at the Emergency Room (ER) station are two of those three coordinators, including, left to right, Erin Troendle and Celeste Marting, whose last name was incorrectly submitted in information printed in last week’s edition of The Standard. Submitted photo.
 

In honor of Sepsis Awareness Month, the Sepsis Alliance is encouraging everyone to learn the signs of sepsis. Statistics show that 1.7 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with sepsis each year with 350,000 of those passing away. In the United States, sepsis takes a life every two minutes. As many as 80 percent of sepsis deaths could be prevented with early detection and treatment.

Sepsis happens when the body’s immune system has an extreme response to an infection. The body’s reaction causes damage to its own tissues and organs.  Anyone can develop sepsis, but the following  are at higher risk for sepsis:

• Adults 65 or older
• People with weakened immune systems
• People with chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes, lung disease, cancer, and kidney disease
• People with recent severe illness or hospitalization, including those with severe COVID-19
• People who survived sepsis
• Children younger than one.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, September 21 at 10 a.m.   The meeting will be held at VMH in the Large Conference Room, located on the lower level of the hospital.

This diabetes 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 local Grief Support Group will be holding its monthly meeting at Veterans Memorial Hospital Tuesday, September 12 at 5 p.m. in the Meditation Healing Center, located just inside the main entrance of the hospital.

This informal meeting is open to anyone suffering from any type of loss, whether it be death, divorce, illness or some other grief.

Feel free to attend and bring a friend. This grief support group meets the second Tuesday of each month at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon.
 

Veterans Memorial Hospital will return to using Meduit to help with the collection of accounts for healthcare services September 5. With the help once again of Meduit, Veterans Memorial Hospital will be able to provide cash acceleration to significantly improve financial performance. Veterans Memorial Hospital had used the help of this outside agency with its account collections until the last few years and has decided to return to this same service.

Veterans Memorial Hospital Speech-Language Pathologist Steven Mazzafield offers a Stroke Support Group for individuals who have experienced a stroke, as well as caregivers and family members affected by stroke.

Monthly meetings are held the first Thursday of every month at 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH). The next Stroke Support Group meeting will be held Thursday, September 7 at 2 p.m. in the Large Conference Room.

This month, Mazzafield will be giving a presentation on the different types of strokes.  Anyone is welcome to attend who may want to learn more.

The Stroke Support Group provides opportunities to share tips, tricks or trials among participants, offer support for caregivers, and provide an opportunity for socialization.