Health

Breast cancer is the leading cancer diagnosed in women in America. This year, more than 250,000 women will learn for the first time that they have this disease and more than 40,000 women will lose their lives. However, when breast cancer is detected early and treated promptly, suffering and ultimately the loss of life can be significantly reduced.

Women are encouraged to ask their doctors and other health care providers about mammography screening. Mammography (an x-ray picture of the breast) is the single-most effective method to detect breast changes that may be cancer, long before physical symptoms can be seen or felt. Early detection, followed by up-to-date treatment, provides women with better chances for long-term freedom from the disease. But mammography screening must be done routinely.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital will be holding its annual Pillow Perk this year Monday, October 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. located on the lower level of Veterans Memorial Hospital. Kraft Pillow Service will be on site to make old pillows look like new.

Everyone is encouraged to bring in their feather pillows to the Pillow Perk to be cleaned, sanitized and given new ticking. Foam and Dacron pillows may also be renovated by this process. People are also encouraged to bring in their feather beds and have them made into new pillows.

Everyone is instructed to enter the hospital through the lower level loading dock entrance and to have their pillows in plastic bags marked with their name when they drop them off. Directional signage will be located on the street right outside that door.

The planning of the 2021 Christmas Fantasy is underway and decorators and silent auction donors are needed. The format of the event was changed again this year to keep the event COVID-19 safe with decorations and lighted displays being set up outside on the Allamakee County Fairgrounds. Only the silent auction items will be displayed inside the Pavilion.

This year the theme for Christmas Fantasy will be “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” which is fitting for an outdoor Fantasy. A drive-through of lighted displays will be out in front of the Allamakee Fairgrounds Pavilion for anyone wanting to drive through or walk through evenings during the event, which will be held November 18-22.   Any type of outdoor lighted display is appropriate such as a tree, a wreath, a lawn ornament, an outlined item, a blow-up decoration, etc.

Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care/Allamakee County Public Health continues offering a series of community Flu Clinics over the next few weeks at the following locations in Allamakee County:

Wednesday, October 20: Walk-In Clinic at Harpers Ferry Community Center, 9-11 a.m.
Wednesday, October 20: By Appointment Only at Veterans Memorial Hospital, 1:30-6 p.m. Call 563-568-5660 to schedule an appointment.
Friday, October 22: Walk-In Clinic at Lansing I.C. Church Parish Hall, Noon-3 p.m.
Wednesday, October 27: Walk-In Clinic at Veterans Memorial Hospital, 9-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-4 p.m.

COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines may be administered at the same visit, on the same day. For example, COVID-19 vaccines can safely and effectively be administered the same time as the flu vaccines.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) will be offering the next recertification course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for health care providers (those working in health related fields such as physicians, nurses, EMS, etc.) Monday, November 1, beginning at 5 p.m. This “Health Care Professional” CPR class will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of the hospital.

There is a small fee to attend and all registrants should bring along their own pocket mask, if they have one. Upon successful completion of the class, the participant will receive an electronic card certifying them as a BLS Healthcare Provider for two years.

Pre-registration plus a minimum of three participants is required for the class to be held. All participants will be required to physically distance during the class and wear a mask. They will also be screened at the hospital main entrance when they enter the building.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Waukon Clinic holds a special ‘sick child’ clinic every Monday morning beginning at 7 a.m.  This special clinic time is meant to help accommodate parents who have had a child under the weather over the weekend and wishes to have them seen by a medical provider prior to beginning work Monday morning. It also helps to know if children are well enough to attend school or need to be kept at home.

Evening appointments  are also offered Thursdays until 7 p.m., again for the convenience of those working during the day. The Veterans Memorial Hospital Medial Clinic is then open from 8-5 p.m. all other days, Monday through Friday.

The hospital’s urgent care clinic also remains available Monday through Friday evenings, from 5-7 p.m., and on weekends and holidays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., for use when the clinic is closed.

Call the clinic at 563-568-5530 for questions and to schedule an appointment.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) recently shared the following points to help explain the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and help individuals see if they meet the requirements.

A third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is explained as follows:

• Recommended for moderately to severely immunocompromised individuals at least 28 days AFTER receiving the second Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
• Meant for people who have not built strong enough immunity after completing the initial vaccine series.
• Individuals who have any of the following:
- Organ transplant.
- Immunosuppressive therapy.
- High dose corticosteroid use.
- Active treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, October 21 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.

Ness Pumping and Porta-Potty Rentals, along with Monroe Auction, will host their annual Breast Cancer Awareness Walk Saturday, October 16 in the Waukon City Park to raise funds for breast cancer awareness and detection. The event will begin at 9 a.m. and will be COVID-19 friendly. Participants may come and go as they please that morning and can choose to walk with friends, family or on their own. Walk-ins are welcome. Breast Cancer survivors will be asked to sign a pink porta-potty sporting the breast cancer ribbon. Event t-shirts will be available for sale and light refreshments will also be offered.

by Renee Stokman, Mammographer, Veterans Memorial Hospital

I’ve heard about 3D Mammograms…why are they better?
Veterans Memorial Hospital is proud to be offering, starting our fourth year, this wonderful new equipment to the members of our community. When you come in for your 3D mammogram, you really won’t notice much of a difference compared to the 2D (regular) mammogram. We still start with two images of each breast, and we still use compression to get adequate visualization of the breast. When we take your images, we get an additional set of thin slices of your breast. The images we get are similar to a CT scan, where the doctor is able to scroll through your breast slice by slice. When we view the breast this way, we can detect smaller cancers earlier. There is also a lower chance that you will get called in for additional images due to overlapping dense breast tissue.