Health

The Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation has announced the 2023 Christmas Fantasy will be held at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. This will be the 32nd  annual Fantasy event the Foundation has hosted.

The theme will be “Wishing You a Merry Grinchmas.” Christmas Fantasy decorators are needed to decorate the trees for display. Donors are needed for the silent auction items such as miniature trees, wall hangings, quilted items, gift baskets, centerpieces, etc.

The 2023 event will be held Friday through Monday, November 10-13.  Plans will again include the usual Friday night happy hour event, Saturday and Monday luncheons, Saturday night wine, cheese and dessert event and general admission on Sunday and Monday afternoons.

September is Newborn Screening Awareness and Baby Safety Month. Being sure to schedule  newborn well-child visits following the baby’s birth is very important, according to Nurse Midwife and Nurse Practitioner Katy Maker at Veterans Memorial Hospital Clinics.

“Well-child exams create an environment where the parents can develop a relationship with a primary care provider who will be there for them and their child throughout their child’s growth and development,” states Maker. “It’s important to feel that you can trust the medical advice that you get from your child’s healthcare provider because these days we get bombarded with a lot of information through the Internet and it is hard to filter.”

Well-baby check-ups are encouraged at the following visits: 1-month, 2-month, 4-month, 6-month, 9-month, 12-month, 15-month, 18-month, 2-year, 30-month and at three years.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Postville Clinic is now offering breath alcohol testing. A breath alcohol test measures how much alcohol is in the air of the person being testing, which then estimates how much alcohol is in their blood system.

Breath alcohol tests are often required by corporations that employ over-the-road drivers, who have to meet Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations. This test is now conveniently offered at the Postville Medical Clinic. Walk-ins are welcome for this service.

To find out more or to make an appointment, call the Veterans Memorial Hospital Postville Clinic at 563-864-7221.

Flu shots are beginning October 4 at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Community and Home Care/Allamakee Public Health. Flu shots are recommended for all those who have not yet received the vaccine and will be effective throughout the rest of the flu season.

Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care will be offering flu shot clinics all Wednesdays in October, including October 4, 11, 18 and 25. Walk-in clinics will be held from 9-11:30 a.m. and appointments can be made for immunizations those afternoons by calling 563-568-5600.

Flu shot clinics will also be held around Allamakee County on the following days:
• Lansing, Friday, October 6 from 3-5 p.m. at the IC Church basement
• Waterville, Tuesday, October 10 from 2-5 p.m. at Waterville Library
• New Albin, Friday, October 13 from 3-5 p.m. at New Albin Townhouse
• Postville, Tuesday, October 17 from 4-6 p.m. at Northeast Iowa Wellness Center.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH), together with Helping Services of Northeast Iowa, will be offering the ‘Baby and Me - The Basics’ class Tuesday evening, October 3, from 4-8:30 p.m. in the hospital’s Large Conference Room.

Helping Services’ Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, Barb Fjelstul and Rachel Weber, will teach the basics of how to correctly secure children in their car seat and getting the seat secured in the vehicle. Barb Fjelstul, also a breast-feeding educator, will guide participants through the challenges and rewards of breast-feeding and provide techniques to ensure the baby is getting the most benefit from nursing.

Rachel Stone, RN, is a labor and delivery nurse and will give expecting mothers education on breathing techniques and coping with pain during labor.

Helping Services for Youth & Families’ Domestic Abuse Resource Center has implemented a Domestic Abuse survivor chat line, which can be reached at HelpingServices.org/chat. There is also the option to call a resource phone line 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 800-383-2988. A trained Advocate will respond 24 hours a day.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) will be holding a Pillow Perk Monday, October 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Lower Level of Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. 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 same process. People are also encouraged to bring in their feather beds and have them made into new pillows by Kraft Pillow Service.

For more information about the Pillow Perk or the VMH Auxiliary, call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Monday, October 2, from 12-5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon. The LifeServe Blood Center supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with its blood and blood products.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) and Elliott Jewelers of Waukon are excited to announce they will soon be hosting their 18th Annual 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.

The theme for this year’s event is “Embracing Life at all Stages.”  Featured speakers for the Women’s Health Day program will include Alex Berns, Family Nurse Practitioner at the Waukon Clinic, who will speak on his experience as a Hospice Care Nurse. His presentation, entitled “Clearing the Air About Hospice Care,” will help explain how Hospice Care works, how to qualify and the different levels of Hospice care available.

September is National Cholesterol Awareness Month. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) explains cholesterol as a waxy, fat-like substance made by your liver. Blood cholesterol is essential for good health. Your body needs it to perform important jobs, such as making hormones and digesting fatty foods.

Your body makes all the blood cholesterol it needs, which is why experts recommend that people eat as little dietary cholesterol as possible while on a healthy eating plan. Dietary cholesterol is found in animal foods, including meat, seafood, poultry, eggs and dairy products.