Health

The local blood drives continue to be held during COVID-19 since the need for blood is in more demand than ever. Life Serve team members only report to work if they are healthy and only healthy donors are eligible to give blood. Blood drives are essential medical services and not considered mass gatherings.

The number of donors is limited to ensure donor separation, and staff has strict cleaning and disinfection schedules. Other measures are also in place to ensure the safety of the blood supply so these lifesaving donations can continue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The next local blood drive will be held Monday, December 7 from Noon to 5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon.

Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care is now offering flu shots on an appointment-only basis. The Hi Dose flu vaccine is also still available. Appointments can be made by calling 563-568-5660. When the appointment is made, instructions are given for the private location the immunizations will be administered.

Those with an appointment to receive their flu shot should remain in their vehicle until the nurse comes to get them and should bring along their insurance or Medicare card.

Influenza, also called “the flu”, can cause fever, chills, headache, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches to people of any age, and can lead to pneumonia and even death. Most deaths caused by influenza occur in the elderly, the very young or people who have a compromised immune system.

Memorials were received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of William ‘Bill’ Ferring by Dr. B.R. Withers, Hacker Nelson & Co, Mike and Julie Snitker, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Dave and Laurie Martin, Karen Soper, Nancy Kruse, Lawrence and Nancy Straate, Bev Larson-Needham, Gordon and Louise Ellingson, Lillian Larson, Mary Ann Burke, Brad and Erin Berns, Darryl and Lorraine Rud, Mary Fink, Leslie and Judith Thronson, Cyril and Shirley Larkin, Don and Mary Meyer, Lyla Hanson, Brian and Denise Wullner, Ernie and Donnalee Osland, Karen Ferring and friends and family of Bill Ferring.

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month.  The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Education Program offers continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) as an outpatient service. The Freestyle Libre Pro System offers the option of continuous glucose monitoring for three to 14 days. This system helps health care providers fine-tune their patients’ diabetes treatment plan, giving patients optimal control of their diabetes and their life.

Continuous glucose monitoring is used to determine what a patient’s blood glucose levels are every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, even while they sleep. When the data is downloaded, the information is able to be transferred onto graphs, which can show the healthcare providers how a patient’s blood sugar trends throughout each day the sensor is worn.

The 29th annual Christmas Fantasy, sponsored each year by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation, is holding a Silent Auction event only this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  The “Big C” Silent Auction is open and ready for bidding within many local businesses in Waukon, all in an effort to promote “shopping locally” this holiday season. These auction items will not only offer a variety of Christmas gifts for sale locally, but encourage shoppers to do more local holiday shopping in safe settings, hopefully decreasing the amount of out-of-town shopping and creating more local store traffic, helping the local businesses.

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon continues to offer most all services during the COVID-19 pandemic, but is evaluating surgeries daily based on the governor’s most recent proclamation.

“Surgeries are being evaluated based on our daily inpatient census and according to the current guidelines set by the governor,” states Michael Coyle, Veterans Memorial Hospital CEO.  “We need to be sure we have enough beds for our COVID patients that need to be hospitalized, so if we are busier, we may need to postpone some surgeries that would require the patient to remain hospitalized as an inpatient for a few days following.”

Veterans Memorial Hospital officials monitor its available COVID beds daily, reporting to the State of Iowa. This continuous communication allows all area hospitals to know where beds are open in the case they need to admit a patient at a different hospital.

Tuesday, November 17, the Veterans Memorial Hospital COVID testing location was moved from the east entrance of the medical clinic building to the west entrance facing Main Street. Anyone who has qualified for a COVID test and has a scheduled appointment time, should now turn right as they enter the clinic parking lot and park in that section along Main Street. Remain in your vehicle until it is your turn for your test.

The local blood drives continue to be held during COVID-19 since the need for blood is in more demand than ever. Life Serve team members only report to work if they are healthy and only healthy donors are eligible to give blood. Blood drives are essential medical services and not considered mass gatherings. The number of donors is limited to ensure donor separation, and staff has strict cleaning and disinfection schedules. Other measures are also in place to ensure the safety of the blood supply so these lifesaving donations can continue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The next local blood drive will be held Monday, December 7 from Noon to 5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon.

Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care is still offering flu shots on an appointment-only basis. The Hi Dose flu vaccine is also still available. Appointments can be made by calling 563-568-5660.   When the appointment is made, instructions are given for the private location the immunizations will be administered.

Those with an appointment to receive their flu shot should remain in their vehicle until the nurse comes to get them and should bring along their insurance or Medicare card.

Influenza, also called “the flu”, can cause fever, chills, headache, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches to people of any age, and can lead to pneumonia and even death. Most deaths caused by influenza occur in the elderly, the very young or people who have a compromised immune system.

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Ann Klenske Ewing by Marv and Marge Strike, Bev Larson-Needham, Arlene Martin, Patsy Kerndt, Jane Dietrich, William and Sheila Clair, Robert and Joy Hansmeier, Tom and Karen Regan, Vivian Andregg, Carolyn Thomson and Gene Maurer, and Janice Kemp.

Memorials were also received in memory of Marcella “Marcie” Opfer by Donnalee and Ernie Osland, Mary Ann Hager, Marv and Marjorie Strike, Marcie Hansmeier, Curt Schoenthal, Dale and Virginia “Binne” Kurth, Linda Thompson, Ann and Dan Riesen, Mary Bublitz, Janet Snitker, and Laurie and Terry Welch.

Memorials were given in memory of Lorraine Adam by Joe and Mary Cunningham, Jerry and Linda Siegrist and an anonymous donor; in memory of Keith Roffman by Rudy and Marian Hesla, Beverly Bacon, Ardys Kuhse, Joan Moore and John and Joellen Roffman; and in memory of Monte Dundee by Betty White.