Health

Plenty of studies have shown that screen time is harmful to a child’s brain development, in some cases creating behavioral issues, depression and anxiety. But a new study recently released found that significant time on devices can also negatively affect the heart.

For young children, it’s difficult to regulate their use of devices by themselves, which is where parents need to step in, says Erin Davis, MD, a pediatric cardiologist at Emplify Health by Gundersen. But as they grow older, teens need to take charge of their health, which includes making healthy decisions. But when it comes to screens, in today’s world, that can be difficult.

It’s a time in life every woman goes through - menopause. With it comes the well-known changes, such as increases in LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as changes in body composition. Internal organs are also modified, and that can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women, so the importance of cardiovascular risk prevention can’t be overstated, says Heidi Werner, MD, a family doctor from Emplify Health by Gundersen and a Menopause Society certified provider. And those preventative steps are even more important as women reach menopause, which happens around the age of 51.

“Menopause is a single day in a woman’s life,” Werner says. “It is the one single day when you are one year after your final menstrual period. For some women, it’s hard to know when that day is because they’re on different things like birth control or have had a hysterectomy.”

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) has partnered with Senior Life Solutions to help older adults who are experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other mental challenges often associated with aging. The new Senior Health Solutions program is located on the upper level of Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. 

Senior Life Solutions provides outpatient services designed to meet the unique needs of individuals (typically 65 and older) who could benefit from coping and communication skills to improve their mental health. The program offers group and individual therapy, psychiatric evaluation, and medication management. The Senior Life Solutions team includes a board-certified psychiatrist, licensed therapists, a registered nurse, and other professionals dedicated to the emotional well-being of the older adults in our community.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon began offering a monthly Pain Management Clinic to the area over a year ago, in October 2024. The demand keeps growing as do the days this service is available.

Shawn Blake, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, originally of Dorchester, began offering his services to provide relief for patients with chronic pain, in October 2024, just one day per month. That demand quickly grew to two days per month and now will be offered three days per month.

by Sue McMillan, Nurse Practitioner, VMH Waukon Medical Clinic
 
Recently the state of Iowa has the undesired statistic of the second highest cancer rate in the United States, (Kentucky is first).  All of us have been impacted by cancer, either personally or through someone we know.

What can we do to help prevent cancer? What can we do to detect cancer early and have a better outcome if diagnosed with cancer?

There are both prevention and screening measures that one can incorporate to help reduce mortality for many cancers.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) began nuclear cardiac stress testing within their Cardiac Rehab unit in 2008. The convenience of having these nuclear tests offered on a local level has been well received in the community since it began. 

Nuclear Cardiac Stress Testing offers two different methods, both highly effective in detecting heart disease. These two forms of nuclear stress testing are called the Exercise Nuclear Stress Test and Lexiscan Nuclear Imaging. Both methods can increase the likelihood of finding heart disease by 20% when compared to traditional treadmill stress tests. 

Both the Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Medical Clinics in Waukon and Postville are extending their hours beginning February 23. This is made possible by the additional medical providers who have joined the clinics recently. These extended hours will offer greater flexibility for seeing a medical provider earlier and later in the day, as well as keep both clinics open throughout the lunch hour each day.

Starting Monday, February 23, the Waukon Medical Clinic will now be opening at 7:30 a.m. Mondays and at 7 a.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. The clinic will remain open until 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday evenings and until 5 p.m. Fridays.  

Consider a different way to give back to the heart of the community by donating blood. The next local blood drive will be held in Waukon Monday, March 2 from 12-5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church located in south Waukon.

Heart disease remains the number-one reason patients are hospitalized and many require blood during treatment. A single blood transfusion can help restore normal heart rhythm and oxygen flow during cardiac emergencies.

People who give blood have an 88% lower risk of having a heart attack so giving blood is a win-win situation for both the donor and the recipient. Blood pressure, pulse and hemoglobin are all checked at every blood donation so donors know if it’s high or low and can see patterns that may cause concern, helping keep them healthy and reducing heart attack risk.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, February 19 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.     

This month’s guest speaker will be LuAnn Rolling, retired conservationist, who will be speaking about how soil health affects the nutrition of food.

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, Diabetes Educator, at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.

The Iowa Insurance Division’s SHIIP Program would like to remind Iowans about two important Medicare deadlines coming up.