Health

It is the right of the patient to choose the medical care they wish in any situation, even when the patient is too sick or hurt to tell their family members or their physician. The way to ensure the correct healthcare wishes are carried out is to complete an Advance Directive. Advance Directives include: Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare and/or a Living will.

1. In order to have an Advance Directive the patient will need to discuss their wishes with their family and physician. An Advance Directive should be done by discussing your wishes with your family and physician and then completing our Power of Attorney for Healthcare form.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, April 18 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 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.
 

Veterans Memorial Hospital will be offering the next course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for health care providers (those working in health related fields such as physicians, nurses, EMTs, etc.) Wednesday, April 17, 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.

The cost of the class, for certification or recertification, is the same and all registrants should bring along their own pocket mask. The online certificate received certifies attendants in CPR for two years.

Pre-registration plus a minimum of three participants is required. For more information and to register for the “Health Care Provider” CPR Course, call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital will be holding its monthly Euchre Marathon for all individuals of the community interested Thursday, April 18. Men and women are welcome to attend, even if not an Auxiliary member. The Euchre marathons are held the third Thursday of each month at the Senior Citizens Room at the Waukon Wellness Center.

The Auxiliary’s Euchre Marathons begin at 11:30 a.m. with dinner, if chosen. Call Northland Agency on Aging at 877-838-8077 if choosing to eat dinner. Card playing will follow at 12:30 p.m. until approximately 2:30 p.m. Anyone wishing to stay and play cards following the Senior Citizens meal is more than welcome to do so. All proceeds go towards the Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital. Prizes will be awarded.

Anyone interested in attending but preferring to play Bridge is also welcome to join in. It is asked that they come with their own table of four players, however.

by Veterans Memorial
Hospital Community and Home Care and the Iowa
Department of Public Health

Public health plays an important role in Iowa’s high standard of living. Prevention is its vanguard. The goal of public health is helping to create an environment where people can live in good health. Public health helps make good health happen in Iowa’s homes, neighborhoods, schools and workplace.

Public health is more than just state and local government agencies. The public health community works together to fight disease and promote healthy lifestyles through the use of nutrition education, physical activity, immunization clinics, disease surveillance  and home nursing and home care aide visits.

Veterans Memorial Hospital, in partnership with Shared Medical Services, introduces state-of-the-art Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to the local communities. A high field 1.5T MRI scanning system from GE Healthcare is now in service as of April 1. The GE MRI system replaces the older system and integrates the newest patient-friendly features with 16-channel technology for superior image quality, shorter exam times and increased diagnostic confidence.

MRI is a non-invasive procedure used to create detailed images of the soft-tissue, organs and vessels of the body.  Two-dimensional images are obtained utilizing a combination of a strong magnetic field, radio waves and a computer. MRI does not use radiation and there are no known harmful effects.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will again be offering a pain control presentation for the public April 24 and 25.   Dr. Dave Schwartz will again be hosting these informative pain control presentations which will both detail the two new pain control options he offers at Veterans Memorial Hospital. Both presentations will include the same information, but they are being offered on two different days at different times to try to suit more schedules.

The Wednesday, April 24 presentation will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of Veterans Memorial Hospital. The Thursday, April 25 presentation will begin at 10 a.m. and will also be held in the hospital’s Large Conference Room.

Jill Fleming, RD/LD, Dietitian at Veterans Memorial Hospital, will present a two-part series entitled, “The Simple Way to Clean-Up Your Diet” April 16 and 23.  The presentation will be held at 5:30 p.m. both days in the Large Conference Room at the hospital.

The focus of this class is to help attendees lose weight as well as improve energy and health. Objectives include the following:

· Learn how to lose weight without dieting.
· Lower blood sugar readings.
· Improve cholesterol level and lower blood pressure.
· Discover super foods which decrease appetite and can make those who eat them feel amazing.
· Learn how to eliminate food addictions permanently.

This class will be held free of charge, but anyone interested is asked to call Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon to pre-register at 563-568-3411.
 

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, April 18 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 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.
 

“Welcome to Medicare” is a free, two-hour seminar offered by the Veterans Memorial Hospital Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) counselors.  This program will be held Monday, April 22 from 5-7 p.m. in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of Veterans Memorial Hospital.

“We’re excited to be offering another free seminar to the community,” says Russ Hagen, SHIIP volunteer.  “Medicare is such an important program and understanding what it offers helps assure that anyone eligible gets the health benefits they deserve.”

“Welcome to Medicare” will cover Medicare Part A and Part B benefits, the prescription drug benefit (Part D), Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare supplement insurance.