Health

World Senior Citizens Day is August 21 and a time to honor the older adults who strengthen families, workplaces, and communities through their experiences, wisdom, and contributions. 

Often times, senior citizens are lonely, depressed and in need of mental health support. Veterans Memorial Hospital’s (VMH) Senior Life Solutions (SLS) provides outpatient mental health services for older adults, including group therapy, individual therapy, psychiatric evaluation, and medication management.

This World Senior Citizens Day, celebrate older adults and encourage continued care for the mind, body, and spirit. Call 563-568-5560  or visit the Senior Life Solutions section of Veterans Memorial Hospital’s website to learn more at https://www.veteransmemorialhospital.com/services/senior_life_solutions/.

You can become a Dementia Friend by attending a one-hour information session to learn about living with dementia and the simple things you can do to support someone living with dementia. This session is free and open to the public at Robey Memorial Library in Waukon.

This one-hour session will be led by Madison Montorsi Dementia Service Specialist with Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A). At the session, you’ll learn some basics of dementia such as what dementia is, how it can affect a person, some tips for communicating with people who have dementia, and other ways to support people with dementia. No registration required and feel free to bring a friend.

- Thursday, August 27: 5-6 p.m. at Robey Memorial Library, 401 1st Avenue NW, Waukon, IA 52172

For more information, contact Madison Montorsi at MMontorsi@nei3a.org.

A sleep guide for parents

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, August 20 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of the hospital.     

This month’s topic will focus on diabetes and exercise. Through the generosity of the Postville and Waukon Lions Clubs, resistance bands have been purchased to promote exercise and building muscle. These bands will be shared with hospital outpatients with diabetes as well as all attendees to the August support group. At that meeting, Brad Krambeer, PTA, will be there to demonstrate some exercises that can be done with these resistance/exercise bands.

They will also discuss how exercise of different kinds can assist with blood sugar management.

Memorials were received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Marian Hesla by Cindy Barness, James and Rebecca Beardmore, Wendy Bucheit, Robbie and Brenda Burrett, Mike and Cindy Gibbs, Don and DiAnne Haler, Rudolph Hesla, Mary Lou and Wayne Leidahl, Richard and Joan Leiran, Dave and Karen Mathis, James and Janice Pfiffner, S.L. Ronan, Wayne and Nona Sawyer, Joan and Scott Schmidt, Lillian Schmieden, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Terry and Laurie Welch, Bill, Jim, Jane, and John Withers and families, as well as an anonymous donation.

Memorials were also received in memory of Louise Ellingson by Ann Klees; in memory of Harvey Estebo by Trish and Corey Shelton; in memory of Irv Fosaaen by Kathy and Tom Swan; and in memory of Ruby Herman by Betty Irons, Ann Klees, Eunice Kolsrud and Beth and Bill Shafer.

A donation was also received by the Foundation in honor of Cathy Jurgen’s birthday by Joan Bieber.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) and Elliott Jewelers Women’s Health Day will be celebrating their 21st annual event this year, returning to an evening “Women’s Wellness Night Out” from 4-7 p.m., September 1, at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion. The event will be sponsored again this year by Veterans Memorial Hospital and Elliott Jewelers, in conjunction with the Waukon Chamber of Commerce.

Visitors to the Veterans Memorial Hospital booth during the downtown Waukon Corn Days meal Friday, August 14 will be invited to play Heart Health Trivia with prizes awarded. 

Adults are also invited to take advantage of the free wellness testing offered with immediate results. Free Blood Pressure Checks, Blood Sugar Tests and Hemoglobin (Iron) Tests will all be offered.  Random testing such as this opportunity at Waukon Corn Days helps to find the individuals who have high, undiagnosed diabetes, blood pressure or low iron and direct them to the professionals who can help them successfully manage the issue. Each test takes just a couple minutes to complete and does not require any fasting.

Free samples of sunblock with an SPF of 50 will also be handed out along with skin cancer awareness and prevention information, compliments of Allamakee Public Health and the Iowa Cancer Consortium.

There is still time to get vital immunizations before school starts. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), vaccines help the body learn how to defend itself from disease without the dangers of a full-blown infection. The immune response to a vaccine might cause tiredness and discomfort for a day or two, but the resulting protection from the vaccination can last a lifetime.

Infections are unpredictable and can have long-term consequences. Even mild or symptom-less infections can be deadly. For example, most people infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV) never show any sign of infection.

But for some, the sign appears years later as an aggressive, life-threatening cancer. By then, it’s too late to get vaccinated.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, August 20, 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, Certified Diabetes Educator at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

Become a Dementia Friend by attending a one-hour information session coordinated by Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A) to learn about living with dementia and the simple things you can do to support someone living with dementia. These sessions are free and open to the public.

Learn some basics of dementia such as what dementia is, how it can affect a person, some tips for communicating with people who have dementia, and other ways to support people with dementia. No registration is required and feel free to bring a friend.