Health

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon will be offering special Christmas  Weekend Clinics Saturday, December 23, Sunday, December 24, and Monday, December 25 from 1-5 p.m. each day.

The following weekend for the New Year’s holiday, the weekend clinics will also be available Saturday, December 30, Sunday, December 31, and Monday, January 1, from 1-5 p.m. each day.

Weekend Clinics are held every Saturday and Sunday year-round at Veterans Memorial Hospital for non-emergencies and help save families the cost of regular emergency room fees on the weekends when the other local clinics are closed.

Anyone needing to utilize these weekend clinics over the holiday is asked to enter the hospital through the main entrance and register with the receptionist. Walk-ins are welcome.  For more information, call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Greg Hamm by Marv and Marge Strike, Maury and Kay Mooney, Dave and Laurie Martin, Tony and Teri Link, Orrin and Nan Grangaard, Ernie and Donnalee Osland, Gary and Joan David, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Ray and Lorraine Mitchell, Jerry and Linda Siegrist, Jane Dietrich, Marcy Selberg and Dennis and Sandy Deal.

Memorials were also received in memory of Mike Van Gorp by Marv and Marge Strike, Bernard Welsh, Mary Anne Otting, Marian Smedsrud, Brian and Denise Wullner, George Pickett, Dr. Arlen and Karlene Wonderlich, Dave and Laurie Martin, Carol Paus, Ardie Kuhse, Mae Jean Bakke, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Bob and Marilyn Bulman and Dan and Sue Schlitter.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will not hold a regular meeting in December. The group will begin holding its regular monthly meetings again in January.

For more information on the Diabetes Support Group, call Teresa Myers RN, Diabetes Educator, or Angie Mettille, RN, at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon is pleased to announce it has been named a 2017 Guardian of Excellence Award® winner by Press Ganey. The Guardian of Excellence Award recognizes top-performing health care organizations that have consistently achieved the 95th percentile or above of performance in Patient Experience/Inpatient Services.

The Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award is a nationally-recognized symbol of achievement in health care. Presented annually, the award honors clients who consistently sustained performance in the top five percent of all Press Ganey clients for each reporting period during the course of one year.

Ness Pumping and Porta Potty Rentals of Waukon hosted a Breast Cancer Awareness Walk Saturday, October 7 in the Waukon City Park to raise funds for breast cancer awareness and detection. Despite the cool rainy weather that day, a large number turned out for the event. Breast Cancer survivors were asked to sign a pink porta potty sporting the breast cancer ribbon, t-shirts were distributed and refreshments served.

Saturday, November 25, the Ness family awarded the proceeds raised from that walk to the hospital to be used towards the purchase of the new 3D mammography machine recently installed at the hospital. The $1,200 donation will help Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon finance the newly-installed 3D mammography machine at its facility.

Veterans Memorial Hospital dietitians will be offering a new eight-week weight loss class beginning in January that will teach the healthy lifestyle choices needed to lose the weight for good.  The key to permanent weight loss is to adopt new daily choices that, with consistent repetition, become habits. That is why the hospital offers the Healthy Lifestyles Weight Loss Class, which is open to anyone in the area communities of any age. The class will be offered Mondays from 5:30-6:45 p.m. starting January 15 running through March 5.

A free, introductory class will be held Monday, January 8 starting at 5:30 p.m. Anyone can hear more about the program and see if they wish to sign up for the eight-week program, beginning the following Monday.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will begin the next Prepared Childbirth Education classes (formerly called Lamaze) Monday, January 8. The classes will continue for two more consecutive Monday evenings, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Large Conference Room.

The Prepared Childbirth Education classes at Veterans Memorial Hospital are offered in three sessions that allow the expectant parents to choose which topics they wish to learn more about. They may choose to attend one, two or all three sessions.  Session 1 covers labor, delivery and the postpartum period following delivery; Session 2 includes relaxation, breathing and pain management; and Session 3 covers infant care. Tours of the OB Department are available with each session as well.

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Diana Ward by Dave and Laurie Martin, Jerry and Linda Siegrist, Scott and Jill Manning, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Penny Wheeler, Steve and Becky Welper, Karen Kerndt, Bernard Welsh, Mike and Linda Ferring, Ken and Diane Butikofer, Ken and Shirley O’Hara, Brad and Erin Berns, Dan and Sharon Cunningham, Russ and Mary Jo Meyer, Mary Kay Anderson and Mae Jean Bakke.

Memorials were also received in memory of Deloris Topel by Gladwin and Darlene Anderson and Dave and Laurie Martin, in memory of Cindy Ward Skags by Dr. Bill and Libby Withers, in memory of Clark Snitker by Jim and Bev Larson-Needham and Robert and Kristi Campbell, and in memory of Lisa Schreiber by Mary Anne Otting.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Monona Clinic opened its doors in mid September with Dr. Andrea Venteicher as the sole medical provider. The Monona Clinic has now announced that Krista Begalske, ARNP, Nurse Practitioner, has joined the practice and has begun seeing patients at the clinic as well.

Krista is originally from the St. Olaf area and attended Central Community High School in Elkader. She went on to study nursing at Allen College in Waterloo. She continued on and achieved her nurse practitioner degree and license and has been working at Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo for the last few years. Krista, her husband, Eric, and their young son recently moved back to northeast Iowa so Krista could begin practicing family medicine at the Monona Clinic.

The holidays, usually a time of celebration with family and friends, can be an especially difficult time after the loss of a loved one. “If you’ve lost someone close to you, recognize that the holidays can intensify your feelings of grief and loss,” says Erica Krause-Wagner, FNP, nurse practitioner at the Gundersen Lansing Clinic. “Grief is a natural process, but don’t let it isolate you, especially during the holidays. Instead of avoiding celebrations, surround yourself with family and friends, and continue holiday traditions or begin new traditions.”

Grief is different for everyone and for every situation. According to Krause-Wagner, “There is no set timeline for grief or set stages. It is more like a roller coaster of emotions including shock, disbelief, denial, anger, sadness and guilt.”