Health

Flu Shots are still available at the Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care. Flu shots are recommended for all those who have not yet received the vaccine and will be effective throughout the rest of the flu season.

Flu shots are available without appointment each Wednesday afternoon during the weekly immunization clinic in the Community and Home Care Department located on the upper level of Veterans Memorial Hospital, Waukon. These immunization clinics are held from 1-6 p.m. the first and third Wednesday of each month, and from 1-4 p.m. all other Wednesdays.

For more information, contact the Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care Office at 563-568-5660.
 

The upcoming Fresh Conversations program, sponsored by Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging, will be held at the Waukon Wellness Center Senior Center Tuesday, February 28 at 11:15 a.m. The program will include a discussion on how to prevent food illnesses, including tips on reading food label “use by” dates to keep your groceries safe. You’ll talk about body symptoms to be aware of that can indicate you have a food illness. And, you’ll learn about the State of Iowa’s 844-IowaSic hotline  you can call if you suspect you have a foodborne illness.

Local facilitator, Tatum Miller from  Good Samaritan Society-Waukon, will lead the conversation packed with tips on how to keep your food safe. Check out the congregate meal site and take part in a meal while you are there.

The flu has hit Iowa, but there is still time for immunization. Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care continues to offer flu shots every Wednesday afternoon during its regular immunization clinics. The next flu shot clinics will be held Wednesday, January 25 from 1-4 p.m. and then again Wednesday, February 1 from 1-6 p.m. and each Wednesday afternoon thereafter. The Community and Home Care Immunization Clinic is located on the upper level of Veterans Memorial Hospital.

Immunization clinics are held from 1-6 p.m. the first and third Wednesdays of the month, and from 1-4 p.m. all other Wednesdays. Flu vaccine, pneumonia vaccine, and a combination of flu and pneumonia vaccine will all be available. Tetanus shots are always offered as well.

Veterans Memorial Hospital is encouraging individuals in the area communities to sign up to participate in Live Healthy Iowa for the next 10 weeks. The Live Healthy Iowa web-based program offers many advantages over the hospital’s previous In-Step program, including personal online fitness tracking, weekly motivational emails and unlimited access to recipes, workouts and other health information, all easily accessible on the Live Healthy Iowa website.

Registration for Live Healthy Iowa is going on now. The cost to participate in Live Healthy Iowa includes a Live Healthy Iowa t-shirt and a free magazine subscription to one of many popular magazines. To get a team signed up, go to www.livehealthyiowa.org and click the sign-up button.

Veterans Memorial Hospital in cooperation with the American Heart Association is offering a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation for lay people (those not working in healthcare), which includes child care providers, Monday, February 13 from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

The CPR class, which will cover adult, child and infant CPR, will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of the hospital. The cost of the class is the same for certification or recertification. The card received with the course does certify attendants in CPR for two years.

CPR is administered when someone’s breathing, pulse, or both, stop. When both of them stop, the victim has suffered sudden death, which can be caused by poisoning, drowning, choking, suffocation, electrocution, smoke inhalation, or the most common cause, heart attack.

Are mammograms covered by Medicare Part B? What coverage can I get with Medicare supplement insurance? Do long-term care policies cover people with Alzheimer’s disease? Does every Medicare beneficiary have to make a decision about Medicare Part D?

Answers to these questions can be found by meeting with the Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) volunteers at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Russ Hagen of Waterville and Stan and Mary Straate of Postville are trained volunteers and are available by appointment to meet with any person or family with Medicare questions and concerns. Anyone wishing to schedule an appointment should call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.

Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation (NEICAC) Family Service Offices will continue taking all applications throughout the winter season for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Any household that applied for LIHEAP in the 2015-2016 LIHEAP program year can complete their applications online at http://www.neicac.org/energy.html. Again this year, the household income eligibility has been raised from 150% of federal poverty level to 175%.

This program is funded through the Iowa Department of Human Rights and has been established to help qualifying low-income Iowa homeowners and renters pay a portion of their primary heating costs. All low-income northeast Iowans are encouraged to apply, including senior citizens and individuals with disabilities. Households burning wood or where heating is included as part of the rent may also be eligible for assistance.

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Kris Sweeney by Robert and Kristi Campbell, Jerry and Linda Siegrist, Dave and Laurie Martin, Elsa Hager and Carl and Betty Christianson.

Memorials were also received in memory of James Moe by Oliver Roderick, Mae Jean Bakke, John and Lorna Kerndt, Carl and Betty Christianson and Carol Moe.

Additional memorials were received by Robert and Judy Iseli, Otto and Eleanor Thorstenson, Mae Jean Bakke and Jananne Miene, all in memory of LaVerne Sorum.

A donation was also made to the “Think Pink” campaign by The Standard Newspaper/New Publishing Co, Inc., for the future purchase of a new mammography machine at Veterans Memorial Hospital.

In an effort to promote Robey Memorial Library’s early literacy program, 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, the library and Library Foundation have partnered with Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon to reach out to families delivering babies at the hospital.

Starting January 1, a literacy care package will be gifted to each newborn at Veterans Memorial Hospital, including the board book, "Read to Your Bunny" by Rosemary Wells that was generously purchased by the Robey Memorial Library Foundation Board.

“This is a great gift from the library to give to each of our families delivering at VMH,” states Diane Allison, Obstetrics (OB) Supervisor at VMH. “The books are beautiful, hard cover books and include some nice coupons for a library tote bag and even the monthly library book sale. I am sure each family will really enjoy them.”

by Machelle Bulman, RN, Director of Nursing, Veterans Memorial Hospital

Happy New Year from VMH! It is a great time to start new with a healthier you! Here are a few tips to get you on your way.

1. Don’t wait until you’re sick to choose a primary provider.
2. See your primary provider for regular check-ups.
3. Develop a relationship with your primary care provider.

These three steps listed above will help you with all of the following:
• Better management of chronic diseases.
• Transparency of your entire health history.
• Getting your routine screening completed.
• Catching health issues earlier.
• Referrals made to medical specialists when needed.

By following these steps, you will see a decrease in hospitalizations and emergency (ER) visits while enjoying better patient/provider communication.