Health

Because of the overwhelming need for mental health care, both Janet Hunter, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, (PMHNP) and Angela Taylor, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP), have joined Tara Fink in providing behavioral health care services in northeast Iowa. Both Janet and Angie have many years of nursing experience and have seen the great need for behavioral health care during their careers. This is why they both went back to school to earn their nurse practitioner degrees in behavioral health care. All three of these behavioral health providers accept patients of any age.

by Minji Ransom, Family Nurse Practitioner, Veterans Memorial Hospital Waukon and Postville Clinics
 
January is Cervical Health Awareness Month, a time to focus on the importance of preventing and detecting cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, yet it still affects thousands of women each year. Regular screening and vaccination are powerful tools that protect long-term health and save lives.

One of the most important steps in cervical health is routine screening. Pap tests and HPV testing can find abnormal cervical cell changes long before cancer develops. Most women should begin screening at age 21, with follow-up intervals based on age, test type, and prior results. Even if you feel healthy and have no symptoms, screening is essential - cervical cancer often develops silently in its early stages.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, January 15 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held at VMH in the Large Conference Room, located on the lower level of the hospital.     

Two new clinic providers will be presenting at the meeting including Angela Taylor, Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, who will talk on the “winter blues” and ways to combat them, including red light therapy. Angela Taylor joins Tara Fink and Janet Hunter in providing mental health services in both the Waukon and Postville Clinics. 

Dr. John Swords is also going to present at the meeting to discuss weight loss for people living with Type 2 Diabetes. Dr. Swords joined the Waukon Clinic in November and has already been very busy.

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory Don Bakke by Arlen and Karlene Wonderlich; in memory of Ken Becknell by Brad and Erin Berns; in memory of Dr. William Clair by Sheila Clair; in memory of Bill Clark by Marilyn Clark; in memory of Sandra Fish by Linda Siegrist; in memory of Sue Freese by Steve and Sheryl Evanson; in memory of Dean and Clarian Gunderson by Alan and Kathy Gunderson; in memory of Jerry Hemesath by Eileen Hemesath; in memory of Roger Hesse by Wendy Bucheit in memory of Lisa Kerndt by Brad and Erin Berns; in memory of Shirley Larkin by Cyril Larkin and in memory of Jim Moose by Lesa Moose.

Additional memorials were also received in memory of Marlene Dahlstrom by Carl and Betty Christianson, Steve and Sheryl Evanson, Lesa Moose, Tom and Karen Regan, Linda Siegrist and Chuck and Lois Votsmier.

Veterans Memorial Hospital Waukon and Postville Clinics welcome Nurse Practitioner, Mason (Hermeier) Kerian, who is now seeing patients in both the Waukon and Postville Clinics. Mason is a 2017 graduate of Waukon High School and has been attending the University of Iowa in Iowa City for the last eight years as she has worked on earning her nurse practitioner doctorate.

Mason became a nurse practitioner because she saw how poor health outcomes often result from something as simple as miscommunication, a lack of trust or a missed connection between providers and their patients.

“I wanted to be the kind of provider patients feel comfortable opening up to,” explains Mason. “I think when patients feel heard and supported, health care can become really individualized and meaningful.”

Mason earned her initial nursing degree from the University of Iowa College of Nursing, then went on to earn her doctorate, focusing specifically on family medicine.

January is Radon Awareness Month in Iowa. Radon is an odorless, colorless, tasteless gas that causes no immediate health symptoms, but long-term exposures can cause lung cancer. It comes from the breakdown of uranium in soil. Simple test kits can reveal the amount of radon in any building.

All of Iowa is considered to have unsafe levels of radon, however, Allamakee County is prone to have even higher numbers due to the fractured bedrock and karst topography under our feet. Fractures in the bedrock create small cracks and fissures that allow radon to move easier through the stone and soils and make entry into homes.  

January is Blood Donor Month. Blood donations are needed everywhere, even right here in Iowa. The following are interesting blood facts on blood from LifeServe Blood Center who supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) with their blood products:
• Every 3 seconds someone needs blood.
• Blood makes up about 8 percent of a person’s body weight.
• Blood is needed every minute of every day; summer, winter, spring and fall.
• Scheduled surgeries are often cancelled around the county due to a lack of blood.
• Donating blood includes a health check for the donor (checking blood pressure, pulse, temperature and hemoglobin) prior to donating.
• There is absolutely no way you can contract any disease from giving blood.
• Blood can be split into different components (red cells, platelets, plasma, and cryoprecipitate) and used to help different types of patients.

by Beth Shafer, Growth and Development Coordinator, Veterans Memorial Hospital

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Postville Clinic upgrade project continues to move forward thanks to a combination of grant funding and strong community support.

The project has received two grants that will help advance improvements to both the facility and medical equipment, strengthening health care access for the Postville community and surrounding area.

The first grant was from the McElroy Trust for $20,000 to support bricks-and-mortar upgrades to the clinic. These funds will be used for physical upgrades and modernizing the space to ensure it can continue to meet the growing health care needs of patients and providers.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, January 15, 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.
 

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Joyce Regan by Gladwin and Darlene Anderson, Ann Fossum, Frank and Patty Goltz, Don and DiAnne Haler, Bill and Gloria Hennessy, Brad and Judy Herman, Hills Bank, Michael Huber, Patsy Kerndt, James and Jill Kiesau, Jim Kling and Dave Kletcher, Bev Krambeer, Greg and Cathy Mohwinkle, Mary Nagel, Don and Connie Nagel, Stephanie Palmer, Diane Regan, Bill and Karen Regan, Mary Rindels, James and Linda Ryan, Dan and Jean Scott, Kevin and Judy Selberg, Beth and Bill Shafer, Fred and Claudia Tessmer, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Dave and Penny Wheeler, Deb Zuercher and Brad and Erin Berns.

Memorials were also received in memory of Jeanne Roggensack by Frank and Patty Goltz; in memory of Clark Snitker by Alan Snitker, and in memory of DuWayne Snitker by Jane Dietrich.
In addition, a donation was made by Roger and Kathy Linderbaum in honor of Dr. Thomas McMullan.