Health

by Katy Maker, Nurse Midwife and Nurse Practitioner, Veterans Memorial Hospital and Medical Clinics

Choosing whether to breastfeed or formula feed your baby is only one of the many decisions expectant parents will make. It takes time to make such an important decision because it will not only affect your baby’s life but also the lives of the entire household.   Breastfeeding is a commitment that both parents are involved in as it takes support from the partner to be successful.

“National Breastfeeding Week is an excellent time to think about lots of issues around how we feed our children,” states Katy Maker, Nurse Midwife at Veterans Memorial Hospital and Clinics. “The neat thing about breast milk is that it’s always ready, it’s made specifically for that one child, and there are many ways to involve the whole family.”

Point of Contact Testing Proves to be Life-Saving

Veterans Memorial Hospital will be offering free Blood Sugar Testing and Blood Pressure checks with immediate results at the Waukon Corn Days celebration held downtown the evening of Friday,  August 4. The tests will be performed by staff, in the Veterans Memorial Hospital first aid tent. Both of these checks take just a few seconds to perform and are free of charge.

The hospital typically offers these two tests at most all area events and often times catches individuals who unknowingly have high results. Jane Wedo of Castalia was one of those. She visited the Veterans Memorial Hospital fair booth in 2022 and had her blood pressure checked. After finding a very high result, she was directed to seek medical attention right away. She returned to the hospital fair booth this year, to thank them for saving her life.           

The local Grief Support Group will be holding its monthly meeting at Veterans Memorial Hospital Tuesday, August 8 at 5 p.m. in the Meditation Healing Center, located just inside the main entrance of the hospital. This informal meeting is open to anyone suffering from any type of loss whether it be death, divorce, illness or some other grief.

Feel free to attend and bring a friend. This grief support meets the second Tuesday of each month at the hospital.
 

The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Monday, August 7 from 12-5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church located in south Waukon.  Blood drives are held once a month in Waukon, to allow for more donors to give. The LifeServe Blood Center supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with its blood and blood products.

Blood centers across the United States see a decrease in blood donations during the busy summer months.  During the summer, people become more active, have busier schedules, spend more time outdoors and take vacations. While donations decline, hospitals see an increase in the need for blood.  More driving can mean more automobile accidents.  A person who has suffered severe injuries from an automobile accident can need up to 50 units of blood.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Speech-Language Pathologist Steven Mazzafield offers a Stroke Support Group for individuals who have experienced a stroke, as well as caregivers and family members affected by stroke.

Monthly meetings are held the first Thursday of every month at 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. The next Stroke Support Group meeting will be held Thursday, August 3 at 2 p.m. in the Large Conference Room.

The Stroke Support Group provides opportunities to share tips, tricks or trials among participants, offer support for caregivers, and provide an opportunity for socialization.

While strokes can happen at any age, risk of stroke is greatest as individuals get older with the majority of strokes occurring after the age of 70. Risk factors for stroke include obesity, sedentary lifestyle, binge drinking, diabetes, smoking, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

July 4, Grace Bulman, age 91 of Eitzen, MN was busy preparing for her family to arrive for Independence Day festivities, using a leaf blower on her back deck when she broke her hip. She was taken by ambulance to La Crosse, WI where she had hip surgery that same day.

After staying in the hospital for three nights, it was time to be transferred to another facility. Thanks to a family member telling her about Swing Bed Skilled Care at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon, Grace was ready to go home two weeks to the day following her surgery.

“When I came into the hospital in Waukon, the first thing I noticed was it seems like family,” stated Grace.  “The whole unit was welcoming, kind, caring and glad I was here. It was such a warm feeling. I felt peaceful, like I had made the right decision to come here and that with their help I knew I would get back home again.  I was in the right place.”

The members of the Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) are actively recruiting new and returning members to join them during their annual membership drive which is going on now.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital is devoted to providing the hospital, its patients and visitors with many services. The Auxiliary also holds annual fundraisers, such as the Women’s Health Day Luncheon each fall, the Pillow-Perk in October, a garage sale in the spring and their annual membership drive each July.    All the money the Auxiliary receives goes back to the hospital for equipment.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Speech-Language Pathologist Steven Mazzafield offers a Stroke Support Group for individuals who have experienced a stroke, as well as caregivers and family members affected by stroke. Monthly meetings are held the first Thursday of every month at 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Hospital. The next Stroke Support Group meeting will be held Thursday, August 3 at 2 p.m. in the Large Conference Room.

The Stroke Support Group provides opportunities to share tips, tricks or trials among participants, offer support for caregivers, and provide an opportunity for socialization.

While strokes can happen at any age, risk of stroke is greatest in older individuals, with the majority of strokes occurring after the age of 70. Risk factors for stroke include obesity, sedentary lifestyle, binge drinking, diabetes, smoking, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, August 17 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) 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 in Waukon at 563-568-3411.
 

The local Grief Support Group will be holding its monthly meeting at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon Tuesday, August 8 at 5 p.m. in the Meditation Healing Center, located just inside the main entrance of the hospital.

This informal meeting is open to anyone suffering from any type of loss whether it be death, divorce, illness or some other grief. Feel free to attend and bring a friend. This grief support group meets the second Tuesday of each month at Veterans Memorial Hospital.