Health

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) recognized leaders in nutrition and physical activity at a ceremony held April 11 at the 2017 Iowa Governor’s Conference on Public Health in Des Moines. Among those honored organizations was the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative.

The honorees emulate the IDPH Bureau of Nutrition and Health Promotion vision of “an Iowa where healthy living is accessible, valued and supported by all.” The winners must strive to make the bureau’s mission a reality by “ensuring that Iowans have the opportunity to live a healthy lifestyle by providing education and resources, building partnerships and supporting communities.”

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon will again be awarding prizes to all those in Allamakee and northern Clayton counties that participated in the Live Healthy Iowa 10-week Wellness Challenge in 2017. Prizes will be awarded during the hospital’s annual Family Wellness Fair which will be held Wednesday, May 10 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the hospital.

In order to claim a participation prize at the Veterans Memorial Hospital Family Wellness Fair, Live Healthy Iowa participants are asked to present their access card at the receptionist desk during the fair. Personalized participant access cards can be found by going to the Live Healthy Iowa website at www.livehealthyiowa.org and under the participant’s “my dashboard” tab, clicking on the “access card” graphic at the bottom right of that dashboard page. The card can then be printed and brought in to the Wellness Fair to redeem the prize.

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Darrell Snitker by Jerry and Linda Siegrist, Harold and Shirley Marti, Gayle Larkin, Robert and Judy Iseli, Patsy Kerndt, Rosanne and Darrel Wicks, John and Sheryl Prestemon, and family and friends of Darrell Snitker.

Memorials were also received in memory of Arden Hanson by Ardys Kuhse, Randy and Lori Hesse, Al and Fern Rissman, Harold and Shirley Marti, Mary Fink, Mavis Berns, Marcella Selberg, Bob and Marilyn Bulman, Jerry and Linda Siegrist, Bill and Karen Regan and Joyce Hanson.

Memorials and donations are greatly appreciated by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation.  The Foundation is a 501C3 organization. All donations to the Foundation are tax deductible. Memorials and donations can be sent to 40 First Street SE, Waukon, IA  52172.
 

by Tami Gebel,
Occupational Therapist

Have you heard someone over the age of 60 years old say.... “In my day, we didn’t have computers to do all of these things for us.” When they were young, writer’s cramp was a pain in the hand caused by holding a pencil for too long while writing on paper. These days, writer’s cramp is rare because everything is typed, texted, emailed or faxed. Today the pain experienced from technology use is not limited to our hands; we have pains in our eyes, back, neck, wrists, elbows and shoulders.  There is even new terminology, such as ‘texting thumb,’ ‘text claw,’ and ‘text neck’ to describe the pains we are experiencing with use of cell phones, computers, tablets, laptops, and even video gaming systems.

It is the right of the patient to choose the medical care they wish in any situation, even when the patient is too sick or hurt to tell their family members or their physician. The way to ensure the correct healthcare wishes are carried out is to complete an Advanced Directive. Advanced Directives include: Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare and/or a Living will.

Immunizations; a word no parent or child wants to hear. Yet immunizations play an important role in keeping many spreadable harmful diseases away from children and infants alike. “In the United States, vaccine-preventable disease such as measles, mumps and whooping cough can happen and will happen,” says Steven Perkins, D.O., family physician at Mayo Clinic Health System – Franciscan Healthcare in Waukon.

“If we stopped immunizing, even the minimal cases we have in this country could rapidly turn into tens or hundreds of thousands of cases,” says Dr. Perkins. Immunizations help to decrease the chance of infection by aligning with the body’s natural defenses to help it safely grow immunity to disease.

Although many children fear immunizations, Dr. Perkins offers these suggestions for parents to help make immunization visits easier for everyone.

Veterans Memorial Hospital’s Diabetes Self-Management Education Program will again be offering another free, educational program on “Diabetes Prevention” at Veterans Memorial Hospital. This event will be held Monday, April 24 in the ICN Conference Room, located on the lower level of  Veterans Memorial Hospital. Teresa Myers, RN, Certified Diabetes Educator, and Angie Mettille, RN will be teaching all those attending how to reduce the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes.

Pre-Diabetes is a condition that comes before Type 2 diabetes when the blood glucose (sugar) levels are higher than normal, but aren’t high enough to be called diabetes. It is a silent disease, meaning someone can have it without even knowing it. Cutting back on calories and fat, being physically active and losing weight can reverse pre-diabetes and therefore delay or prevent Type 2 diabetes.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital will be holding its monthly Euchre Marathon for all individuals of the community interested Thursday, April 20. Men and women are welcome to attend, even if not an Auxiliary member. The Euchre marathons are held the third Thursday of each month at the Senior Citizens Room at the Waukon Wellness Center.

The Auxiliary’s Euchre Marathons begin at 11:30 a.m. with dinner if desired. Call Northland Agency on Aging at 877-838-8077 if opting to eat dinner. Card playing will follow at 12:30 p.m. until approximately 2:30 p.m. Anyone wishing to stay and play cards following the Senior Citizens meal is more than welcome to do so. The cost is $3 per person with all proceeds going towards the Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital. Prizes will be awarded.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, April 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 Teresa Myers, RN, C.D.E., Diabetes Educator, or Angie Mettille, RN, at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Keith Fahey by Dan and Traci Byrnes, Dave and Rita Newton, Randy and Lori Hesse, Bob and Marilyn Bulman, Cyril and Shirley Larkin, John and Lorna Kerndt, Bernard Welsh, Jerry and Linda Siegrist and Bob and Kristi Campbell.

Memorials were also received in memory of Kurt Rathbun by Ernie and Donnalee Osland, in memory of Curtis “CD” Kruger by Pat and Kathy McMillan, in memory of Owen Myhle by Jane Dietrich, and in memory of Glen Thorson by Rodney and Evonne Bloxham and Jerry and Linda Siegrist.

Memorials and donations are appreciated by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation.  The Foundation is a 501C3 organization.  All donations to the Foundation are tax deductible.  Memorials and donations can be sent to 40 First Street SE, Waukon, IA  52172.