Health

The members of the Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital 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 and 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) in Waukon will be offering free blood pressure checks and blood sugar tests each day at the Allamakee County Fair this year, as well as “Be the Match” stem cell sampling for everyone ages 18-40.

The “Be the Match” stem cell sampling is quick, easy, painless and can truly save a life. This is the same program that Robyn Roberts from Good Morning America endorses following her own successful bone marrow transplant match 10 years ago. A blood stem cell donation can be a cure for blood cancer, sickle cell and other deadly diseases. Many patients and their families are counting on drives like this to find their match. The process is simple and painless and will be available for all visitors to the fair.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will also be offering a photo booth and the Operation Game throughout the duration of the Allamakee County Fair to encourage youth to enter the medical field. Prizes will also be awarded.

Memorials were received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Mary Ward by Gladwin and Darlene Anderson, Jim and Jill Kiesau, and Chuck and Lois Votsmier. Memorials in memory of Jim O’Neill were given by Maureen Garin, Carl and Julie Johnson, Jim and Jill Kiesau, and Sigurd and Barb Ness.

Memorials were also received in memory of Kathy Conway by Dr. David and Suzanne Hahn, David and Robin Johnson, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Russ and Mary Jo Meyer, and Brad and Erin Berns.

In addition, memorials were received in memory of Zonna Wullner by Chuck and Lois Votsmier and Brad and Erin Berns; in memory of James Gruber Sr., by Dave and Laurie Martin; in memory of Donald Hanson by Chuck and Lois Votsmier; in memory of Ann “Kay” Minns by Bev Krambeer; in memory of Alan Steiber by Chuck and Lois Votsmier; and in memory of Deloris Winters by Chuck and Lois Votsmier.

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Postville  Medical Clinic. The new clinic opened July 5, 2022, replacing the Postville Medical Clinic owned and operated by Dr. Thomas McMullan.    The clinic began with Michelle Crary, Nurse Practitioner, providing patient care full-time in the clinic with Dr. McMullan remaining on, two days per week.

Crary came to the Postville Clinic with over 10 years of nursing experience at both Gundersen Health and Mayo Clinic in LaCrosse, WI as well as Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah. After just one year, a nurse midwife/nurse practitioner and mental health nurse practitioner have both joined the health care team as well.

Katy Maker, Nurse Midwife and Nurse Practitioner, visits the Postville Clinic every Wednesday to meet with expectant moms, delivering babies at Veterans Memorial Hospital when the time comes. She also sees patients as a nurse practitioner for all family practice cares.

Free sport physicals will be offered at the Veterans Memorial Hospital Clinic-Waukon for all junior high and high school students who need the physical for participating in school sporting events. These will be held at Veterans Memorial Hospital Waukon Clinic on the following dates and times:
• Wednesday, July 12: 5:30-8:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 19: 5:30-8:30 p.m.

These clinics will include all necessary documentation, including a concussion screening, for participation in all school activities.  Physicals are scheduled in one-hour segments. The clinic staff will not be administering vaccines during this time. If vaccinations are needed for students, be sure to call the clinic at 563-568-5530 to schedule an appointment.

Veterans Memorial Hospital, together with Helping Services of Northeast Iowa, will be offering the ‘Baby and Me - The Basics’ class Tuesday, July 11, from 5-8 p.m. in the hospital’s Large Conference Room.

Helping Services’ Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, Barb Fjelstul and Rachel Weber, will teach the basics of how to correctly secure children in their car seat and getting the seat secured in the vehicle. Barb Fjelstul, also a breast-feeding educator, will guide participants through the challenges and rewards of breast-feeding and provide techniques to ensure the baby is getting the most benefit from nursing.

Rachel Stone, RN, is a labor and delivery nurse and will give expecting mothers education on breathing techniques and coping with pain during labor.  

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Nan Grangaard by Mary Ann Burke, Carl and Betty Christianson, Karen Ferring, Lee and Fran Gruenhaupt, Dr. David and Suzanne Hahn, Russ and Mary Jo Meyer, JoAnn Peake, Pat Pettingill, Dave and Gail Prestemon, Betty Troendle, Dave and Penny Wheeler, Dr. Bill Withers, Dave and Laurie Martin, and Jim and Jennifer Withers.

Memorials were also received in memory of Diane Moose by Dan and Traci Byrnes, Lollie Hirth, Lesa Moose, Dave and Gail Prestemon, John and Sheryl Prestemon, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, and Brad and Erin Berns.

In addition, memorials were also received in memory of Greg Lonning by Maury Mooney and Diane Regan; in memory of John “Jack” Hagensick by JoAnn Peake and Jim and Jill Kiesau; and in memory of Betty Opfer by Pat Pettingill, John and Sheryl Prestemon, Frank and Carol Sivesind, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Dave and Laurie Martin and Grace Sorenson.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will not hold a regular meeting in July, but will resume its monthly meetings in August.

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

The 30th annual Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation Golf Tournament was held Monday, June 19 at the Waukon Golf and Country Club. A record number of 36 teams of three players each participated in this tournament. Each team enjoyed 18 holes of golf plus lunch and dinner prepared by Rich Schulte, Bud and Marge Strike and Family, and the Foundation Directors.

The Foundation gives credit for the success of this tournament to the many local businesses that provide great prizes so everyone participating wins. Plus, many businesses serving this area contribute as hole sponsors to the tournament making it an enjoyable, community-wide event.

Northeast Iowa attracts thousands of visitors and vacationers each year, especially during the summer months. Often accidents and health emergencies arise when enjoying these outdoor activities, and emergency care is needed, and one finds themselves being taken to an unfamiliar health care facility.

That was the case for Darwin Thirtyacre of Iowa City, who has a permanent camping spot each summer at the Red Barn Resort in Lansing.  He awoke Sunday morning, June 4, unable to walk and could barely talk. His wife called the ambulance and the Lansing Rescue Service quickly responded, transporting him to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon where he was treated for his stroke.