Health

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.

Every two seconds someone needs blood. The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Friday, June 30 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. The next Stroke Support Group meeting will be held Thursday, July 6 at 2 p.m. in the ICN 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 people 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.

The local Grief Support Group will be holding its monthly meeting at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon Tuesday, July 11 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.
 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stresses the importance of keeping recreational waters safe because even properly treated pool water can spread germs. Pool chemicals won’t work right away and any pee, poop, sweat or dirt in the pool will use up its germ-killing power.

The CDC suggests the following easy steps to help keep germs out of the water and stay healthy:
1. Stay out of the water if experiencing diarrhea.
2. Shower before getting into the water.
3. Never pee or poop in the water.
4. Don’t swallow the water.

The CDC also suggests taking each and every child out of the water at least once every hour, and doing the following:
1. Take bathroom breaks.
2. Check diapers and change them in a bathroom or diaper-changing area - not poolside - to keep germs away from the pool.
3. Reapply sunscreen.
4. Drink plenty of fluids.

June 11-17 was National CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) Week. Certified nursing assistants began working under the Red Cross program during World War I where they were trained to care for wounded soldiers. The career has continued to evolve over the years, becoming a key part of the health care team at most all health care facilities.

Veterans Memorial Hospital utilizes CNAs in patient care on both the inpatient floor of the hospital and as Home Care Aides in the Community and Home Care Department. CNAs on the patient floor assist the patients with daily personal cares, eating, walking, and being an advocate during their hospitalization.

Carmen McCormick has been a CNA since she was 16 years old and has continued the career her entire life, working at area nursing homes, providing private in-home care and working as a CNA at Veterans Memorial Hospital.

Veterans Memorial Hospital 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, July 6 at 2 p.m. in the ICN Conference Room at the hospital.

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 one gets 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.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH), together with Helping Services of Northeast Iowa, will begin offering the ‘Baby and Me: The Basics’ class Tuesday evening, 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. Fjelstul, also a breast-feeding educator, will guide participants through the challenges and rewards of breast-feeding and provide techniques to ensure 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.

The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Thursday,  June 30, a week earlier due to the holiday, from 12-5 p.m. The blood drive will be held at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon. Each and every blood drive matters. The results of the June 5 blood drive included 46 donors - three were first-time donor, with a total of 52 units collected saving 156 lives.

Regular blood donors may donate blood as often as every 56 days. First-time donors will find that donating blood is a safe and easy way to save lives and make a difference in the community. One single blood donation can save the lives of up to three sick or injured hospital patients.

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Brian Garin  by Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Mary Cunningham, Tom and Joan Fritz, Laurie Goltz, Don and DiAnne Haler, Nancy Hartley, Lollie Hirth, Barb and Mark Howe, Cindy Kelly and Al Garin, Gary and Toni Kolsrud, Joanne Larson, Dave and Laurie Martin, Maury Mooney, Diane Regan, Clinton and McKayla Rethamel, Dean Schellhammer, Bill and Beth Shafer, Kay Snitker and Maureen Garin.

Memorials were also received in memory of William “Bill” Byrnes by Dave and Laurie Martin, Tom and Joan Fritz, Don and DiAnne Haler, Randy and Lori Hover, and Marlys Leiran. Additionally, memorials were also received in memory of Lynn Bjerke by Audrey Angel and Mary Ann Hager, in memory of Donna Hoins by Brad and Erin Berns, and in memory of Carlton Christianson by Patsy Kerndt and Betty Troendle.