Health

The local Grief Support Group will be holding its monthly meeting at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Tuesday, November 7, 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 usually meets the second Tuesday of each month at VMH in Waukon, except when they meet this first Tuesday of November.

You can make a difference by making a life-saving blood donation at the next Waukon Community Blood Drive. The next blood drive will take place Thursday, November 2, from Noon to 5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon.

The Waukon Blood drives have been very successful the last couple of years with new first-time donors each time.

Donating blood is safe, simple and it saves lives.  Blood donors have a unique opportunity to contribute to their community by making a life-saving blood donation. Everyone who registers to donate blood goes through four simple steps during the donation process:  registration, donor history and mini-physical, blood donation and snacks.

You have until December 7, 2023 to enroll in or change Medicare drug plans for 2024. Don’t wait until the last minute. Remember, if you’re on Medicare and don’t have drug coverage, or the coverage you have is not as good as Medicare’s, you will face a penalty for each month you delay enrolling.  

If you have questions about Medicare drug coverage call your local SHIIP counselor at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411. SHIIP volunteers are available to meet individually with anyone in the community who wishes to compare the Medicare Part D plans available for 2024.

Appointments are required. Call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411 to schedule your appointment. You will need to bring your Medicare card, current Part D plan card and a list of your medications from your pharmacy.  SHIIP is a free, confidential service of the State of Iowa.

Ness Pumping and Porta Potty Rentals will host its annual Breast Cancer Awareness Walk Saturday, October 21 in the Waukon City Park to raise funds for breast cancer awareness and detection.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. and go until Noon.  Participants may come and go as they please that morning and can choose to walk with friends, family or on their own. Walk-in participants are welcome.

Breast Cancer survivors will be asked to sign a pink porta potty sporting the breast cancer ribbon. Event sweatshirts will be available for sale and light refreshments will also be offered for a free-will donation.

Family members of Becky Drees, on behalf of the Becky Drees Memorial Foundation, recently donated ‘Tummy Time Mirrors’ to the Veterans Memorial Hospital Clinics in Postville and Waukon. These mirrors are designed for babies to lay on their tummies and hold their heads up to look at themselves in the mirror, which in turn encourages gross motor (large muscle) development. Tummy time like this has proven to provide for better strength and coordination of the baby’s hands, arms and shoulders for playing with toys, and it also gives a visual stimulation for the babies.

The COVID vaccine has arrived and is now being offered in conjunction with the flu shots at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Community and Home Care/Allamakee Public Health. Flu shots are recommended for all those who have not yet received the vaccine, and they will be effective throughout the rest of the flu season.

Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care will be offering both COVID and flu shot clinics each Wednesday in October.  Walk-in clinics will be held from 9-11:30 a.m. and appointments can be made for immunizations Wednesday afternoons by calling 563-568-5660.

Medicare does cover the cost for the flu shot. Billing for vaccinations will be completed by the Community and Home Care staff, but participants will need to bring their Medicare number or private insurance card with them. If insurance does not cover these immunizations, they can be purchased instead.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, October 19 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.

Brittney Snitker, VMH Pharmacist will be discussing the topic of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and vascular disease. With diabetes there is a higher risk for these conditions, so learning to prevent or decrease the risk is very important and will be covered at this meeting.

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 at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.

An estimated 252,710 new invasive cases of breast cancer are expected to occur among women in the United States during 2023 and about 2,470 new cases of breast cancer are expected in men. In total, an estimated 40,610 deaths (40,170 women and 440 men) are anticipated from breast cancer.

These numbers have steadily decreased since 1990. The American Cancer Society states the decrease represents progress in both earlier detection and improved treatment.

Over the next few weeks, Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) administration staff will be visiting each Allamakee County community to offer a public forum to update the communities on hospital progress and offer a chance for public input.

Last fall, residents of Allamakee County overwhelmingly voted to convert the hospital to a county facility. As the hospital was preparing for that county-wide vote, similar public forums were held. At those meetings, it was stated the hospital would do this every year in an effort to offer personal contact with the communities and an opportunity for feedback.

Michael Coyle, Veterans Memorial Hospital CEO, will be leading these discussions and states, “I’m excited to get back out to the communities of Allamakee County to talk about VMH, our current services, and new services that will help our patients and their families stay close to home for their healthcare needs.”

The number of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) in this area has dwindled over the years as licensed EMTs have retired.   Allamakee and northern Clayton Counties are fortunate to have many emergency response services, but nearly all of them are in need of more EMTs on their service to share the call time, ensuring local emergency services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

NICC will be offering a face-to-face EMT Class in Waukon beginning in January. This class is not offered locally each year, so the fact it will be held in Waukon is a convenience for those wishing to take the course with little travel time. This 138-hour course will conclude in May. Registration for the class must be completed prior to the orientation night of January 8.