Health

by Jill Fleming, MS, RD/LD

Sure, you can lose weight quickly. There are plenty of fad diets that work to shed pounds fast, leaving you feeling hungry and deprived. The problem is that most people can only follow these restrictive diets for a short time, eventually going back to their old way of eating. I call this the “diet roller coaster”.

Instead of starting a restrictive diet, which lowers your metabolism, why not adopt a few new choices that can turn into lifelong habits?  The weight you lose with new habits is more likely to be permanent. Here are 10 of my favorite proven habits to promote weight loss:

1. Eat breakfast daily.  This simple habit “breaks the fast” to wake up your digestion. It raises your metabolism, so you will be burning more calories all day long. I recommend eating something within the first hour of waking. Including protein at breakfast will help control your appetite later in the day.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) will be offering the Grandparenting Classes again this Spring. Corinne Cook, RN, Babysitting Class instructor, will be instructing the next Grandparenting Class Saturday, April 2 from 9:30 a.m. until Noon. The class will be held in the hospital’s ICN Conference Room on the east side of the hospital, next to Gundersen Clinic.  Signs will be posted.

In these classes, new or soon-to-be grandparents will learn all the new protocols to use when caring for their new grandchild. Some topics covered will include basic baby care, car seat safety, Tylenol/Ibuprofen dosing charts, home safety, poison control information, infant/child CPR, choking and other emergency medical information, as well as tips to support parents such as handling the baby blues and postpartum depression.  Free-will donations will be accepted to cover the costs of the class.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will sponsor a Babysitting Seminar Saturday, April 9. This class will be broken down into two different sessions to allow for better spacing of the students. The morning session will be held from 9 a.m. to Noon and the afternoon session from 1-4 p.m. The same information will be taught at both sessions, so students can sign-up for one session or the other. A total of 20 students will be allowed in each session.

Both classes will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. The entrance for the class will be the hospital shipping/receiving entrance located on the east side of the building near the MRI truck, across from the golf course. Signs will be posted.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, March 17 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. Masks will be required to be worn.

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 at 563-568-3411.
 

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Joe Cunningham by Chris and Nancy Wonderlich, Barton and Marilyn Hamm, Marilyn Larson, Diane Regan, Wayne and Nona Sawyer, Dr. Bill Withers, Pat Pettingill, Jan Brandsmeier, Karen Teaser, and Brad and Erin Berns.

Memorials were also received in memory of Trooper Ted Benda by Greg and Rosie Piggott, Nan Grangaard, Sherry Halvorson, Jim and Jill Kiesau, Dave and Laurie Martin, Arlen and Karlene Wonderlich, and Brad and Erin Berns.

In addition, memorials were received for Dorothy Heins by Jeff Heins; in memory of Alan Brink by Mary Ann Hager and Cheryl Bollman; in memory of Mary Stone by Chuck and Lois Votsmier; in memory of Emmett Kruger by Tom and Karen Regan; and in memory of Rhonda Warnke by Judy Warnke.

A donation was also received in honor of Father Ed Lechtenberg by Audrey Angel.

Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care/Allamakee County Public Health will continue to offer walk-in clinics for all doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, each friday afternoon, continuing through the entire month of March, from 1:30-3:45 p.m. in the ICN Conference Room located on the southeast side of the hospital.  Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available.

Parking is available by the orange cones along the golf course for easy access to the vaccine location.  Flu shots will also be available and can be safely administered at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine.   Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Be sure to wear a mask and bring your insurance card and vaccination card if you are coming for your second or booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Business and Community Solutions will be offering an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course in Waukon beginning March 28. This 138-hour course will conclude the end of July. This will be an in-person class held locally in Waukon, which is a huge advantage to students attending versus taking an online class.  NICC has received a grant to cover 70% of the tuition for this course so generous tuition assistance is available, keeping the class costs under $400.

Bethany Stock of Waukon is a new graduate and obtained her EMT license just this month. She works in Decorah during the day, but plans to help with ambulance call some evenings and weekends.

by Jill Fleming, MS, RD/LD, Veterans Memorial Hospital

You may have heard about green smoothies, but have you ever tasted one?  If not, you may want to reconsider.  Here is a short list of why you will gladly add a green smoothie to your daily diet. We have provided two recipes for you to try.  Feel free to substitute any of your favorite fruits or vegetables.

To Lose Weight: When I work with weight loss patients, one of the easiest ways for them to start losing weight is to add more fruit,  vegetables and water to their daily diets. My most successful weight loss clients are now eating a total of 8-10 servings of fruit or vegetables daily. To easily reach this goal; eat more vegetable-based soups, make omelets loaded with vegetables and drink green smoothies often.

Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care/Allamakee County Public Health will continue to offer walk-in clinics for all doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, each Friday afternoon, continuing through the entire month of March, from 1:30-3:45 p.m. in the ICN Conference Room located on the southeast side of the hospital. Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available.

Parking is available by the orange cones along the golf course for easy access to the vaccine location. Flu shots will also be available and can be safely administered at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine.   Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Be sure to wear a mask and bring your insurance card and vaccination card if you are coming for your second or booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Both Hartig Drug and Nightingale Pharmacy in Waukon have vaccine available for ages 12 and older. Parental/guardian consent is required. Call them ahead to schedule an appointment.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will be offering the Grandparenting Classes again this spring.  Corinne Cook, RN, Babysitting Class instructor, will be instructing the next Grandparenting Class Saturday, April 2 from 9:30 a.m. until Noon. The class will be held in the hospital’s ICN Conference Room on the east side of the hospital, next to Gundersen Clinic.  Signs will be posted to mark the location.

In these classes, new or soon-to-be grandparents will learn all the new protocols to use when caring for their new grandchild. Some topics covered will include basic baby care, car seat safety, Tylenol/Ibuprofen dosing charts, home safety, poison control information, infant/child CPR, choking and other emergency medical information, as well as tips to support parents such as handling the baby blues and postpartum depression.  Free-will donations will be accepted to cover the costs of the class.