Health

According to the American Association for Cancer Research, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the United States for both men and women. Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke causes more than 480,000 deaths in the U.S. every year.

It’s not too late to quit using tobacco. No matter your age or how long you have been smoking, quitting improves your health immediately and even more over in the long term.

Respiratory Therapist Connor Meyer at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) can also help. Connor has smoking cessation materials available for the public to help them get started in their journey to quit smoking. For more information, contact the Veteran Memorial Hospital’s Respiratory Therapy Department at 563-568-3411, Ext. 258.

You have until December 7, 2024 to enroll in or change Medicare drug plans for 2025. 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 counselors at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) at 563-568-3411. Both SHIIP Volunteers Nancy Schoh and Jim Johnson are trained and available to meet individually with anyone in the community who wishes to compare the Medicare Part D plans available for 2025.  Appointments are required.  Feel free to 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.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Medical Clinic-Postville announces a new provider line-up, ensuring there is a provider in the Postville Clinic each weekday.

Alex Berns, Nurse Practitioner, a Postville native, has begun seeing patients in Postville each Monday during regular clinic hours, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  He has been providing family medicine in the Waukon Clinic for the last two years and now has expanded that care to Postville.

Berns began his career at Veterans Memorial Hospital as a C.N.A., then continued as a full-time nurse after receiving his RN degree.  After branching out and gaining experience in Hospice, Emergency, the ICU in Rochester, MN, and general inpatient care, he returned to his home area two years ago to serve his community.

The Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation’s Christmas Fantasy 2024 will be held this Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the Allamakee Fairgrounds Pavilion. The theme will be, “Gnome for the Holidays!”

by: Angie Mettille, RN, BSN, CDCES

Diagnosing Type 1 diabetes in children can be a complex process, but early detection is vital for effective management.

When a child shows symptoms of high blood sugars, as discussed in detail in Part 1, a healthcare professional will conduct a thorough medical history and physical examination. There are some diagnostic blood tests that can be done, typically providing results within minutes. These include: a fasting or random glucose level, an oral glucose tolerance test, an A1c, and/or an autoantibody test.

A glucose level portrays what the patient’s glucose level is at that moment of the blood being drawn. A fasting blood sugar greater than 100 mg/dl or random nonfasting blood glucose greater than 140 mg/dl is considered elevated. Glucose levels can increase to extremely high levels in undiagnosed Type 1 patients, often greater than 250 mg/dl, and even up to 1,000 mg/dl.

Wait time for MRIs and CTs can often be weeks at larger health facilities, but locally at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH), the wait is minimal.

Most MRI and CT scans require pre-authorization from the patient’s insurance company before they can have the scan in order for insurance to pay. As soon as the Veterans Memorial Hospital Radiology receives that order for a scan, they do the work of acquiring the authorization themselves to speed up the process, then turn right around and do the scheduling of the procedure.   With the Radiology department doing these steps themselves instead of passing it onto another department, the process is greatly accelerated.

Gundersen announces that nurse practitioner Wendy Kuennen, RN, NP, has joined the teams at the Waukon and Calmar Clinics. With a focus on providing comprehensive family medicine services to patients of all ages, Kuennen brings a wealth of experience and a passion for delivering equitable medical care.

Born and raised near Waucoma, Kuennen received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Phoenix University and then earned her Master’s of Science degree in Family Nurse Practitioner from Chamberlain University in Addison, IL.

Kuennen’s medical interests lie in addressing healthcare disparities in the rural healthcare environment and promoting a positive quality of life through prevention and disease management. Her dedication to providing exceptional care stems from her long-standing history of rural medicine from different avenues.

The walk-in Flu and COVID Vaccines Clinics will continue to be held at Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care/Allamakee Public Health, for one more week, November 13, from 9-11:30 a.m. Anyone is welcome to walk-in without an appointment to receive either or both of these vaccines.   Appointments can also be made for any Wednesday afternoon by calling 563-568-5660.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, November 21, 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, feel free to call  Angie Mettille, RN, Certified Diabetes Educator at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

The Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation’s Christmas Fantasy 2024 will be held Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, November 15, 16, 17, and 18, at the Allamakee Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. The theme will be, “Gnome for the Holidays!”