Health

The local Grief Support Group will be holding its monthly meeting at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Tuesday, April 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.

Memorials were received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of George Pickett by the 9 O’Clock Club and Bill and Sue Blagsvedt; in memory of Leone McKee by Chuck and Lois Votsmier; in memory of Dr. Jim Rixen by Bill and Sue Blagsvedt; in memory of Deb Tweedy by Alan Tweedy and Bill and Sue Blagsvedt; in memory of Joe Cunningham by Bill and Sue Blagsvedt; and in memory of Teresa Myers by Craig and Barb Lensing, Sigurd and Barb Ness and Margo Sweeney.

Memorials were also received in memory of Larry Magner by Gladwin and Darlene Anderson, Mary Ann Hager, Carl and Julie Johnson, Randy and Lori Hesse, Jim and Jill Kiesau, Patsy Kerndt, John and Sheryl Prestemon, Diane Regan, Arlen and Karlene Wonderlich, Dave and Sandy Lyons, Brad and Erin Berns and the family of Larry Magner.

by Steven Mazzafield, Speech Language Pathologist at Veterans Memorial Hospital

In recognition of brain injury awareness month, I would like to talk about traumatic brain injury and the role of speech therapy in the recovery process. Many people don’t realize this, but speech-language pathologists are experts in treating brain disorders such as stroke, dementia, and traumatic brain injury. Brain injuries fall within one of two different categories: acquired or traumatic.

Acquired brain injury occurs when someone has a stroke, seizure, infection, tumor, or lack of oxygen that affects the brain. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), on the other hand, occurs after a sudden blow to the head - examples include from a car accident, sports injury, or fall.

by Michelle Crary, Nurse Practitioner, VMH Medical Clinic-Postville
 
Colorectal cancer can be easily detected, yet it remains the third leading cause of cancer in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, one in 24 Americans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in their lifetime. A total of 52,550 lives are expected to be lost in 2023 due to colorectal cancer. The death rate is dropping due to screening procedures, but unfortunately, only about one in three persons in the U.S. gets the recommended screenings. Both men and women are at risk for colorectal cancer. Other risk factors include:

by Laura Sorenson, Veterans Memorial Hospital Social Worker
 
Social workers perform a variety of roles, but their primary job is to connect members of the community with resources that may be beneficial to them. Specifically, a hospital social worker works as a discharge planner to help elderly or disabled patients arrange in-home services in an effort for them to remain in their own homes as long as possible. These services may include home health care where nursing and physical therapists come to your home, home-delivered meals, as well as bathing assistance, and housekeeping/shopping services.

by Jill Fleming and Brandy Strub, Registered Dietitians, Veterans Memorial Hospital

In today’s fast-paced society, with people eating on the run and not planning ahead, eating has become a mindless act. Distractions have shifted our attention away from the actual act of eating towards televisions, computers and smart-phones. This can be problematic, since it takes your brain up to 20 minutes to realize you’re full.

When we are dividing our attention, we usually eat faster and often overeat. If you eat too fast, the fullness signal may not arrive until you have already eaten too much. This is one of the contributing factors to our obesity crisis today.

The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Monday, April 3 from 12-5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon.  The LifeServe Blood Center supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with blood and blood products. Here are some interesting blood facts:

• Every three seconds someone needs blood.
• Blood makes up about eight percent of a person’s body weight.
• Blood is needed every minute of every day; summer, winter, spring and fall.
• Scheduled surgeries are not canceled in Iowa because of a lack of blood, but it is a problem in other parts of the nation.
• Donating blood includes a health check for the donor (checking blood pressure, pulse, temperature and hemoglobin) prior to donating.
• There is absolutely no way you can contract any disease from giving blood.
• Blood can be split into different components (red cells, platelets, plasma, and cryoprecipitate) and used to help different types of patients.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Speech-Language Pathologist Steven Mazzafield is now offering a Stroke Support Group for individuals who have experienced a stroke, as well as caregivers and family members affected by stroke. The next Stroke Support Group meeting will be held Thursday, April 6 at 2 p.m. in the ICN Conference Room. Future meetings will be held the first Thursday of every month at 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Hospital.

The Stoke 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 we 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.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will sponsor the next Babysitting Seminars Friday, April 7.  This class will be broken down into two different sessions with a morning session held from 9 a.m. to Noon and an 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 taken in each session.

Both classes will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of Veterans Memorial Hospital.

Intended participants are individuals 10 years of age and older who are responsible for their own care after school until their parents come home from work, and individuals who care for other children in or outside of their own home. Girls and boys are welcome and encouraged to attend. Topics covered include fire and personal safety, accident prevention and emergency actions, nutritious snacks and basic care of children.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) will be offering Grandparenting Classes again this spring. Corinne Cook, RN, Babysitting Class instructor, will teach the next Grandparenting Class Saturday, April 15 from 9:30 a.m. until Noon. The class will be held in the hospital’s Large Conference Room. 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.