Health

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon began its own Cardiac Rehabilitation unit over three decades ago to help fulfill a need in the community - a need that has been and continues to be well utilized.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Half a million people die each year due to this disease. Many people develop symptoms of heart disease when they are in their 40s or 50s, interrupting a most productive time of life. Cardiac Rehabilitation is an important tool in the fight against heart disease. Rehabilitation involves monitored exercise, nutritional counseling, emotional support and education about lifestyle changes to reduce risks of heart problems.

Monica Enyart of PaperPie recently organized a Cuddle Bear Drive to give back to her community. This Cuddle Bear Drive was organized to give these book and bear sets, pictured above, to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon and WinnMed in Decorah for their young patients. Enyart is a PaperPie representative. With the help of numerous community members who sponsored these sets, she was able to give 31 bear and book sets to each hospital. “Living in the Postville area, we are blessed to have so many options for hospitals so close to home,” states Enyart.  “Everyone needs a hug sometimes. Each set helps end childhood cancer too as a portion of the proceeds goes to cancer research.” PaperPie is a proud partner of the Scott Carter Foundation to help eliminate pediatric cancer. Submitted photo.
 

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, February 15, 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 month, Angie Mettille, Diabetes Educator at Veterans Memorial Hospital will continue presenting the topic of food and discussing the foods that are advertised as healthy, but in fact are not. She will explain the types of foods that should be avoided and what some better alternatives would be.

This diabetes class is open to everyone who has diabetes or has a friend or loved one with diabetes.  In case of inclement weather, the Diabetes Support Group will cancel if Allamakee Community Schools are closed or starting late. Attendees are encouraged to stay home if they feel sidewalks or roads are too slippery to go out and stay safe.

Members of the Matt Sweeney Memorial Ride committee recently made a very generous donation to the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation for the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. These funds were raised at the Matt Sweeney Memorial Ride which took place August 6 of last year. Pictured above, left to right, are Steve Sweeney, Matt’s brother; Jacob Dougherty, Paramedic, EMS Manager accepting the check from Brad O’Hare, Event Coordinator and Matt’s close friend; and Joe Sweeney, Matt’s father. Dougherty shared his appreciation of these funds by stating, “These funds received by our group of dedicated EMS providers here at Veterans Memorial Hospital will be carefully utilized in a meaningful way in a goal of enhancing the services we provide our community.”

Students from St. Patrick School in Waukon donated numerous packages of diapers to the Veterans Memorial Hospital Nursing Department Wednesday, January 31, during National Catholic Schools Week. These diapers will be given to families who choose to deliver their babies at the hospital, to help give them a good start with some much needed supplies for their newborn. Pictured above are St. Patrick School third grade teacher Martha Byrnes and fourth grade teacher Loretta Schafer along with many third, fourth and fifth grade students from the school, presenting the diapers to some of the nursing staff at Veterans Memorial Hospital. These diapers were all donated by St. Patrick students and their families. Submitted photo.
 

February is Heart Month.  Veterans Memorial Hospital continues to encourage the public to learn the American Heart Association’s “Hands Only CPR.” This simple way of performing CPR is very easy to do and effective for the victim.

According to the American Heart Association, sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death with nearly 400,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occurring annually in the United States. The American Heart Association estimates that 89% of people who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest die because they don’t receive immediate CPR from someone on the scene.

The American Heart Association has found Hands Only CPR to be as effective as conventional CPR for sudden cardiac arrest at home, at work, or in the public - doubling, or even tripling, a victim’s chance of survival.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that helps a body absorb calcium, which is needed for building strong bones. It also helps muscles move, nerves carry messages from the brain to the body, and strengthens the immune system.

The best food sources of Vitamin D come from milk or other fortified “milk” drinks, such as soy, almond, oat, along with fatty fish, such as trout, salmon, tuna, mackerel. Beef liver, egg yolks, cheese and mushrooms also provide a little. A body can also make Vitamin D from the sun when bare skin is exposed, but factors such as clouds, smog, sunscreen, old age, and having dark-colored skin can reduce the amount it makes.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, February 15 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held at Veterans Memorial Hospital in the Large Conference Room on the lower level of the hospital.

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 in Waukon at 563-568-3411.
 

The local Grief Support Group will be holding its monthly meeting at Veterans Memorial Hospital Tuesday, February 13 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 form of grief.

Feel free to attend and bring a friend. This grief support meets the second Tuesday of each month at 5 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Hospital.
 

It can be hard to know how to best cope when individuals themselves or a loved one is living with a mental health condition. But NAMI can help. One function of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is support. NAMI provides two different support groups: one for those experiencing a mental health condition and one for their loved ones.

A NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group is a peer-led support group for any adult living in recovery from a mental health condition.  A National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Family Support Group is a peer-led support group for any adult with a loved one who has experienced symptoms of a mental health condition. In both groups, participants gain insight from the challenges and successes of others facing similar experiences.