News Center newsletter

by Jill Fleming, RN/RD,
Dietitian at Veterans Memorial Hospital

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance found in the fats in your blood. Too much cholesterol can cause a build-up in your blood vessels, causing them to narrow and close. This process increases your risk for heart disease or stroke.

If you’ve been told your cholesterol is too high, it usually means your total cholesterol is greater than 200mg/dl and your LDL (low density lipoprotein) or “bad cholesterol” is higher than the recommended level of 130mg/dl. If you have additional risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, you want your LDL cholesterol to be less than 100mg/dl.

The members of the Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital are actively recruiting new and returning members to join them during their annual membership drive.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital is devoted to providing the hospital and its patients and visitors with many services. The Auxiliary also holds annual fundraisers, such as the Women’s Health Day Luncheon each fall, the Pillow-Perk in early November, the Masquerade sales and their annual membership drive each July. (Note:  The Women’s Health Day will not be held this year due to COVID-19.)

All the money the Auxiliary receives goes back to the hospital for equipment.

Face masks are required for all patients and visitors at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Everyone is asked to wear a mask when they enter the facility. If they do not have a mask already, they are given one of these reusable masks to wear each time they return to the hospital.

With the limited supply of masks, it is requested that patients and visitors take their masks home and launder them in hot water and dry them in a hot dryer, then wear them over and over again. These masks can be worn anywhere anyone goes in the community as well and do not just need to be worn at the hospital.

Veterans Memorial Hospital greatly appreciates all of the thousands of mask donations they have received and look forward to future donations as fall approaches. Masks can be dropped off at the front entrance of Veterans Memorial Hospital. For more information, call Erin Berns at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411 Ext. 443.

Veterans Memorial Hospital, in cooperation with the American Heart Association, is offering a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for lay people (those not working in healthcare), which includes child care providers, Wednesday, September 16, from 5-8 p.m.

The CPR class, which will cover adult, child and infant CPR, will be held in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of the hospital. The cost of the class, for certification or recertification, is the same. Upon successful completion of the class, the participant will receive an electronic card certifying them in Heartsaver CPR AED for a two-year time period. This class does not include a first aid certification.

Pre-registration plus minimum of three participants is required for the class to be held. All participants will be required to physically distance during the class and wear a mask. They will also be screened at the hospital main entrance when they enter the building.

The Caregiver Support Group meetings that were held monthly at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon continue to be held through conference calls during COVID-19. Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A) is offering weekly Caregiver Support Group conference calls every Monday from 10-11 a.m.

To join a call, just dial 1-800-264-8432. Then enter the participant code 961847# to be connected to the support group conference call, joining other caregivers.

Memorials were received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Gwenn Bray by Mary Ann Hager, Bev Shafer, Pat and Jane Otting, Pat Pettingill, Bill Withers, MD, Marv and Marge Strike, Jerry and Linda Siegrist, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Randy and Lori Hesse, W.J. and C.A. Heffron, Arlene Martin, Jim and Jill Kiesau, David and Suzanne Hahn, DVM, Shirley Schneeberger, Bill and Beth Shafer, Carl and Betty Christianson, Jim and Helen Johnson and Bruce and Laura Boehlke Bray.

Memorials were also received in memory of Kevin Emerson by Randy and Karen Loeb and Jerry and Linda Siegrist.

In addition, memorials were received in memory of Steven Thorsten by Chuck and Lois Votsmier and in memory of Esther Huffey Enyart by Jean Huffey.

LaVonne Hesse of Waukon will be celebrating her 90th birthday September 15.

In honor of the occasion, cards and well wishes may be sent to 1336 Pole Line Road, Waukon, IA 52172.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
September 11: Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) Signup
September 30: PLC Yield Update
October 31: 2020 Organic Certification Cost Share Program Signup

Input Reductions Based on Improved Soil Health
by LuAnn Rolling, District Conservationist

As producers look at yet another year of small corn and soybean profit margins I would like to talk about some ways to reduce inputs and increase profits, all while improving soil health.  I’m going to use the example of Rick Clark, a farmer from Williamsport, Indiana, because he has been dabbling in soil health for many years and keeps detailed records of his 7,000 acre farm.

The combination of drought, derecho and hot weather has Iowa crops maturing earlier than usual, and with a host of grain quality concerns.

“Storm damaged corn is on the ground and it is quickly becoming moldy which creates food safety hazards,” said Charles Hurburgh, professor and grain quality specialist in agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University. “The whole idea here is to get the producer and the crop insurance and the grain market together on determining value for the severely damaged grain, and how can we either take that as a total loss or direct it to another use, but not put it into the grain market.”

The farming community is used to the stress that comes from the unpredictable and uncontrollable challenges that jeopardize their production and livelihood. Agricultural resilience is about equipping farmers with strategies and information that will enable them to absorb and recover from these stresses. Resilience is the ability to bounce back when things do not go as planned.

COVID Recovery Iowa, in collaboration with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will be hosting COVID AG UPDATES: Focus on Resilience; a 60-minute weekly update with agricultural specialists, to be held Mondays from 7:30 – 8:30 PM. The first 15 – 20 minutes will be informational, with the remaining time spent on answering questions.