Health

LIVE: Flu Season Hits Blood Donation Numbers

The latest on our KVRR Holiday Blood Drive in partnership with Vitalant.

Winter is always a tough time to keep the supply of donated blood flowing in the Red River Valley – but this year might be tougher than most. That’s why we’re making a last-minute push for your donations for the KVRR Holiday Blood Drive in partnership with Vitalant. That is – if you’re healthy. Flu season 2018 just kicked off…

Fargo IHOP Open For Business On Christmas Day

IHOP received a lot of calls throughout the morning from customers making sure it was open

FARGO– The Fargo IHOP is one of the few businesses up and running on Christmas Day. IHOP received a lot of calls throughout the morning from customers making sure it was open. An IHOP server says she thinks it’s wonderful and enjoys seeing families together enjoying their meals on Christmas. The restaurant is expecting customer traffic to continue throughout the…

Fargo Firefighters Visit Children Spending Christmas in the Hospital

The firefighters visited children at both Essentia and Sanford to deliver presents

FARGO– Fargo Firefighters spent their Christmas morning like any other morning, giving back to the community. The firefighters visited children at both Essentia and Sanford hospitals to deliver presents and offer a little bit of holiday cheer. “It’s an interruption to what’s going on currently in their life and it’s a welcome interruption,” Fargo Firefighter Union president Eric Eisenlohr said….

Father, Daughter Share Special Bond through Blood Donation

Even through ups and downs, Mick and Roberta Pytlick are still passionate about giving blood

FARGO, N.D. — Blood is the glue that binds families together, but back in 1997, it was blood that sparked a tradition that would keep Mick Pytlik’s family tighter and stronger. “My great aunt had an aneurysm, an abdominal aneurysm, that ruptured. She was like another grandma to us, and I was sitting in the hospital with her, they kept hanging…

Holiday Blood Drive: One West Fargo Couple’s Story About Giving and Receiving

As a constant supporter and right hand, Tim decided he has more than enough blood and platelets to help others

WEST FARGO, N.D. — Medical experts say blood donations are in higher demand during the holiday season and one man is doing his part to make a difference. Donating blood two to three times a year was routine for Tim Mehl. “But in 2013 it became more personal…we spent a lot of time in the hospital befriending people that had…

Ted E. Bear Makes Donation to Sanford Children’s Hospital, Identity Still A Mystery

The donor sent in four bears this year

FARGO, N.D. — It’s been a holiday mystery for more than 25 years now but the true identity of Ted E. Bear still remains a mystery. Sanford Children’s Hospital in Fargo has received four, handmade teddy bears from an anonymous donor in Horace. His or her only request since 1986? That the bears go to a child in need. This year…

Sanford Employees Spread Holiday Cheer By Donating Blood

Vitalant ran the annual blood drive

FARGO, N.D. — With the holiday season in full swing, Sanford Health employees are giving back by donating blood during the KVRR and Vitalant Holiday Blood Drive. Several nurses and staff members lined up to support others needing blood across the metro. Bonnie Olson, a nurse at the new Sanford Medical Center, says giving blood falls right in line with her…

MN 7th, ND 13th on Healthiest States List

A report on the healthiest states by Minnesota–based UnitedHealth Group shows Minnesota and North Dakota are doing well. The Gopher State comes in seventh as it has one of the lowest number of uninsured people in the country. However, it has a high number of excessive drinkers and a low immunization rate in children. North Dakota comes in 13th. It…

LIVE: Pet Connection: Meet Martini

Pour this diva a drink and settle in for some fun.

Martini is sort of like the Naomi Campbell of cats: gorgeous, fiesty, and full of personality. The little diva first joined Diamond in the Ruff volunteer Jennifer Arano as a little kitten, and at about a year old, she’s still got that kitten energy and spirit. She’s liable to help you with your laundry by stealing your socks, or shred…

Sanford Stresses Importance of Blood Transfusion Process for its Patients

Each month, Sanford uses 900 blood donation products for 300 patients

FARGO, N.D. – When donating blood, you can feel good knowing you are impacting not just one, but three different lives. “We had a request for about 11,000 blood products over the last 12 months, Fargo Sanford Medical Center clinic lab manager Alice Hawley said. “So, that means we need about 900 blood products every month.” Even with 900 blood…