CAMPAIGN BAROMETER:

Gifts & pledges - $2.35 million, needed by December, 2005 - $250,000.
Please call if you would like to be a part of this historical effort.

YOU CAN TRUST THE STARS

Several years ago an oil company used the slogan, “You can trust your car to the man who wears the star.” Philanthropic work depends on community-minded stars. It is an honor and privilege to work with some really great stars on several different levels - some are donors, some are workers and some are Board members.

The Foundation has been blessed with star board members whom we have grown to trust with the future of health care at PRMC. The word trust describes one of our trusted Board members, First National Bank Trust Officer Don Peters.

Don moved to Pratt 32 years ago because the school system had entrusted him with the high school business classes. No one knows if his knowledge of wrestling could be trusted, but he was the Assistant Wrestling coach in his early years in Pratt.

After four years of teaching in the public school system, Stanion Wholesale Electric entrusted Peters with their business office. The Stanions, as you may know, are founding members of the Pratt Health Foundation. Don became one of their trusted employees for four years.

Peters earned the trust of Homer Davault, another benefactor of the Pratt Health Foundation. Homer asked him to enter the world of banking in the Trust Department. He accepted the position and has been doing trust work now for 25 years. Don is currently the Executive Vice President and Trust Officer at The First National Bank in Pratt.

The most trusted number in the Peters family is the number 32. The number represents the number of years he has lived in Pratt, it defines the number of years he has been married and it describes the number of years his wife, Jeanne, taught in the Pratt school system. We could also say it is the number of years he has been a trusted member of the Pratt community.

Within the bookends of his years in Pratt, Don Peters has been active in the Pratt Rotary Club, the Pratt United Way and the Chamber of Commerce to name a few. He has also served on the PRMC Board and the Pratt Health Foundation Board for a majority of the last 12 years.

We are thankful for the generous way Don shares his passion, leadership and resources with the Pratt Health Foundation and PRMC. He has had first hand experience with medical care at PRMC and became a believer in “Simply the Best” healthcare. His dedication assures families and friends in south-central Kansas that they too will receive the best medical care possible, with the best equipment possible in this part of the state – something you can trust Don Peters and PRMC to deliver.

EXERCISING HEALTH

It started in 1999 with a Personal Actions to Health Grant to the Pratt Health Foundation (PHF). It was funded by the Kansas Health Foundation through Kansas State University. The grant encouraged seniors to live healthy lifestyles - - eat better, exercise more and interact with kids. It was a tremendous idea and the Foundation sponsored a Fat Bucks breakfast and developed a Vita-band program.

The Fat Bucks breakfast gave seniors an opportunity to eat a free breakfast but they had to “buy” their breakfast with a specified number of fat bucks. They “purchased” their breakfast on the basis of the fat content. So you could eat four pieces of bacon and have coffee for breakfast or you could have oatmeal, one piece of bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, juice and coffee for the same number of fat bucks. You could eat more good foods or fewer fatty foods. Many learned how to eat a healthy breakfast.

The Vita-Band program is an exercise program. Instead of using weights and machines, the program is developed around the multi-colored rubber stretch bands often used in rehabilitation activities. Bands of different colors represent different resistances and a range of exercises are developed to improve strength. This activity involved 8 – 15 senior men and women, twice a week. The program helped some seniors overcome ulcers, due to improved circulation, and helped others throw away their canes and walkers as their legs became stronger. All felt better and lived better quality lives as a result of the cardiovascular and muscular improvements.

That was over seven years ago. The program continues to thrive under the direction of Mary Fern Woods and the occasional provision of new Vita-bands by the Pratt Health Foundation. A group of 8 – 12 seniors continue to meet twice a week to “stretch” their way to health to this day. All have learned that exercise improves the quality of the senior years.

A publication of the Pratt Health Foundation (PHF)
203 S. Main * Pratt, Kansas 67124
( PHF and PRMC are 501(c)3 charitable healthcare organizations.)