The Vetter Foundation

The Vetter Foundation was formed in 1992 by Jack and Eldora Vetter for a twofold purpose:  to support the various needs of Christian organizations serving the less fortunate, and to impact and improve the quality of education in health care. 

The primary purpose of the Foundation is to provide support for worldwide missions work.  The impact of the Foundation can be seen in inner city churches, rural ministries, African villages and other points of need around the world. 

Another purpose of the Vetter Foundation is to sponsor educational opportunities that focus on Christian ethics and principles of service in health care.  Seminars are designed to:  develop attitudes of service and teamwork, promote people centered leadership principles, and provide people the skills needed to continually improve the quality of life for seniors. 

The Vetter Foundation has been established as a private foundation as described in section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.  Contributions are welcome.

The Vetter Foundation
20220 Harney Street
Elkhorn, NE 68122
(402) 895-3932

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The "Take Time to Care" program is designed to enhance employee relationships, build teams, help people utilize listening skills to understand residents as well as see the resident as a whole person, and to help staff enjoy life by caring for themselves.

Features

• Customized content. A team of long-term care and independent retirement community professionals wrote this course. The illustrations, stories, and examples draw on the authors' numerous years of experience.

• Interactive format. Each section utilizes many varieties of learning tools to ensure increased participation.

• Section-specific learning goals. Each section is designed to last approximately one hour and has key training goals identified.

Course Outline
This course is divided into five one-hour sections which can be utilized in a variety of ways. Some will prefer to host an all-day training, while others will choose to present one-hour training modules either on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

Workbook
Each participant will receive an individual workbook. The workbooks are designed to illustrate themes, summarize major points, provide a place for taking notes, and be used for future reference.

Trainer's Manual
This manual is divided into sections by topic. Each section contains the training materials for that topic, links to the participant workbook, additional resources, and room for instructor notes.

Course Objectives

Section 1: Take Time to Make a Friend
In this section we will introduce our relationship building commitment! We will discuss the "stranger to friend" concept
and the impact it has on our service. We will address these areas:

1. Identifying different ways people "care' for people.

2. Understanding the importance of people's individual needs.

3. Identifying characteristics that are important for quality service.

Section 2: Take Time to Nurture the Whole Person
In this section we will look at ways to see each resident as a "whole" person. We will focus on these areas:

1. Reinforcing the role of staff as caregivers and nurturers of the "whole" person.

2. Identifying different aspects and benefits of respectful touch.

3. Encouraging staff members to care for the "whole person" as part of their daily routine.

Section 3: Take Time To Understand
In this section we will talk about the importance of good listening skills, both in our personal lives and our professional lives. We will concentrate on these areas:

1. Defining the art of listening and how to practice it in day-to-day life.

2. Exploring non-verbal communication and its role in effective communication.

Section 4: Take Time to Be a Team Player
In this section we will discover ways to work with team members in a cooperative, productive way.

We will concentrate on these areas:

1. Understanding the principles of teamwork.

2. Understanding the difference between individual and team success.

3. Understanding how attitudes affect the team.

4. Learning tools for conflict resolution.

Section 5: Take Time to Enjoy Life
In this section we will look at the importance of caring for ourselves as caregivers. We will focus on caring for ourselves, managing daily stressors, modifying the cause of stressors, and modifying our response to stress. We will address these areas:

1. Realizing that caregivers need to receive care as well as give care.

2. Understanding that taking care of others means we have to take care of ourselves first.

3. Identifying concrete ways in which we can effectively take care of ourselves in the future.

4. Exploring the tools needed to make positive choices in stressful situations.

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