UAMS Volunteers Deliver Foot Care, Donated Shoes

By Jon Parham

 UAMS orthopaedic surgeon Ruth Thomas, M.D., examines a patient's feet at River City Ministry in North Little Rock.
UAMS orthopaedic surgeon Ruth Thomas, M.D., examines a patient’s feet at
River City Ministry in North Little Rock.

Volunteers from UAMS, the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System and Snell Prosthetic & Orthotic Laboratory pause for a photo.
Volunteers from UAMS, the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System and Snell Prosthetic & Orthotic Laboratory pause for a photo.

 

Nov. 22, 2011 | Without a good pair of shoes, the calluses covering most of his feet would only get worse, said orthopedic surgeon Ruth Thomas, M.D., as she carefully removed large calluses from the man’s feet.

Thomas and other doctors, nurses and volunteers from the UAMS Department of Orthopedics provided foot exams Nov. 17, along with new shoes and socks, for about 100 men and women at the River City Ministry in North Little Rock.

The patients included the homeless, working poor and the disabled, many with blisters or calluses caused by or made worse by poorly fitting shoes.

“We want to make sure as many as possible get a new pair of shoes that fit before the winter comes,” said Thomas, a professor of orthopedic surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine.

It was the fourth year that the UAMS volunteers provided exams and offered recommendations on how to care for the feet at the shelter.

Thomas said having shoes that fit properly is critical. If they are too big or too small, they will rub painful blisters.

Amy Crawford, L.P.N., visited with one patient while she removed dead skin from one man’s feet. He had been working in construction — but has not been able to for the last few weeks because of his feet. He only had one pair of ill-fitting shoes and his feet were repeatedly getting wet, damaging the skin, he said.

“I enjoy being able to come help,” Crawford said. “These people need foot care but haven’t been able to get it.”

The patient was grateful and ready to get back to work — with some better shoes.

As patients waited for their exams, they had their feet cleaned. Following the exams, they were fitted for shoes donated by Snell Prosthetic & Orthotic Laboratory and Soles4Souls, an international charity that collects and distributes new and gently worn shoes to needy people around the world.

Volunteers from Snell helped with the fittings and also provided new socks for each patient.

Thomas, a veteran of international mission work, began coordinating the annual event when she was approached by orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon Stephen Conti, M.D., of Pittsburgh, who was looking for someone to spearhead a program in Arkansas.

Conti’s teenage children, Matthew and Laura, founded the national organization Our Hearts to Your Soles in 2004 to coordinate shoe giveaways and foot exams for homeless people across the country. Our Hearts to Your Soles works in partnership with Soles4Souls.