Nursing faculty and students are helping homeless people get back on their feet by providing foot care free of charge at a drop-in clinic in New London.
“Many homeless people have lost access to transportation, so their feet take a terrible beating – from both overuse and worn-out or ill-fitting shoes,” says Sherry Bassi, an assistant professor of nursing, who launched the clinic in conjunction with the Southeastern Connecticut Visiting Nurse Association at New London’s Homeless Hospitality Center.
She describes one homeless young man who recently visited the clinic, wearing sneakers with huge holes in the soles: “Deep blisters covered the soles of both his feet. He was in awful pain,” she says. “We see individuals whose corns and calluses have become so deep and painful that they dominate the person’s whole outlook on life.”
The clinic is consistent with the School of Nursing’s focus on care for vulnerable populations. Bassi says the experience of working at the clinic is valuable for both faculty and students.
“Serving the underserved in our communities – especially the homeless – is a particular passion for public health nurses like me,” she says. “And taking care of homeless individuals is an amazingly valuable experience for our students, as they fulfill their service-learning responsibilities.”
Volunteers provide foot soaks, reduce corns and calluses, trim nails, and provide clean, white socks and a pair of flip-flops for use in shelter showers. They offer special foot care services to diabetic patients, too, including education, neuropathy testing, and support in accessing professional care and even obtaining orthotics.
Since homeless people often use emergency rooms for primary care, volunteers seek to identify those clients not yet connected with local community health centers, and make referrals to case managers and social service agencies.
“The clinic has given our students real insight into the importance of professional case management, too,” says Bassi. “Our clinic is inexpensive to operate. It’s not high-tech nursing at all. But it’s gratifying to know that 45-or-so minutes of focused nursing attention can make a dramatic difference in quality of life for another human being. That’s made the service especially meaningful to our students.”
The clinic also helped dispel some students’ stereotypes about homeless populations.
“Most are shocked that our clients’ mean age is 32,” Bassi says. “Students take care of clients from all walks of life, some their own age, a few pregnant and alone who, for whatever reason, now live on the street.
“Many students have told me their foot-clinic service learning experience has opened their minds and hearts,” she adds, “bridged the gap between theory and practice, and made them better nurses.”
