Page 35 - BusinessWest September 4, 2023

overlap.
“We have many podiatrists who support
this work, though podiatry is a medical inter- vention, and a lot of this is not medical; it’s basic activities of daily living, and nursing is ideally suited to take care of people in that way,” she said. “There was this gap, and a huge opportunity to do something that is so meaningful, and it’s just a delight.”
The work is important, Clayton-Jones said, because people can become embarrassed by neglected feet and neglect them further — often with dangerous and even tragic results. She was thanked recently by a man whose edema was diagnosed by FootCare by Nurs- es, and he got the treatment he needed before the situation grew dire.
But even beyond such critical interven- tions, she said, people are happy when they can simply find pain relief and be able to leave their house or walk with their loved ones.
“We support quality of life in so many ways,” she said. “We not only make a dif- ference when we walk in, but we give them peace of mind. It’s the only type of nursing I’ve done where I’ve heard someone say, ‘I can’t wait for that nurse to come back.’ It’s just such a nice intervention.”
Finding Her Footing
Clayton-Jones didn’t start off as a nurse; in fact, she earned a business degree and was working in aviation before shifting her flight plan to nursing school.
About a decade ago, while working on vari-
ous floors of Berkshire Medical Center, she encountered patients with inflamed, infected feet, or — even worse — who had broken a hip in a fall, where poor foot care had been a factor. So she asked herself, “why can’t we, as nurses, take care of feet? I can learn to do it.”
So she sought further education through the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society. During that time, she recalls watch- ing a toe amputation of a Korean War veteran who had developed an infection due to ill-fit- ting shoes a doctor had recommended.
“The surgeon did a beautiful job. He was very nice and kind and connected to this man. But the man was very angry because he was losing a part of his body.”
It occurred to her that no one had checked on him and his new shoes — a simple inter- vention perfect for a nurse’s assessment skills. And she wondered how many other serious infections, debilitating falls, and amputations could be avoided altogether with simple, home-based foot care ... by nurses.
After becoming a certified foot-care nurse, Clayton-Jones started treating people’s feet in various setttings. When met with skepticism by people who suggested clients just visit a nail salon, she had a ready answer.
“I said, ‘you don’t understand this popula- tion. They’re not able to go out. You’ll never see these people; they’ll never be on your radar, but they are costing the healthcare system an inordinate amount of money when
FootCare
Continued on page 37
Kate Clayton-Jones at the American Foot Care Nurses Assoc. 2023 National Conference.
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