Once a month, the senior center in Osceola offers a toenail clinic for their patrons.
Tim Corbin is a nurse and the administrator at Truman Lake Manor nursing center in St. Clair County, who has been volunteering his time to the clinic for many years.
He recently sat down with Melanie Foster, the care manager at the center, to talk about the importance of taking care of one’s feet – especially as you age.
For the month of September, we're focusing on the health of those living in west and west central Missouri.
Tim Corbin: I have done a lot of people's toenails, and as people age, you find out that just the simple act of getting to your toes – either they lose their flexibility or their eyesight, they don't see as well – they can't get down to do their toes as well.
Many of them are diabetic and have issues, and either due to lack of insurance or accessibility to get to a place that can do their toes or get into a podiatrist – it just became a needed thing that we saw and we started doing it, gosh, it's been years ago.
And as a nursing home, it kind of gives us a chance to visit with the elderly in the community. They get to know us. We get to know them.
We have our regulars that come every time. We can kind of count on them. If they don't come this month – if we have a down month, next month, I know I'll have a busy month. They kind of back up on me.
Melanie Foster: From the senior center perspective, we're always looking at ways to reach out to our community and make sure we're providing services that benefit them. We want people to come in and enjoy the facility.
This is a newer building, and when they designed it, they put in the medical center, and it's where we have a shower for people who need showers and don't have access at home.
We also have a donated pedicure chair, just like you go into the salon – if that's what they would like. Most people tend to sit in the recliner, and Tim sits on the floor and does their toenails. So, it's just a really relaxed environment.
They feel comfortable coming here. They don't have to get into a car that they may not have anymore. They don't have to drive on a busy highway, like 13 Highway, which can be very dangerous, to go to Clinton or as far as Bolivar Springfield or Kansas City to have regular toenail care.
Many of them don't have chronic toenail needs. They're not dealing with huge ingrown problems – or maybe some of them, Tim just made a face.
I don't usually go into the toenail room. That would not be – there's reasons why I never became a nurse. I was telling Tim that earlier, and that would probably be one of them, but he's tough.
But as senior centers, we're constantly looking at our communities and trying to see what works here because each center has its own personality, even though we might only be separated by 30 minutes or 30 miles – if you go into a different center, it looks different. The volunteers are different. People interact in a different way.
So, we're always trying to look at ways that we can customize what we provide.
