---

Many students and residents jump at the chance to go on Missions

Using your knowledge and expertise to make life better for the underprivileged doesn’t have to stop after the holidays. As a matter of fact, most of the podiatric physicians featured here already had medical missions on their “to-do” lists, and plan to go on other mission trips in the future. 


MEDICAL MISSION TO LEON & MANAGUA, NICARAGUA 
Aneta Strus, DPM, was a third-year TUSPM student in 2013 when she joined Drs. Charles Morelli and Jeffrey Siegel, who led another podiatric student and two residents, on her first medical mission. Two local hospitals were visited: Hospital Escuela Oscar Danilo Rosales Arguello (HEODRA) in Leon, and the Children’s Hospital in Managua. Dr. Strus, now practicing at Martin Foot and Ankle, said she “grasped the first opportunity I was given” to go on a medical mission. 

Dr. Strus said what surprised her the most on the mission was the state of the hospitals; lack of specialized training by local surgeons; and the large number of neglected congenital and acquired deformities, which lead to lifelong disabilities. The positives included: the hospitality of the local people, the gratitude of the patients, and the willingness to learn by the local physicians. 

Everything the team did was surgical correction:

It takes a cohesive team to have a successful medical mission. Dr. Strus was very appreciative of the team she worked with, especially how everyone pressed on after standing for 12–18 hours a day to treat those in need.

She found it worthwhile to experience the variety of pathology at the time, and how focused everyone was on their common goal—to help. “I would encourage myself and others to look outside of the bubble we live in, and realize how privileged we truly are to be living in this country, and to have the ability to help others,” she says.

“MIRACLEFEET” CLINIC IN LEON, NICARAGUA
PPMA Member Andrew Peacock, DPM, went to Leon, Nicaragua, on a multifaceted mission through the United Methodist Church, Mamaroneck, NY. A MiracleFeet Clinic, housed within the HEODRA Hospital in Nicaragua, gave Dr. Peacock and the others the ability to treat rampant clubfoot, focusing on the Ponseti method, a non-surgical treatment fully correcting the foot.

The team of five podiatric surgeons and two podiatric students primarily treated pediatric deformities: failed Ponseti clubfoot and neglected trauma focused on deformity correction. “The opportunity to help these families and individuals who are otherwise identified as crippled in a third-world country, without resources we take for granted in the States, is truly life changing,” says Dr. Peacock.

He also explains that Medical Missions are the reason he went into the podiatric surgical field. He found the people so grateful and genuine, and the experience “the most humbling experience of my life.”

A LITTLE CAN GO A LONG WAY
Martin Foot and Ankle, York, PA, believes in the power of community outreach in a variety of ways and all-year long. “If we all do a little good, a lot of good could happen,” says Aysa E. Urich, Marketing Specialist for Martin Foot and Ankle. 

The practice involves both its shoe department, The Right Shoe, and its physical therapy department to lend a helping hand and spread goodwill: As a practice they have sponsored the YMCA’s “Walk a Mile” in York for the past two years, as well as other YMCA events. This includes the upcoming “Race Against Racism” in the spring, an event they’ve participated in the past. Not only do they sponsor these walks and races, but Martin Foot and Ankle DPMs participate in them when able. 

The Martin Foot and Ankle PT Department employees are offered a “Dress Down” day when they bring in an item to donate to a specific charity of the month. A wish list is sent from the chosen organization for employees to pick items from and to bring in. “For SPCA or animal-related, it’s normally animal food, toys, and bones. For people, it’s normally non-perishable items—socks, etc. For schools, it’s school supplies,” says Urich. 

Soles4Souls: What a great way for podiatry to support an organization that collects new or gently used shoes for those who do without. “The Right Shoe” places large donation boxes at their two locations for customers to drop off shoes for Soles4Souls. Martin Foot and Ankle’s shoe department collects roughly 200 pairs of shoes during the holiday promotion period. Laura Roman, shoe store associate pictured above, dropped off the donated shoes in Philadelphia.

According to Urich, Martin Foot and Ankle’s “Year of Giving” sponsorships/donations come down to “because our community is what makes us who we are, and our patients aren’t just patients, they become family to our practice.” She adds that if not for the community, the practice wouldn’t be in business.

Getting involved in your communities to educate them on foot and ankle health while attending immediate needs, may seem overwhelming. But even small gestures of giving can do the most good!