For over 30 years, UW-Eau Claire Continuing Education has held a free Foot and Nail Care Clinic for community members. The clinic was not held during the pandemic, but returned this fall. 

The foot and nail clinic is primarily meant for older adults or people with diabetes-related foot problems. Patients can expect a 20-60 minute consultation with a registered nurse, pursuing a foot and nail care certification. 

The event will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Oct. 17, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 18-20, and from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m on Oct. 21. Registration for the clinic started on Monday, Oct. 3 and appointments can be made on the UW-Eau Claire Continuing Education website. 

Jordan Mooney is the outreach program manager for Continuing Education and the Foot and Nail Care Clinic. 

According to Mooney, Continuing Education’s mission is “to actively share the power of education” and the vision is “to improve lives through transformative education.” 

Continuing Education has opportunities in a variety of different fields and career paths, such as leadership management and professional skills, human services, healthcare, non-profit, on-site contract training and community classes for adults. 

“Continuing Ed. mostly serve folks in the community that are non-degree seeking students, pursuing a certification or professional development,” according to Mooney. 

Participants gain Continuing Education credits for each educational opportunity they are a part of. 

“All of our programs are designed with inclusivity in mind and are focused on providing the best educational value,” according to the poject proposal description. 

According to Mooney, these credits help participants “maintain a professional license or certification, enhance their resume and skill sets to make them a more valuable employee, or simply as a way to pursue learning experiences over the course of a lifetime.”

The Foot and Nail Care Clinic helps 1,000 community members twice a year, as well as furthering the education of the students who partake in the program. According to Mooney, patients have been brought to tears by the impact the clinic has on their lives.

“Movement is life, and movement becomes very challenging if you have difficulty taking care of your feet and your feet are in pain,” says Mooney. “They generally are older adults with diabetic-related foot concerns [and] unique challenges when it comes to caring for their feet.”

During the five-day clinic, nurses fulfill a portion of their certification requirements, according to the project poposal description. “This clinic provides a learning and practice opportunity for nurses to further their skill set to better aid their patients.”

The project proposal description said that foot and nail care certification is undertaught throughout the nation, despite being a crucial service needed by a large percentage of the aging population.

“This program is one of a kind and is nationally sought out by nurses from all over. It also is a massive benefit for our community,” said Mooney. “If you know of folks that have difficulty caring for their feet and could benefit from a free assessment and treatment, please send them to the clinic!”

Allessi can be reached at [email protected].