Walk right in

BY NANCY KELLY

Kings County Register “Overwhelming community support” has allowed the VON to relocate and expand its Kingston-area foot clinic. The clinic, staffed by VON nurses, now operates twice weekly at the Kingston Legion. “We had been at our previous location for eight years and the parking situation created a need for change,” explains the VON’s co-ordinator of community support and volunteer services Scott Anderson. When he started looking around Kingston/ Greenwood for a new site, he was pleasantly surprised by the response from the community. “The village of Kingston wanted to assist us but, unfortunately, they didn’t have a facility that could accommodate us,” says Anderson. When he approached Kingston’s Branch 98 of the Royal Canadian Legion, “they were quick to pick up the ball” and the result has been “an excellent partnership that is working for everyone.”

Anderson says regular, proper footcare is “extremely important for seniors” and can really make a difference in a person’s quality of life. “And the Legion in Kingston has made a difference by helping the VON keep this program in the community,” he adds.

Clinic nurse Sandra Wasson agrees the staff and volunteers at the Legion have been very helpful in getting the service up and running. “The janitor here has us spoiled,” says Wasson: all she has to transport is some basic tools. “Everything else is stored here and set up and ready for us when we come in.”

Phylis Moorehouse visits the clinic about every six weeks and says she “couldn’t do without” the regular treatments provided by the VON. “Coming here has been a good thing,” says Moorehouse, who finds it easier to access the service since it was relocated to the Legion.

The VON, which also operates foot clinics at several other Kings County locations, now uses an autoclave system to sterilize all footcare instruments. “This essentially means that no germs, fungus or disease can spread from one client to another as we are not using the same instruments from client to client; that translates into a healthier and more active community,” says VON spokeswoman Krista Laing.

Laing explains the VON recently invested in new instruments to meet the demand for their clients, and would welcome community donations to help cover the costs of upgrading their equipment.