No Small ‘Feet’ – Outreach Addresses Foot Health in Worcester and North County

To engage our? UMass Memorial Health caregivers on the journey to become an integrated health care system, we need to keep them informed of our progress. This piece highlights a recent, free diabetes foot clinic provided 50 underserved individuals in the Leominster area access to foot examinations; health education; blood sugar, lipid, and BMI testing; sneaker giveaways; wound care; and more.

About 50 underserved individuals recently attended a free diabetes foot clinic at the South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) Leominster, a nonprofit group that provides single-room, affordable housing to underserved community members. Coordinated by UMass Memorial Medical Center 's vascular surgery team, volunteers offered foot examinations; health education; blood sugar, lipid and BMI testing; sneaker giveaways; wound care; and more. This is the team’s eighth event in the region, bringing the total number of people cared for to 366 patients throughout Worcester and northern Worcester County.

“The residents at SMOC Leominster really appreciated the event and are very thankful,” shared Tammy Nguyen , MD, PhD, vascular surgery. Of the 50 patients, 25 were identified as needing important follow-up care for issues, such as claudication (pain, mostly in the legs, caused by too little blood flow), leg swelling, foot wounds, need for a lung cancer screening, hyperlipidemia (high level of lipids and triglycerides in the blood), high blood pressure, diabetes and eczema.

How did the clinics get started? According to Dr. Nguyen, “We started these diabetic foot screening outreach clinics in 2020 during COVID-19 as a mechanism for health care providers to give back to the homeless community during a time of quarantine and isolation.” Previous foot screening clinics benefitting the homeless, veterans, and those with AIDS have been held in Worcester, Athol and Leominster.

The group’s work has grown in the last four years due to their success. Additionally, they have received more than $100,000 in grant funding to provide multidisciplinary care to the underserved.

“It's amazing to work alongside colleagues and families who share a similar passion for volunteerism. I look forward to seeing what more we can do in the future,” Dr. Nguyen adds.

Thank you to the volunteers and students from vascular surgery, vascular lab, podiatry, diabetes, cardiology, dermatology, financial aid, wound care, thoracic surgery, UMass Chan Medical School , Byram Medical and the Vascular Surgery Society Foundation.