First Steps into Foot Care

1. First Steps into Foot Care

2. What is Foot Care?

3. What is Foot Care? Includes: • the assessment of the foot • safe, effective treatments and prevention for foot problems, diseases and disorders • Foot problems include: • sores, cuts, bunions, and calluses. • good foot care includes daily examination of the feet, toes, and toenails.

4. What Type of Services are Offered? There are 2 types of foot cares services that can be provided: • Basic or Spa Services • Specialized or Invasive/Medical Services

5. Basic/Spa Services • Cutting and filing of nails • Softening and buffing of corns and calluses • Moisturizing the skin • Foot massage • Pedicures and/or Manicures • Polish Changes

6. Medical Services • In grown nail care • Fungal and problem nails • Diabetic care • Corn/Callus Removal • Diabetic/High Risk Care • Foot hygiene and footwear education

7. Who Can Perform These Services For spa services: • Specially trained PSW • RPN

8. Who Can Perform These Services For Invasive/Medical services: • Specially trained RPN • Specially trained RN • Chiropodist (in Ontario only)

9. What is the Difference Between a Chiropodist and a Foot Care Nurse Foot care nurses: • Trained to care for the skin and nails of the feet for those not at high risk for foot problems. • Can give information and referrals about foot care and foot wear.

10. What is the difference between a Chiropodist and a Foot Care Nurse Chiropodists: • Trained in a three year college programme • Can assess and treat foot problems, design custom-made orthotics (shoe inserts), • Prescribe exercises and give foot care and foot wear information. • Regulated by the College of Chiropodists of Ontario

11. How do I Create My Programme • What type of services do you want to offer – spa or medical? • Do you want to use in-house staff or outsource the programme?

12. Spa vs. Medical Spa: • May be easier to find staff • Less chance of liability issues Medical: • Less competition (not competing with places that offer pedicures) • Demand by seniors may be greater

13. Do a Competitive Search

14. In/house Staff • Recruit and employ a Chiropodist, RPN or specially trained PSW with foot care training – they may be hard to find • Contact various colleges offering a foot care training program and ask for a list of their graduates

15. In/house Staff • Train a handful of existing Comfort Keepers on foot-care – who pays for the training? • Will need malpractice insurance

16. Who Offers the Training Ruth Ruttan and Associates (Sharon, Ontario) • Offers different training programmes including: • Enhanced Foot care for PSW – 5 day program - $650 • Advance Nursing Footcare – 5 day programme for RN’s and RPN’s - $800 Clarkridge Career Institute (Toronto, Ontario) • Footcare for PSWs • Cost is $160.00 total for a 2 day course

17. Who Offers the Training The Learning Centre at the Trillium Centre for Aesthetics (Orangeville, Ontario) • Therapeutic Foot & Nail Care – 2 days • $750.00 kit included Vancouver Community College • Foot care course for RN’s and RRN’s • 21 hours - $418.00

18. Outsource • Partner up with an RN or RPN who may already have their own practice but need additional clients • Hire them as an Independent Contractor

19. Outsource • You can schedule the appointments or the foot care provider can contact the client directly to schedule an appointment. • Comfort Keepers bills the client and pays the foot care provider • Will need malpractice insurance

20. More Places to Look for a foot Care Nurse: • Nurses Entrepreneurial Foot Care Association of Canada: http://www.nefca.ca/news.php • Foot Care Canadahttp://www.cawc.net/open/library/clinical/specialty.html#fcc

21. Tools to Use When Interviewing • You can use our standard application form • Interview Questions for foot care staff on FTP site under Foot Care

22. Two Examples in the System: Thunderbay: • Medical services provided by an RPN • Outsourced Orangeville: • Spa services • Provided by a specially trained PSW employed by the Orangeville office

23. Pricing • How much can you charge per visit: • You will need to check what your competitors are charging • In general, Spa service are charged at $25 an appointment • Medical services are charged from $40 to $45 an appointment • You may wish to charge extra for first appointment if it includes a thorough assessment of the client’s foot care needs

24. Costs How much do we have to pay staff to provide foot care • PSW’s doing spa services: • If they are specially trained you may need to pay them $2 or more an hour, than you pay your current PSW’s – this will depend on your labour market • RPN’s are usually paid $25 an hour

25. Equipment Required • Sterilized tools including: • Ingrown scissors ($50) • Diamond Deb File ($18.00) • Podiatry bur ($22.00) • Bucket to soak the foot in • Polishes for spa services

26. Where Can You Provide Foot Care: • In client’s home. • Doctor’s Office: rent a room on a regular basis (i.e. weekly or monthly)

27. Where Can You Provide Foot Care: • Church/Synagogue, Community Center, local drugstore, Retirement Home: rent a room on a regular basis. • You may be able to negotiate the room for no charge or a subsidized rate if the institution you are partnering with, sees this as a benefit for its members/clients • They may also promote the clinic for you

28. Marketing Materials • We have created 2 flyers, one for basic spa services and one for specialized medical services • This flyer can be: • inserted with invoices and to email for current clients • left with referral sources • Inserted with existing Comfort Keepers brochures • If you would like to have the flyer customized for your office, contact Kristina Dobbin

31. Why Offer it? • Complements our core services • Great demand for the service as it is an essential service that most seniors require • Many seniors find it hard to locate foot care providers • In many provinces foot care is not covered by government paid services • Having a foot care nurse on staff may allow you to provide other nursing services on an hourly basis.