Dick Baumgarten is thankful that a partnership between Tomah Health and Viterbo University of La Crosse is helping area residents have healthy feet. The Tomah resident was one of 32 people to get complimentary foot care during a daylong Foot Care Clinic held at Tomah Health March 29.
 
“It’s hard at my age to get down to my feet and get a decent job, so this really works out good,” said Baumgarten of the treatment he received.
 
Tomah Health provided space for the clinic, staff resources and helped coordinate details with Viterbo. Nurse practitioner students from Viterbo cleaned and moisturized the feet, assessed each foot for areas of concern, trimmed and clipped the nails to eliminate any friction, which can lead to further issues.
 
“The training is unlike anything students obtain in the classroom,” said Viterbo University assistant professor LuAnn Fowler, DNP, FNP-C.  “This is very different from an in-clinic type of appointment setting evaluation.”