Putting your best foot forward

“Most people we see for podiatry, initially have a medical reason to come, sometimes it could be related to circulation, Diabetes, a history of foot wounds or walking issues, or things like that”, says Podiatrist Jordi Bird. In a career spanning 22 years, with the past five spent at healthAbility, Jordi adds, “I like podiatry because people come to see me needing help, sometimes they are in a lot of pain. It’s very rewarding to see them at the end of their care, feeling a lot better”.

Frank and Maureen Walsh have accessed a large range of services through healthAbility for the past seven years, including Home Care Packages, and have been seeing Jordi since he started. Frank especially benefits from foot maintenance as he has vascular issues and at times, his feet can have reduced blood flow causing them to be less sensitive, cold, and bluish in colour. Today Jordi leaves the Eltham clinic and does a home podiatry visit to nearby Diamond Creek. Opening his portable toolkit as Frank reclines in his rocker, Jordi inspects Frank’s foot condition. “They look quite good today even though the cold weather affects them” Jordi comments. “Reduced circulation impacts people’s feet significantly and sometimes they can’t even feel them, especially if they have Diabetes. If people start getting foot wounds or ulcers and they go undetected, they are just going to keep getting worse. We are a preventative service, so we check and maintain our client’s foot health every few months, to stop issues early or from recurring”.

Although Jordi calls himself ‘a humble podiatrist’, he’s often much more. He’s a trusted and constant point of contact and he is often the first to hear about or witness his client’s changing health or living requirements. As such, he is often first to suggest potential solutions by referring them onto other Allied Health services. Maureen adds, “We have had fantastic Case Managers too at healthAbility, our current one is Jessica, and she is marvellous. She checks in on us with a text message every second Monday saying, ‘Hello, I hope you guys are well, is there anything you need, how can I help?’” “And that’s all you need, isn’t it?” adds Jordi, agreeing that our staff are uniquely caring.

“We are so lucky to have a place like healthAbility so close”, says Maureen. “Everybody is so nice, from the time you walk in the front door, the girls at reception are always smiling, that’s always a nice start, and all of the Allied Health staff are just lovely, and most of them have worked there forever, which I think is a good sign they’re happy”. Jordi adds “You’re right, most of the staff have worked here a long time”, and he says, that like himself many live locally, so they are invested in their community long-term.

Jordi is enjoying the flexibility of the mobile, in-home service now offered to clients as they expand their reach. It is aimed at clients that might find it physically or logistically difficult to attend the clinic or simply prefer the ease of a home consultation. Maureen says it’s particularly helpful for them because of Frank’s advanced dementia and Parkinson’s disease. “It’s just a lot less stressful, by the time you get organised and get there (clinic), it takes forever, so it’s one less thing we have to worry about by having Jordi come to us”.

If you would like further information on our Podiatry service or any of our Allied Health services, please contact 9430 9100.