Foot care will no longer be covered by the state
Posted: Jul 11, 2010 11:05 PMUpdated: Jul 12, 2010 2:04 AM
From KOLD News
TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) – In just a few months, foot care for the poor will no longer be covered by the state.
On Sunday morning, volunteers with the Workship Methodist Church held a foot washing a Z Mansion downtown to urge Tucson’s homeless population to get their feet checked by a podiatrist before the service ends. Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or AHCCCS, will cut podiatry care on October First. If they don’t get checked before the deadline, health workers fear that serious problems will go undetected and could lead to far more extreme situations.
“We’ve seen hammertoes, terrible, in-grown toenails, and legions that can begin with something as simple as a bug bite, but with someone with diabetes, can grow into a problem that can cause them to lose their foot, and if they don’t have toes and don’t have feet, then they’ll never be able to get jobs,” said Amy Heithaus, a member of Workship.org at the foot washing.
The group evaluated about 40 people. One man’s condition was so bad, he was taken to the hospital.
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