Feet first for good health

It’s just a pair of socks.

How can something so simple make such a huge difference in someone’s life?

We know through programs like PeaceHealth’s Hearts to Soles event and in our own daily interactions with patients in need, proper foot care and a pair of warm, dry socks can turn a life of misery into something more manageable.

At PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington, social worker Cynthia Letarte has always taken it upon herself to bring in slightly worn shoes for her department’s patient-in-need closet.

The closet holds donated clothing to share with patients who are experiencing homelessness or other financial distress so they don’t have to wear their own tattered clothes upon discharge.

Through patience and persistence, Letarte developed a relationship with a Portland, Oregon company that makes fun and functional socks.

Letarte’s new friends at Sock It To Me recently shipped over two boxes stuffed with socks for the closet. It is a generous gift from an organization that believes, like us, that foot health is an essential part of life, she said.

Her focus on community wellness and determination to treat each patient with the dignity and respect they deserve helps them leave the hospital on the right foot.

“It truly takes a village of people with generous hearts and minds to care for the most vulnerable in our community,” says fellow Care Management caregiver Melanie Smith.