Happy new year and what a great year this will be for the future of OPNA members and Podortho Nurses. We would like to share with you what we have been working on in the past few months since our last newsletter. We have been working hard at creating document templates for you to incorporate into your own practice which include; Patient intake forms that are intuitive and downloadable, Doctor’s report letters, Podortho Nursing Diagnosis templates, and much more as we continue to work diligently for you.
I would like to briefly discuss the benefits of using the doctor report letter template as I don’t believe many of you are familiar with this process and if you are good for you. That would mean you are one step ahead of many. Reporting your patients progress has two very important facets to it. 1) keeping the line of communication open within your interdisciplinary community team and 2) To let those physician’s or RN (Ec) know what you can accomplish for their patients. This will increase your referrals. The physician or NP will be more than happy to send along their patients to you who require foot or lower limb care. Visit our website to access this document and many more under our member’s section. Remember you must become a member to access all these great resources and call yourself a Podortho Nurse. Membership is only $17.00 a month.
We have made inroads with insurance companies to add your service to their schedule of benefits. It will fall under Chiropody/Podiatry/Podortho Nurse in the paramedical claims section. Many of you have shared story’s of your patients claims being denied and loosing those patients to a Chiropody clinic. Even one Foot Nurse told a story that her patient was so upset she demanded a refund. We don’t want this happening any longer. It’s time we are recognized for the amazing care we provide our patients. If you deliver your care in the home or in a clinic setting you can rest assured, you will be covered under Blue Cross and many more in the very near future as this has been our biggest mandate and we plan to continue full steam ahead. My next venture is meeting with all the other insurance companies to ensure they add us as well. I have a scheduled meeting with Sun life next week.
I would like to showcase Blue Cross and Carolyn and Sal. Caroline is a Nurse just like us so after just a brief conversation with her I learned that she completely understands the needs of Nurses. She is always available unless of vacation of course. But will do everything she can to accommodate your requests.
Caroline Windwar RN, EPC
Health & Wellness Insurance Advisor
Off: 416-631-6692 Cell: 420-5314 Fax: 416-519-2176
Office: 11 Banton Road Toronto, ON, M3H 3G9
www.windwarinsurance.com caroline@asksaul.ca
Both Sal and Caroline pushed the envelope for all OPNA members to ensure when your patient submits your claim with your OPNA membership number on your receipt your care will be covered for them. Remember again you must provide your OPNA membership number or your
claim will be denied. Foot Care Nurse designation is not applicable. Caroline and Sal who have worked closely with me to develop health benefit packages for Podortho Nurses. Many of us do not have the protection of medical and dental health benefits. Our health is imperative to our careers so we can continue to work and do what we love to do. Please take a moment to view the attachment provided in this e-mail or visit our website at www.opnassociation.ca to learn more about these cost effective amazing benefits now available to OPNA members.
OPNA is teaming up with many sponsors to ensure our association has the tools needed to continue to support you. We call them our Resource Care Partners or RCP’s. RCP’s support Podortho Nursing initiatives. We are so excited to be working with them and accessing what they also have to offer OPNA members. Discounts on product would be front of mind as well as education opportunities at discounted rates for members.
Allpresan has taken an interest in our RCP program. Allpresan provides products to support lower limb skin and nail health,
We are working with a pharmaceutical company that has also agreed to support our initiatives as well and offer employment opportunities to our Podortho Nurses. This will be done directly through OPNA and myself as I’m creating community educational programs to be delivered by Podortho Nurses province wide. If you’re interested in the job opportunity contact me directly at erin@ospnursing.ca
I have some more surprises for you in the coming months in terms of educational initiatives and increasing your scope of practice and increasing your business revenue. Stay tuned and watch our website for details and visit our RCP partner Ontario School of Podortho Nursing Inc. for information on workshops available to you at a discounted rate as an OPNA member.
Visit
Without further a do I would like to introduce you to our Vice-President Linda England who has also been working diligently for you to assist with making these initiatives happen. Many of you might remember Linda as past president of NEFCA. We are so happy to have her on our team as she brings a wealth of knowledge and experiences and shares our vision to bring Nurses that specialize in foot and lower limb care to the next level.
Erin King,
OPNA President RPN/Podortho Nurse
Happy New Year Everyone!
Twenty-four years ago I was introduced to basic nursing foot care while working for VON. Little did I know that 3 years later, I would be embarking on an independent career as an Advanced foot care nurse.
When starting out, doing home visits while keeping a part time nursing job, it was exciting this new adventure of mine. Within a year, I was introduced to the thought of running a clinic at a retirement home, which ended up with me operating 5 clinics and no longer an employee for anyone but myself. I continued to educate myself, joined associations and boards and became a pioneer in my profession so my colleagues told me.
Have you seen today’s Advanced Foot Care Nurse/Podortho Nurse, all I can say is “WOW”! Not putting myself down, as the so-called pioneer with awesome experience but the business skill level of the foot care nurses today is going in a direction that is exceeding expectations that 21 years ago, I thought was so exciting.
There are still many foot care nurses, who do home visits or run small clinics out of their homes, I am not discounting any advanced foot care nurse as we are all a vital part of the health team, but when you see the advancements in education and technology, it takes it to another level.
The clinics I see on social media are amazing, all over Ontario and Canada. Considering the window of Facebook pages and websites I sometimes wish I was just starting out with today’s products and technology.
I will never discount my experience or my passion for foot care, having worked with teachers, mentors, colleagues, physicians, podiatrists, and chiropodists expending my skill, as I now operate a nursing foot clinic at a family health team and teach & mentor new nurses coming into the field, but again “WOW”, look where you can take an independent Podortho Nursing Specialist practice, it puts nurses today at a level of full independence and earning an income equal to their value.
Our value is finally starting to rise, not as part of the health team, it always has, but with the other professionals looking at us as just toe nail clippers. They may not like that fact that we are strong, educated, experienced and skilled. They may see us as a threat to their income, but we are here to stay, to continue to learn and grow.
There will always be competition among ourselves and other professionals for our value, but it is up to us as indivuals and a group to raise the bar. We are keeping people on their feet, weather it is a senior person no longer able to reach their toes, a diabetic needing foot care education, a working person standing on their feet all day with calloused feet to a teenager needing an ingrown toe nail removed. We do these treatments and so much more.
As an Advanced Foot Care Nurse/Podortho Nurse we see the smiles and receive the Thank-You’s from our clients everyday. As human beings, we need to feel valued and significant as well, this is not selfish, it helps us move forward. We each have a part in this world, weather we feel we know what that is or not. We have to remind ourselves on days of being overworked, tired or just down in the dumps because of our work, family, friends or life that we keep moving forward, changes are going to happen, even if they are out of our comfort zone.
If in the past twenty-four years I have been “Wowed” in this wonderful art and science of foot care, I can just imagine what the next few year will bring working together with so many amazing, strong, forward thinking Podortho Nurses.
We are an association of forward thinkers, trying to move us ahead in business. Letting other professions know how far we have come in experience and skill. Putting ourselves in front of change makers like insurance companies so we are included in cost coverage for our clients. Proving what value, we are in using technology and products to expand our businesses and the services and treatments we provide while using the highest standards of care.
Together, we will make a difference
Happy Feet?
Linda England
OPNA Vice-President
RPN/Podortho Nurse