On Wednesday, November 30, 2016 a group of orthopedic residents, physician assistants and medical students from Rush University Medical Center provided medical care, shoes, and socks to homeless men and women at a shelter on Chicago’s west side. Drs. Simon Lee, Johnny Lin and Kamran Hamid, foot and ankle surgeons at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, led the “Soles 4 Souls” effort, which served an estimated 200 men and women. “Soles 4 Souls” is affiliated with Soles4Souls, Inc., a national, not-for-profit organization dedicated to procuring and distributing shoes to people in need all over the world.
Rush Physicians Provide Shoes, Foot Care to Homeless
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" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/ryortho.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Rush_FootAndAnkleSurgeons_WEB.jpg?fit=730%2C350&ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/ryortho.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Rush_FootAndAnkleSurgeons_WEB.jpg?resize=730%2C350&ssl=1" alt="Drs. Johnny Lin, Kamran Hamid and Simon Lee, Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush foot and ankle surgeons / Courtesy of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush" width="730" height="350">Drs. Johnny Lin, Kamran Hamid and Simon Lee, Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush foot and ankle surgeons / Courtesy of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush
According to the November 30, 2016 media alert, Dr. Simon Lee began the Chicago chapter of the program in 2007 and since then, he has been actively involved in coordinating this annual event on Chicago’s west side. In addition to the medical screenings and socks from Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush physicians, the men and women of the shelter will also receive free shoes donated by Red Wing Shoe Company and socks from Dignity U Wear.
Asked what memories he will carry from this experience, Dr. Lee told OTW, “Memories of all the people who were so willing to donate their time after work to help out and participate. Also, the residents who were served and how grateful they were about the shoes and socks.”
“I think it showed the trainees how easy it is to provide their services and training to something that we may think is easy and part of our daily routines but how much it can affect others.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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