About Us

           MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Atlanta Foot Care Coalition is to enhance mobility and promote preventative and therapeutic foot care to the older adult population in the 10 county metropolitan Atlanta area through community awareness, education, recruitment, service delivery, and research.

           HISTORY

Historically, the Foot Care Initiative was a project of the Pro Health for Seniors Task Force and was active from 1988 through 1995.  At that time, the focus was on recruiting a small group of retired professionals who, along with nursing students, provided foot care clinics in identified senior housing facilities and a few other sites.  The initiative became inactive for several years between 1995 and 2003, but was revived as a multidisciplinary regional coalition in February 2003 and renamed the Atlanta Foot Care Coalition, a subgroup of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s ProHealth for Seniors Task Force. 

The Coalition currently consists of multiple partnerships from various disciplines throughout the Atlanta area.  These professionals are dedicated to the elderly for 1) promoting awareness of the need for lower extremity screening, 2) recruiting and training service providers, 3) establishing availability of appropriately trained persons to provide screening and foot care in a safe and consistent manner, 4) and in promoting improved mobility, morbidity, and independence outcomes for seniors. The Coalition’s activities and program coordinator are funded through donations and grants.

           THE ISSUE

Foot care problems affect the majority of older adults today.   Although diabetes is a primary cause for foot ulcers, foot problems are not limited to those diagnosed with the disease.  Elderly persons with neuropathy, peripheral vascular disease, genetic deformities, or impaired mobility make up a large segment of the population with foot problems.  The public health implications of impaired or loss of mobility in the aging population due to foot ulcers can be significant and relate to increased health care costs for treatment. The primary issue for a majority of older adults is awareness of available foot care and a variety of accessible services.  While Medicare provides limited coverage for podiatry services, it does not cover most basic foot care services.

Foot care screening is often all that is needed to pinpoint problems with circulation, pressure areas, and infections.  Once these problems are identified and cared for in a timely manner, problems such as pressure ulcers and eventual amputations can be avoided.  The Atlanta Foot Care Coalition is one such group that can utilize a multidisciplinary approach to identify patients in need of care and distinguish the level of care in order to keep the elderly from experiencing functional decline due to limited mobility.

           THE POPULATION

The Coalition’s projects will address a culturally diverse,  population, in the Atlanta metropolitan area, who are in need of lower extremity screening and non invasive foot care and education. The coalition’s efforts are directed toward individuals of the culturally diverse aging population in the metropolitan Atlanta area who are in need of foot care awareness and services.