Media Advisory: Fruit Belt residents will get free foot care and health screenings at MOOT senior center

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Residents of the Fruit Belt, surrounding neighborhoods and others can get expert care for their feet and critical health screenings on Saturday, June 3, at a free clinic at the MOOT Senior Center in Buffalo.

“Kickstart Footcare” is being held by surgeons, surgical residents and medical students from the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo.

Free and open to the public, the clinic will include foot care; screening for hypertension and diabetes, including A1C testing, which reflects an individual’s average blood sugar over 90 days; screening for peripheral arterial disease; and referrals to see specialist physicians.

Interested individuals should reserve a spot ahead of time by calling 716-829-5965.

Free legal advice and consultation also will be available from representatives from the Center for Elder Law and Justice. 

What: Free medical care including foot clinic, screening for diabetes, hypertension, peripheral arterial disease and others; free legal services provided by the Center for Elder Law and Justice.

Who: Physical exams, health screenings and foot care will be provided by Jacobs School surgical residents and medical students working under the supervision of Department of Surgery and UBMD Surgery faculty members Linda M. Harris, MD, professor of surgery and director of the vascular surgery program, and Brittany C. Montross, MD, clinical assistant professor. Kenny J. Oh, a fifth-year vascular surgery resident, will also be providing care.

When and where: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 3, in the MOOT Senior Center, 295 High St., Buffalo.

Media arrangements: Ellen Goldbaum, 716-771-9255, and Mike Lamb on site at 347-573-0732.

The Department of Surgery began holding foot clinics last fall and it expects to continue to hold them regularly throughout the city of Buffalo.

“New funding that we have received from the Health Foundation of Western and Central New York is enabling the Department of Surgery to build more partnerships with community organizations so that we can extend our reach throughout Buffalo,” said Mike Lamb, PhD, director of surgical education in the UB Department of Surgery. “The MOOT Center is a community space that is opening up its doors to us for free so we can hold this clinic, bringing health care and services directly to the residents who need it.”

The idea for the event grew out of the UB Department of Surgery’s Summer Diversity Research Mentorship program, which was designed to address and mitigate the effects of systemic racism and inequality in health care. The program provides underrepresented medical students with an opportunity to be mentored by attending surgeons, while also giving them an opportunity to conduct research on health disparities in the majority-Black Fruit Belt community adjacent to the UB medical school.