Nursing students serve those in need by washing hands and feet at Salvation Army shelter

Armed with buckets of warm, soapy water and jars of nail polish, dozens of Liberty University School of Nursing students served the homeless and impoverished members of the Lynchburg community on Monday during the most recent Hands and Feet Clinic.

Students washed individuals’ hands and feet at the Salvation Army’s Center of Hope, giving them manicures and pedicures as well as new socks. Students have been offering the clinic weekly for the last four semesters.

“Our dean, Dr. Deanna Britt, came to us with the idea,” Assistant Professor Heather Humphreys said. “In the nursing department, we have this painting of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. When we heard about this idea, we said, yes, this is what we stand for.”

The clinic was made possible through the university’s ILLUminate Grant for the Improvement of Teaching, which allows faculty to increase active learning and hands-on experiences for students. The School of Nursing also used the grant to purchase shoes for clinic participants who attended at least two of the sessions.

Assistant Professor Dr. Dana Woody said that although she has served as a community health nurse for 17 years, the Hands and Feet Clinic was special.

“It gives a whole new meaning to come alongside those in our community and just be present,” Woody said. “We’ve had students so touched by the opportunity, they have invited their hallmates and prayer groups to come and volunteer.”

Senior nursing students helped organize the event and mentored sophomores throughout the process.

“For many of the sophomores, this is only their second or third time with a patient,” Humphreys said. “The seniors have been very encouraging. They take them aside and give them advice throughout the clinic. It’s neat to see.”

Senior Amy Steadman said she enjoyed interacting with each of the participants and hearing them share their hearts.

“They were really impacted,” Steadman said. “You could see that they were taken aback when we would greet them by name.”

Glover Martin, a resident at Center of Hope, said the students made him feel so welcome that he came to four of the six clinics.

“They were so kind and very sweet,” Martin said. “They made my hands feel so good.”

Serving others, in Steadman’s opinion, is an important element of becoming a nurse.

“Part of nursing is building a relationship with people as well,” Steadman said, “and that’s what we were able to do.”

For senior Katherine Claunch, working with the clinic over the last several weeks became personal for her.

“I was born and raised in Lynchburg,” she said. “To the residents, I wasn’t this girl from some city somewhere, which meant a lot to them. Lynchburg isn’t that big, so it was about getting to just talk to people and realize we had similar connections.”

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