Advanas Foot and Ankle Specialists Gives to Patients and Community
Most of us don’t think of going to a podiatrist until we have foot or ankle pain, but when we do have foot and ankle pain we all know how uncomfortable it makes our every day life. Just like going to any other doctor, you want to make sure that you are going to a local doctor that you trust and that you know invests their time and dollars back into your local community. Well, let me tell you that if you are looking for a podiatrist that fits that criteria you need to go to Advanas Foot and Ankle Specialists. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Kathleen Bickle of Advanas and she gave me great insight on what Advanas not only does for their patients, but for their community as well!
Bickle completed her surgical training in 2012 and is proficient in both surgical and non-surgical treatment options. She is originally from Constantine and cares immensely for the Southwest Michigan area in the utmost sense of local one could think of. Dr. Bickle graduated from Kalamazoo College and Rosalind Franklin University in Chicago and came to the Advanas Coldwater location to train under Dr. Trevor Neal (Advanas Founder) once she completed her education. Dr. Neal wanted to make sure that Advanas’ could continue to grow/thrive so he invited Dr. Bickle to join the Advanas team permanently. Dr. Bickle truly enjoys interacting with all of her patients each and every day.
“It is really about contributing to society and humanity both and interacting with patients on a day to day basis is how I enjoy making my contribution,” stated Dr. Bickle. She is always thinking of the bigger picture and she really enjoys being a community servant. “This job never gets boring, I have to treat each patient in a totally different way so each appointment is always bringing something new to the table,” Dr. Bickle said. She also really enjoys the fact that Advanas Foot and Ankle Specialists have 6 different locations (Angola, Coldwater, Paw Paw, Portage, & Sturgis) so she can really help more patients in more than just one community.
Advanas does a great job giving back to the community as well. Dinner From The Docs is a Holiday food drive put on by Advanas Foot and Ankle Specialists. This is the second year of the food drive that provides non-perishable food items for local food pantry’s in our 6 office location communities. We donate all the food collected in the names of our referring providers in lieu of giving a holiday gift to each office i.e. cookie tray etc to show our appreciation. The ownership (Dr Neal, Dr Bussema, Dr. Bickle, Dr. Monfore), Paula Hollister, (Director of Operations) felt this is worth wild project to not only fill the food pantry’s for the holiday rush season in the names of our referring providers but for our staff and their families to experience the feeling of giving to the less fortunate in our communities.
“Our staff does a very nice job taking this project on. The staff members that volunteer receive a tee shirt with names of each provider that consistently refers their patients to Advanas throughout the year. At the end of the project a recognition certificate and a picture of our staff with all food donated is delivered to each office of the referring providers to inform them of the donation made in their names. Our 2018 Dinner From The Docs project was an extreme success and met with much appreciation from all involved.” Jim Lioy, Physician Liaison. Patients and the general public are encouraged to drop off their non-perishable food donations to one of our 6 office locations beginning mid-late October through first week in December. Donations made to our Coldwater office will be delivered to Branch Area Food Pantry.
Advanas Foot and Ankle Specialists can help patients with ankle sprains, athlete’s foot, bunions, children’s foot care, diabetic foot care, flat feet, hammertoes, heel pain, heel spurs, ingrown toenails, neuropathy, orthotics, sports injuries, toenail fungus, & women’s foot health. Their new EPAT (Extracorporeal Pulse Activation Technology) machine they use to treat plantar faciitis is top of the line technology and it is just one of the many treatment options they offer. The professionals at Advanas want to make sure that they exhaust all conservative options with each and every patient first before diverting to any other forms of treatment. The Doctors at Advanas can even orthotic prescription shoe inserts if that is what is needed for a patient. If surgery is needed to cure foot and ankle pain Advanas Foot and Ankle Specialists can even help take care of that. The plethora of services offered by Advanas is truly astonishing, not to mention that Advanas has won “Best of the Best Podiatrist” for the Michiana area back to back years now (2018 & 2019)!
Another great aspect of Advanas is their dedication to supporting the surrounding business community in all of the areas that they have locations. Whether it is a membership through the local Chamber of Commerce or referrals to other doctors, they are always happy to help a fellow local business. “It is important to make sure all businesses in the community are doing healthy, that is why we always love the chance to give a referral if we can,” stated Dr. Bickle. I myself can personally vouch that Jim Lioy is a great representative of Advanas as well as a huge supporter of local Chambers. The Coldwater Area Chamber of Commerce featured Jim Lioy and Dr. Trevor Neal for their September 17th “Live @ Lunch Membership Showcase” to give the community a glimpse inside the Advanas Coldwater location along with a look at all of the services offered there. If you see Dr. Bickle, Dr. Neal, Dr. Monfore, Dr. Bussema, or Jim Lioy out and about in your local area make sure to thank them for all that they do for their local communities. If you are a patient of them, I am sure you already had a massive level of appreciation for them before even reading this article. I myself would like to personally thank Advanas for their support towards the Coldwater Area Chamber of Commerce as well as for the opportunity to interview Dr. Kathleen Bickle. To find out more on Advanas Foot and Ankle Specialists go to www.advanas.com today!
