Feet ‘N Beyond of New Jersey of Hackettstown Celebrates 15 Years Dedicated to Foot Health
May 13, 2022 02:59PM ● By Steve Sears
Dr. Helene T. Nguyen of Hackettstown’s Feet ‘N Beyond of New Jersey tells a painful story.
“It's touched me and to this day,” she says. “I had a 92-year-old patient that came in because of her foot deformity, which were bunions and hammertoes. Her doctor was not clear on the foot procedure or a traditional way to correct her foot problem and told her to live with it. And she's very active at 92. She drove herself, came to see us, and said, ‘Can you do something for me?’ She even had her shoes cut out to accommodate the bunion!”
Dr. Nguyen “felt” and saw both the woman’s emotional and physical pain. “The two pains collided,” she says. “That’s really how I feel about the whole, entire foot health care overall. With the medicine and techniques we have, we have the solutions. The patient doesn't have to go under anesthesia, no hardware, and virtually low risk. Patients even walk the same day as their procedure.”
Dr. Nguyen and her husband, Dr. Yong J. Zhu, opened Hackettstown’s Feet ‘N Beyond in 2007. The practice recently celebrated its 15th anniversary.
With Feet ‘N Beyond, the concern is, yes, proper care of a patient’s foot ailment and they do it with the safest, minimally invasive, most effective, and innovative techniques available. That’s the “feet” end. However, there is the previously-mentioned emotional side as well. The “beyond” is Drs. Nguyen and Zhu taking the time to get to know the patient, asking what the patient does with their feet, when their pain arises and how often, and what the foot ailment prevents them from doing? “This is something that has always been the hallmark of what we do in our office and in our practice,” Dr. Nguyen says. “Our mission is to listen to the patient. Coming from a medical background, I'm a surgeon, and when I see a patient with a foot problem, I can do so many things. But is that really what the patient wants? That's where there’s a disconnect in the relationship between doctors and patients. That's not how it's supposed to be; we’re supposed to be working together. I tell patients, ‘It takes two to tango’.”
The foot care duo, fellow New York Podiatry Medical School graduates and parents of one son, 7-year-old Nathan, initially started out doing work with a local hospital, and then started Feet ‘N Beyond as a part-time practice, which has since grown into full-time endeavor the past five years. The unveiling of the Mountain Avenue location opened a lot of opportunities to help the community. “We're on a very busy street in Hackettstown, and that’s how and why I got involved with the Hackettstown Business Improvement District from a community perspective,” Dr. Nguyen says. “We offer different events; one example is free foot screenings just to help people. There are so many myths, so many misconceptions that are untrue, and we kind of demystify a lot of medical issues that involve feet. We like to educate the community, and that's what we've tried to do. Part of our mission is to educate patients that there is a solution, that there are options.”
Regarding the rest of the Feet ‘N Beyond team, which Dr. Nguyen says she and Dr. Zhu rely on greatly, there is a fondness. These folks have been on the journey as well. “We always appreciate past staff members and current staff members,” Dr. Nguyen states gratefully. “We appreciate that they are here to help us to care for people and are aligned with our vision.”
Feet ‘N Beyond of New Jersey has their patient’s both good foot health and overall happiness in mind. The practice offers hope to patients who want to live minus foot deformity and pain. “We have our foot structure from our parents, our grandparents, and when it gets to us, now we have a choice to decide how to take care of it, to be healthy,” Dr. Nguyen says. And since 2007, the answer is available for Hackettstown and the communities nearby. “There is a solution and that's why Dr. Zhu and I made the decision to have in-office procedure suite. Performing minimally invasive techniques and to be able to get the patient back to a better quality of life is key. These modern foot transformation solutions allow patients to continue to support their family as well as can play with their kids and grandkids. There is a solution.”
Feet ‘N Beyond of New Jersey is located at 188 Mountain Avenue in Hackettstown. For more information about the care they offer, visit www.feetnbeyond.com or follow them on social media and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
