Yellowknife nurse keeps toes intact with new foot care clinic

When Gerri Hunter-Whiteford decided to open a new foot care clinic, she wanted to address a gap between pedicures and medical emergencies.

Currently, she said, there is only a foot care provider based in Yellowknife for people with brittle diabetes, as well as some home care.

But even though her new clinic is housed in a medical room at the Aven Pavillion, a building that forms part of the Avens seniors’ facility in Yellowknife, Hunter-Whiteford aims to provide care for all ages.

“It’s not just foot care for the older adult,” Hunter-Whiteford said, adding that even younger people and children can have issues. Services include nail care for ingrown toenails, skin care, education and mobility.

Hunter-Whiteford is working as a public health researcher at Stanton Territorial Hospital but wanted to get back to nursing and community involvement.

She said receiving proper foot care can increase your quality of life, not just mobility, and having a clinic will alleviate visits to the emergency room for people who try to fix a problem themselves.

“I can tell them how to fix it, treat it once, and then give education,” she said, noting that even something like an ingrown toenail can cause immense pain if treated incorrectly.

Opening a clinic, though, involved its own challenges.

“I’m a nurse. I’m not a business person. It was an incredible learning curve,” she said of the licensing and assessments she went through.

She has now received her business licence and started seeing her first clients.

Hunter-Whiteford said she received advice from the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce and Heather Moxon, a private-practice foot care nurse.

To furnish the new clinic, she turned to Facebook Marketplace and the Salvagers Unite group.

Next, she hopes to purchase an autoclave – which can cost over $5,000. In the meantime, she’s relying on single-use sterile supplies.

Hunter-Whiteford said she’s here for everyone.

“It’s not just for retirees and I’m going to have to overcome a little bit of a stigma, because I am within the Pavilion,” she said, adding Avens had “graciously opened up” the facility’s doors to the public.

“For this,” she said, “they aim to have an all-service facility not only for the residents, but the communities.”

Correction: September 14, 2025 – 13:49 MT. This article initially stated Heather Moxon, a foot care provider formerly based in Yellowknife, had closed her clinic. While Moxon has relocated her practice to New Brunswick, she continues to provide services in the NWT on a contract basis.