UKIAH, Calif. – MCHC Health Centers is pleased to announce that board-certified podiatrist Dr. Aderonke Ojo has joined its medical staff and will be seeing patients in Ukiah, Willits and Lakeport.

A podiatrist is a foot and ankle doctor who helps patients with a variety of ailments, including nail fungus, calluses, warts, bunions, hammertoe, plantar fasciitis, heel pain, diabetic foot evaluations and care, Achilles’ tendonitis, flat feet and more.

Dr. Ojo is a medical podiatrist, though she can refer patients for surgery, if necessary.

Originally from Nigeria, Dr. Ojo is a self-described “go-getter” who lets nothing get in her way when it comes to helping her patients. She not only focuses on eliminating their foot pain, but also helping them overcome shame about their feet.

As a young girl, she suffered serious burns on her feet. In addition to her pain, she was often embarrassed about how her feet looked. So when her patients don’t want to take off their shoes and socks, even for a medical evaluation, she understands.

“I think it helps that I can relate,” she said. Her warm, engaging personality helps put patients at ease.

“I love what I do! I fell in love with podiatry when I saw how much we could make people better. If you can’t walk, what can you do? My mission is to get people walking comfortably again,” she said.

She quipped, “When people asked me how I got here, I say, ‘My feet.’ I know it’s not what they mean, but if you think about it, it’s true.”

She went on to say that at some point in every journey, it is usually our feet that get us where we need to go. “Without healthy feet it is hard to have a healthy life,” she said.

Dr. Ojo shared a story of an elderly man who had gout. He was in terrible pain and could no longer work. He visited the clinic where she was working, and she told him he could be pain-free within days. He was amazed and thrilled when that was exactly what happened.

Dr. Ojo encourages people experiencing any foot or ankle pain to come in for an evaluation. Unlike other areas of the body, the feet get very little rest, she explained, so problems usually get worse instead of better until they are treated.

“We always do conservative treatment first. With children who have flat feet, for example, we do custom-made orthotics to realign the joints and make the body function better,” she said.

Once the body is properly aligned, the pain usually goes away. Children can then learn to stop pronating or supinating and spend the rest of their lives without that type of pain.

“Dr. Ojo’s medical training and experience make her a great fit for our health centers,” said MCHC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jerry Douglas. Dr. Ojo completed her undergraduate education UC Davis in 1997, then attended the New York School of Podiatry to earn her DPM.

She went on to complete an internship and residency at New York Coney Island Hospital and quickly become board-certified in podiatry.

She has been in practice for 10 years, both in private practice and working for Indian Health.

She is joining MCHC Health Centers as part of a personal move, one that brings her closer to her fiancé, a software engineer who lives in Lakeport.

When she’s not busy caring for patients, Dr. Ojo enjoys reading and writing poetry, shopping and dancing.

“I love to dance,” she said. “Oh, and I love to crack jokes. If you don’t have a sense of humor, what do you have? I love to laugh.”

If you or someone you love has foot or ankle pain, contact MCHC Health Centers and Dr. Ojo will be happy to see them.

MCHC Health Centers provides comprehensive health services including primary medical care, pediatrics, dentistry, women’s health, obstetrical care, counseling, psychiatry, and specialty care, and looks forward to growing to meet the ever-expanding needs of the communities it serves.

MCHC Health Centers includes Hillside Health Center in Ukiah, Little Lake Health Center in Willits and Lakeview Health Center in Lakeport.

Learn more at www.mchcinc.org.