Dr. Mark Myerson spent a majority of his time during the last three decades surgically repairing people?s lower legs and researching new methods of how to fix foot- and ankle-related injuries.
Myerson is the medical director at the Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at Mercy Medical Center.
But recently, with the help of his 16-year-old daughter, Olivia, Myerson started helping feet and ankles in a different, less medically focused way.
They are collecting footwear for local charities through collection bins placed around the hospital.
The project, called Foot Care, is a partnership with Olivia?s school ? the Roland Park Country Day School.
“This was my daughter?s idea,” Myerson said. “My daughter is very involved in community affairs, and she thought this would be a nice way to integrate her humanitarian interests and the work that I do here at Mercy.”
The drive, which started Monday, generated a strong response. The drive will continue through March 30.
“It?s amazing because the bins that have been outside our institute are already full, and it?s only been three days,” said Brian Cawley, director of operations at the Foot and Ankle Institute. “The response has been phenomenal.”
Foot Care is similar to programs the hospital has done before, but it has never focused on shoes, said Ann Fisher, chair for Mercy?s Employee Outreach Collections.
“Not everybody has everything, so we try to do a variety of things,” Fisher said. “This is something a little different than what we?ve done before ? just zeroing in on shoes ? so we are hoping for a big collection and a lot of support.”
