When Dr. Yerusalem Lanier graduated from residency five years ago, she was not only a new podiatrist, but also new to Nashville. No one knew her, and she understood that if she wanted her practice, Cutting Edge Foot and Ankle Clinic, to be successful, she had to change that, and fast.
“I had zero patients and one employee, so I had to be my own representative,” she says. A true entrepreneur, she went to primary care physicians’ offices and introduced herself. She went to Walmart, Home Depot, and urgent care clinics and handed out her cards.
Soon, one patient led to two, two led to four, and through word of mouth, patients just kept coming. “Patients start sending us their uncles, their aunts, their cousins, and friends,” says Dr. Lanier. “We made sure we made them comfortable and let them know that we were here for their well-being.”
Dr. Lanier’s goal was simple: To create a place where every decision and every treatment plan revolved around the patient.
In the first two years, she was the sole provider, but then she brought in Dr. David Farnen, who shared her goals and beliefs about treating patients. “He's as fierce as I am,” she says. “He works nonstop, and he doesn't say no to patients. Dr. Farnen had a big part in growing the practice, and today he's a part owner.”
Now, five years later, Cutting Edge Foot and Ankle Clinic has five locations, six providers, 40 employees, and thousands of patients.
When hiring new providers, Dr. Lanier and Dr. Farnen are personally involved to ensure that all patients receive the best possible care. “It's so hard to add people to the practice,” she says. “Resumes just don't cut it when it comes to choosing the right person. I always look for niceness. If you’re nice, we know you’ll be nice to patients, and everything else is trainable.”
She adds, “We see patients at their most vulnerable times, often when they're in pain, and we have to have sympathy and empathy. If you don't have those things, you cannot be a good doctor, no matter how skilled you are.”
In addition to Dr. Lanier and Dr. Farnen, providers include Dr. Gary Cockrell, Dr. Berkeley Nicholls, Morgan Hubble, and Rojin Abdulla.
Dr. Lanier works in the Brentwood and Skyline locations alongside Dr. Farnen and Dr. Gary Cockrell, who joined the practice last year. Dr. Berkeley Nicholls joined the practice this year after retiring from his own practice in Nashville and works out of the Brentwood and Centennial locations.
Morgan Hubble is a board-certified family nurse practitioner and has been with the practice for four years. You can find her in the Whitehouse location. Rojin Abdullah, a certified physician’s assistant, joined the practice last year and works in the Pleasant View location.
When choosing locations for her practice, she wanted to make sure that patients didn’t have to travel more than 15 minutes each way.
Dr. Lanier is proud of the practice she has built with the help of Dr. Farnen. “I have employees who have been with me since I opened, so it's kind of like a little family, a community that we have,” she says. “I’m also proud that my girls—12-year-old Hope and 14-year-old Alexandria—see mommy being a boss and a business owner, and making decisions, especially in what is generally considered a man’s field.” Her husband, David, is also in healthcare as an emergency room physician.
To learn more or make an appointment with one of these experienced and caring providers, visit their website.
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Tips on keeping feet healthy in the new year:
The new year often inspires people to focus on improving their diets and exercise routines. However, many become too active too fast. “Instead of starting slowly, they just go all in, and then they hurt,” says Dr. Lanier. “They may develop plantar fasciitis or ankle pain because their bodies aren’t used to physical activity. My advice is to start slowly and increase it by 10% each week to give your body time to adjust.”
With the prevalence of pickleball, she and her colleagues are also seeing a lot more injuries, especially to the Achilles tendon. “Pickleball is a great sport. I play all the time, but I'm an active person. If you're going to play and haven’t been active in the past, make sure you start walking first and do some stretching. I see a lot of Achilles tendon ruptures from people playing this sport.”
Proper footwear is also essential for foot health. “You have all these pressure points when you’re walking, and you have ground reaction forces attacking your feet every single step,” she says. “You want something that supports your arches and feet. Also, if you have recurrent ankle sprains, make sure your footwear goes above your ankle.”
Some achiness and mild pain are common when you first start a new fitness regimen or increase your activity level, and in these situations, rest is the best treatment. “If you’re in pain, that means your body's telling you to rest,” says Dr. Lanier. “I wouldn't just walk through pain. Listen to your body.”
If the pain does not go away by the third day, or if it’s more localized, it can mean you have a more serious injury. It's then time to see a professional.
Dr. Yerusalem Lanier’s Holiday Wish:
“Let’s just love each other. Try to listen to and give to others. My dad is a great entrepreneur, and I once asked him for advice. He said two things - pay your taxes and help the poor.”