It is very amazing to see an individual find their true calling. For Shella Broman, being a nurse was innate. The Filipino-Canadian spent years wearing many hats; care aid, licensed practical nurse, long-term care nurse, and now, certified footcare nurse.

Though her journey was not a straight path, she kept taking the steps to make it to this point, one foot in front of the other, her sole planting firmly on the ground, following the beat to her heart.

Broman came from Pangasinan, Philippines. There, she finished her studies in accounting but her inclination to become a nurse was cultivated even before then.

“It’s been in my heart since I was in the Philippines,” said Broman

“My aunt was my role model, she tells me her stories of helping a lot of people in the US and I told myself ‘I want to do the same thing.”

Broman would move to Hong Kong working as a nanny but the influence of her aunt, Susan Gonzalez, still remained. She moved to Canada in 2010 and by 2014 she enrolled in Nicola Valley Institute of Technology’s Care Aid course. The one-year program became her first foray into the world of healthcare.

“Its was a very amazing experience,” said Broman. “I had great teachers and classmates.”

The Gillis House nursing home hired Broman as a care aid intern. She would be in this position for five years.

“While Shella was working as a Care Aid you could really see her come alive,” said Tony Broman, Shella Broman’s husband.

“She’s sort of living her vision of taking care of the elderly and she would always come home with heart-warming stories about her visits with them. It really gave her the will and energy to pursue the next step.”

The Bromans’ met in 2016, marrying a year-and-a-half later.

“I really believe in Shella’s vision and passion for caring for people,” said Tony Broman

“I’m always encouraging her to pursue that dream. Each step of the way I’m doing everything I can to make sure that education and finances are possible for opening this place.”

In between her five-year tenure, Broman transferred to Princeton Long Term Care for a brief period of time before returning to Gillis in 2018. After coming back, Broman enrolled once again to NVIT where she completed the LPN program.

Broman became a licensed practical nurse in 2020 and had moved to Nlaka’pamux Health Services. Here, she received footcare training to become a certified footcare nurse.

“She did a lot of daily travels but it was the time when she got the specialization with footcare,” said Tony Broman.

The job required Broman to travel to different towns on a weekly and sometimes even daily basis. She traveled to towns such as Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Lytton, and Spences Bridge.

“We opened this service because I feel like, as a nurse in a long-term care facility, I can offer more than the nursing aspect of health care so we thought about foot care.”

“I really love and enjoy it,” said Broman “The primary reason I enjoy footcare is I get to have one-on-one sessions with my clients.”

“I can know them better, I hear stories from them, and I get so much knowledge from them especially from the elders.”

Photo/Izaiah Reyes

This experience inspired Broman to open her own footcare services. The ‘Heart and Sole Healthcare’ was initially a mobile service Broman introduced back in January. With the help of her husband, Broman was able to secure a fixed location at the old Double Take Beauty Bar building.

“Heart and Sole Healthcare is the fulfillment of the dream that God put in her heart,” said Tony Broman.

Broman is currently serving clients aged between 40-90 years old. Her service includes: diagnosis, diabetic footcare, recommendations, and treatment of common footcare problems;

-fungal nails
-ingrown involuted nails
-callous
-corns
-warts
-bunyons
-cracked heels

“We use the name Healthcare because we see it has potential to grow in the future,” said Tony Broman.

“To get started we wanted to just focus on the footcare side and be successful there before we expand.”

Located at 2064 Coutlee Avenue, The Heart and Sole Healthcare’s grand opening will be on Friday, May 13.