As a child, it seemed Chad DeNamur was constantly on some sort of ball field. This early interest in athletics would fuel his desire to pursue a career in orthopedics and sports medicine.
“I grew up the youngest of three boys,” he says. “Our life growing up was pretty much centered around athletics. We played baseball, football and basketball year round.”
Today, DeNamur is a foot and ankle specialist with Orthopedics & Sports Medicine BayCare Clinic.
While earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin La-Crosse, DeNamur worked as a certified nursing assistant for Gundersen Health System in La Crosse.
“That was probably the best job I ever had before this and I made like six bucks an hour,” he says. “It was a lot of transport, helping the nurses lift patients in and out of bed, that kind of stuff. So, that’s kind of how I got exposed to podiatry and decided to go into podiatry.”
DeNamur attended medical school at the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine, a part of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, Illinois. He completed a rotation in primary podiatric medicine at Veterans Administration Hospital in Cook County, Illinois.
“When it was January, we were one of the busiest services because we saw all the frostbite patients for their toes,” DeNamur says. “They were all homeless people. I got a good month of training in frost bite.”
Although the weather was cold, DeNamur made a heart-warming friendship out of the experience.
“I became pretty close with one of the homeless guys and ended up bringing him all kinds of jackets and coats and stuff,” he says. “I developed a relationship with him over the course of a few weeks while he was in there and he gave me a good realization (on how tough life can be).”
DeNamur completed his residency training in primary podiatric medicine at Palo Alto VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, California. He completed two years of residency training in podiatric medicine and surgery at Southeast Michigan Surgical Hospital, formerly Kern Hospital in Warren, Michigan.
He then practiced in Milwaukee for more than a decade before he and his wife moved to Green Bay, his hometown, to raise their children and be closer to family and friends.
DeNamur joined BayCare Clinic in 2012.
He sees patients of all ages for health conditions ranging from plantar fasciitis and warts to fractures and diabetes-related issues. He performs surgical procedures such as arthritis foot surgery and diabetic foot procedures. He has special interest in diabetic foot reconstruction and limb salvage.
When seeing patients, DeNamur emphasizes the patient-provider partnership. He works to include patients in making key decisions about their care.
“On the first visit, a patient can expect to have a thorough examination, a review of their complaints, and a clear understanding of their treatment options,” he says.
DeNamur takes pride in seeing a patient smile after receiving treatment.
“It gives me great satisfaction when a patient walks out my door knowing we helped give a resolution to their problem and helped increase their quality of life.”
When DeNamur isn’t treating patients, he enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, golfing and playing guitar.