Look Good, Feel Lousy

Even a hospital stay need not interrupt the dedicated nail wearer’s beauty care regimen. For instance, if you’re stuck at L.A.’s Cedars Sinai Hospital, you can call the hospitals resident nail technician, Georgyanna Giaidini, for a medically approved manicure. Giardini, owner of Georgia’s Place (Los Angeles, Calif.) makes her living tending the nails of folks who are ailing, both in the hospital and when they return home. When she first started in the business 18 years ago, Giardini got a lot of assistance from doctors, learning medical dos and don’ts. For instance, never nip when someone is on blood thinners, be very careful working on diabetics’ feet, and, of course, .be scrupulous about hygiene. “Lots of people give my services to a patient as a gift. Some patients can’t receive flowers, like people oh oxygen, so friends send me,” she says. But recent changes in the nation’s health care policies have caused Giardini’s business to suffer. “Before, a woman having a baby would be in the hospital for two nights, now she’s out the next day. There’s simply no time for nail care,” she explains. Working in a hospital setting doesn’t get Giardini down. “I’ve met some extremely charming people over die years. I really make their day,” she says.