Friday, January 19, 2018

Sunny Short Week on Campus: Week of January 19th

Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board members and Friends,

Greetings from a nice, sunny and cold Elkins Park. For a short work week, it’s been pretty busy around here. We have been working hard to begin planning for an optometric summit that will address the changing characteristics and decreasing numbers of the optometry school applicant pool.  This trend, which has been going on for over 10 years has concerned many of us since so many new optometry programs have come online over the past few years.  Changing demographics and healthcare delivery models, scope of practice, disruptive technologies and basic unawareness of the optometric profession by the general public are just some of the factors that likely affect this. The goal of this summit is to bring thought leaders from not only the optometry industry, but also some of the professions that have already been through this such as nursing, dentistry and pharmacy, together to attempt to define some root causes and then develop an executable plan to help increase and improve the current pool of individuals interested in joining this great profession. We’re going into this knowing there is no one simple answer but also knowing we have to begin to dissect the issue to see where it's best to start. As we progress with the planning of this important summit I will be certain to keep everyone informed as I believe the work that will be done will have a positive, lasting influence on optometry.  

This week we hosted State Representative Thomas Murt on campus. Rep. Murt’s district covers part of Montgomery County as well as part of Philadelphia. The goal of the visit was to not only show Rep. Murt what Salus brings to the local community but also the high quality education we provide all of our professions. He was particularly interested in optometry as the State is looking at an optometric scope of practice bill that can have a very positive effect on the way the profession is practiced in Pennsylvania. I believe that he left here with the impression that our optometry program prepares our students to practice full-scope care in any setting. He was quite impressed with the quality of our students and also our facilities. I consider it an honor and pleasure to “brag” about our great faculty and students who enable all of our great programs at Salus. That was not lost of Representative Murt.  I believe we made a real fan out of him.  

Last week 28 students from many different colleges from around the northeast attended our Optometry Learning Experience program. For the past 39 years students from undergraduate institutions from around the country have been given the opportunity to investigate the academic study and experiences associated with the Doctor of Optometry program at Salus PCO in addition to discussing the many career opportunities available to optometrists today. This year’s participants came from the State University of New York at Binghamton, Albany and Oswego campuses, Rowan University, Shippensburg University, Saint Joseph’s University, Montclair State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Juanita College, Arcadia University, Widener University, Ursinus College, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and Elizabethtown College. Thanks to everyone who played a role in making this year’s visit a great success.

A reminder that the Dean’s Winterfest kicks off a the Hafter Center at 12:30 today. Thanks to our Salus Student Ambassadors, this is always a fun-filled event that I hope many of you can attend!

Finally, this morning Mr. Don Kates and I attended the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s annual “Economic Outlook” event.  Speakers included Michael Angelakis, chairman and CEO of Atairos; David Cohen, former chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia; the Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Comcast; and Jane Scaccetti, our own Salus University Board of Trustee member, and several other very prominent business leaders from our community. Most speakers in the group offered the opinion that the economic outlook for 2018 was bright with some caveats to include the current political discourse in Washington. Ms. Scaccetti described how she thought the new tax law would affect business and personal finances. It was pretty enlightening and very informative! Attending these events helps our leadership team at Salus to better understand the business environment and how that might affect us in both the short and long term. These events also provide us an opportunity to network with business and community leaders to market Salus and help to get our name out there.  

So, as we get ready to enter this weekend of the NFC championship games, I hope you enjoy the great weather and that your team wins. Go Eagles!

Friday, January 12, 2018

Welcome Back Students: Week of January 12th

Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board members and Friends,

I’d like to welcome all of our students back to campus. While the week got off to a shaky start because of the weather, we’re now off and running at full speed. 

While many of you were chipping ice from your cars or sleeping the other night, social media outlets were lighting up over the recently published National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) scores for all of the schools and colleges of optometry. The Pennsylvania College of Optometry’s (PCO) results, especially for Part I of the NBEO, have been less than stellar, an unfortunate trend that began in the early 2000s. We have been acutely aware of this and have been making significant changes to the optometric curriculum and academic policies, as well as the schedule for third year optometry students, which is the academic year the exam is taken. 

Previously, PCO was the only optometry program in the country that sent students off campus for externships prior to the exam. For the class of 2019 and subsequent classes, we changed that policy, requiring them to remain on campus in order to better prepare for the exam. Dean Trego has also implemented other significant academic policy changes in addition to making adjustments to the core curriculum. I recently shared my thoughts with the Class of 2019 concerning our mutual responsibilities in achieving success and I am certain we will see progress moving forward. 

Below are links to our website so you can see and hear Dr. Trego’s thoughts and initiatives concerning this important issue: 


On January 5, University faculty took part in an abridged University Development Day. Attendees participated in three sessions to enhance their skills in the creation of syllabi, and to learn more about instructional technology and online resources across the University. Although shorter than originally scheduled, thanks to the inclement weather, the sessions provided a great overview of the areas covered. From my perspective, the only low point of the entire day was having Dr. Scharre, vice president for Academic Affairs, announce her impending retirement at the end of the academic year.  As I said last week in my note to everyone, she will be sorely missed.

I encourage all of you to head over to the Hafter Student Center to check out the newest art exhibition in the D’Arrigo Gallery, the “3rd Street Gallery Members Exhibition.”  It’s a real treat to see all these wonderful works of art, many of which are for sale, displayed on the walls of the Hafter Center lobby. Please take the time to wander over to enjoy the artwork. There’s also a reception scheduled for Saturday, January 13 from 1-3 p.m. in the Gallery as the official opening of the exhibit. 

Earlier this week we hosted one of our Montgomery County Commissioners, Mr. Ken Lawrence, as an opportunity to show him and some of his staff members around the University. He clearly was impressed by all we do, not only on campus but also in the community. It’s important to ensure our local representatives understand what Salus brings to the greater Philadelphia and Montgomery County communities so I really welcome and enjoy the times I have to share (and often brag) about all the great things you do every day. Next week we will be hosting State Representative Thomas Murt who I know is looking forward to his visit. 


Thanks to some legwork by Dr. Linda Casser, we also hosted several folks from Carolinas Chinese Chamber of Commerce earlier this week. They are interested in working with us to help expand our educational efforts in China. I want to express my thanks to everyone who took the time to prepare and meet with the three representatives from the group. I know they walked away very impressed with our staff and programs. Any time we have the opportunity to educate others about what we do and how we do it is a good thing. 

I’d also like to thank Drs. Saba Hans and Hei In Tang for their very informative lectures during PCO’s Grand Rounds this morning. Dr. Hans reported on a patient who was going through opioid withdrawal and the associated ocular symptoms. Her talk addresses what has become the public health issue of this decade – that of opioid addiction.  As healthcare professionals, we all must be acutely aware of this to ensure we can recognize those afflicted and help to direct them towards the appropriate treatment options. Dr. Tang reported on a patient who had neovascular glaucoma, which is always a very interesting topic as there are many complications and multiple ways to treat this disorder. Both lectures were thought provoking and provided great insights for everyone who attended.

Wishing everyone a great weekend and an Eagles win on Saturday!