A Great First Week: Week of August 23rd

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

Good early morning from Elkins Park! It’s going to be a beautiful late summer day with lower humidity and sunshine – finally! It’s also been a busy week on campus. All of our new students have been hitting the deck at full speed getting acclimated to their new class and lab schedules while those returning students have been quickly adapting to their new class, lab and clinical schedules.  

Whether folks have been learning how to take patient histories, brush up on biomicroscopy skills, understanding how a Snellen chart is put together, learning about the Krebs Cycle, or start to learn about human anatomy and physiology, this has been a week of exciting transition.  

To all our new students, I want to again welcome you to campus and your new professions. As you begin your professional training, we believe it’s extremely important to not only learn about your chosen profession but also to gain familiarity with the others here at Salus. To that end I want to strongly encourage you all, whether you think you need it or not, to make appointments at The Eye Institute, Pennsylvania Ear Institute and the Speech-Language Institute sometime this semester. Just by getting an exam you’ll see what these other profession do as well as provide great patient care experiences for your colleagues. And, who knows, you might find you need glasses, some assistance with your hearing or some diction therapy as a result of this.  

I want to take a moment to congratulate both our Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) and Audiology programs for receiving initial 5 year accreditation and 8-year re-accreditation, respectively. Both programs received the highest level of initial accreditation available in their categories. Congratulations to our world-class faculty and staff who assured this was accomplished with no exceptions or follow-up items. Truly a remarkable (but predictable) accomplishment!

Thanks to Dr. Jim Caldwell and his staff for helping to make last Friday’s White Coat Ceremony a huge success. I’m still hearing great comments about Dr.Cowan’s speech.  Hopefully, those of you who were there, followed his advice and penned a thank you note to those who helped get you here.

With our Students in Optometric Service to Humanity team home from Panama, after seeing over 1000 patients, students from our Physician Assistant Studies (PA) program and Occupational Therapy (OT) program are in Guatemala for a week-long mission trip with Hearts in Motion. In their first three days, the group saw over 300 patients in three different communities. They then traveled to the mountains to hold another clinic for indigenous people, and yesterday, they visited a nutrition center and orphanage to help children of Zacapa. A few days ago, the two OT students on the trip met a young boy in a mobile clinic and later went to a central OT/PT to work with their licensed OT mentor to build him an adaptive chair (see attached picture) to allow him to sit with improved positioning. It’s truly amazing what all of you are providing over there and you are making Salus proud. Thank you Viviana Di Stefano for the updates and great pictures - I hope you all have a safe trip home! 

I’d like to thank everyone who worked to make this week’s University Faculty Development Day a success! It was enlightening to hear a patient’s perspective on how effective communication, empathy and follow-up are so integral to establishing a meaningful and effective relationship with our own patients and clients. Yesterday’s session was truly interesting and thought-provoking. The IRB lecture provided some very useful tips on how to start a research project involving sensitive data as well as how our IRB team can help get you jump-started when you decide to take on a project. The Faculty Social was a great forum to get together to welcome new faculty and celebrate some faculty promotion. I’m sorry I’ll miss today’s wrap-up but I’ll be down in Washington DC speaking at the Pentagon to honor a former shipmate and colleague who’s retiring from his role as the Chairman of the Joint Staff’s senior medical advisor.

Since last year, the PA Program has collaborated with the Philadelphia Museum of Art on a series of workshops called “The Art of Observation”. Through the course of three sessions, the students are lead through exercises in observation, interpretation, perspective-taking, recognizing bias and empathy. On Monday, twelve PA students will be returning to the Art Museum for a one-time workshop with Museum educators that will be featured on a segment called “Growing Greater Philadelphia” produced by NBC10. When it airs we’ll get a copy out to everyone. 

Thank you to everyone who came out for this week's Centennial Tour event in NYC. We're already gearing up for stop #2 next week in New Jersey! Come out and join us on Tuesday in Cherry Hill, NJ at The Farm and Fisherman Tavern from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Learn more or register at salus.edu/centennial-tour  

As I noted earlier, it looks like the weather is going to give us a bit of a break this weekend. While I’m out doing a long training run in preparation for the Berlin Marathon, I hope you all do something a bit more sane and get out and enjoy what’s remaining of summer. Be safe, use lots of sunscreen, drink plenty of water and have fun!

See you all next week. 

Mike

Welcome New Students: Week of August 16th

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

What a great week it has been with our new students on campus! Again, welcome to all of you. I’d like to thank everyone for all of their hard work and planning that made this week so special with a special call out to all those student and faculty volunteers and the Student Affairs and Admissions staffs for putting it all together. I look forward to today’s White Coat ceremony and watching as our first-year students receive their white coats as we celebrate the transition to becoming healthcare professionals at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts at 2 PM.  

 

This week, 21 members of the University’s Students in Optometric Service to Humanity (SOSH) along with Drs. Laine Higa and Navpreet Hehar, traveled to Panama in order to provide comprehensive eye exams to the community. Hosted by the Panamanian Kiwanis Club, the trip allows students to provide humanitarian vision care to individuals who have never had eye exams before (see photos that are attached).  I participated in this when I was a student and it is a life-changing experience.

On a similar note, Jeanne-Marie Pennington, MSPAS, PA-C, assistant professor for the Physician Assistant Studies (PA) program will be accompanying seven PA students and two students from the Occupational Therapy (OT) Program on Saturday to Guatemala for a mission trip. This year’s sponsor is Hearts in Motion, a non-profit organization that has served in Guatemala for over 35 years providing quality medical care and assistance in the development of social programs to improve health, education and welfare of people in the community. We extremely proud of our faculty and students for their humanitarian efforts. I wish them safe and happy travels!

 

Next week, I’m excited to do some traveling of my own - although not as far – to New York City for our first of many Centennial Tour stops. In celebration of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) and its 100-year history, we are thrilled to be hosting a series of alumni and friends events in 16 cities over the next three months. For more information, visit salus.edu/centennial-tour.

 

Also next week, faculty members across the Salus community will gather for our bi-annual University Faculty Development Day. The two-day event is an opportunity to provide professional development opportunities, important group discussions, and the chance to connect with fellow colleagues. I’d like to thank those who helped organize this event and I look forward to attending. 

On Thursday, August 22, Salus University Health will be one of over 100 sponsors at the School District of Philadelphia’s Back to School event at the School of the Future. The event is designed to help Philadelphia area students and their families as they prepare to return to school. As one of the most popular and well attended events that Salus sponsors, the Office of Communications is still looking for volunteers. If you’re interested and available anywhere from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., please email communications@salus.edu.

Given recent events, I believe it is fair to say that we are in the midst of a public health crisis.  According to the most recent report on gun violence from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, our country has the 28th-highest rate of deaths from gun violence in the world.  If you include suicides in those data, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 39,773 gun-related deaths in 2017 which equates to 12 deaths per 100,000 people with approximately 60 percent attributed to suicide and about 37 percent to homicides.  These numbers represent the highest rate of firearms deaths in the U.S. since the mid-1990’s.  Military-style semi-automatic weapons have been used in many of these shootings. And just this week, in our own City of Philadelphia, 6 policemen were injured and hundreds of rounds of ammunition was fired by a lone gunman being served a narcotics warrant.    

Despite a 2017 Quinnipiac University poll finding that 94% percent of the public supports certified background checks for all gun sales, depending on where and how you attempt to purchase a gun, certified background checks are not universally required.  For example, even the Federal gun statute exempts unlicensed sellers from having to perform certified background checks. 

As healthcare professionals, I believe we have an obligation to weigh in on this public health crisis.   If like me, you believe that our gun control laws need to be changed, I encourage you to contact your local and federal representatives and advocate for stronger gun control laws,  including universal background checks prior to all gun sales, a limit on magazine size and a ban of military assault-style weapons.  If you disagree, I fully respect your right to do so and welcome your participation in this essential debate. 

In closing, I again want to welcome our new students and those current students returning to campus. It’s going to be a nice weekend, so I encourage you to get out and enjoy some of the local scenery. Be safe, look out for one another and have fun!

 

Mike

Calm Before the Storm: Week of August 8th

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

Greetings from a sunny, warm Elkins Park. I’m sending this out a bit early since I have to be on the road early tomorrow morning, headed to Washington D.C. and wanted to ensure this got out in a timely fashion.

Right now, we’re experiencing the “calm before the storm” on campus, since next week we will welcome over 320 students to campus as they begin their professional journeys at Salus. The event-filled week will culminate with our White Coat Ceremony at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on Friday at 2:00 p.m. with guest speaker, Dr. Michael Cowan -- who I spoke highly of in last week’s update.

In other Salus news, two weeks ago, students from the University’s Pennsylvania College of Optometry’s (PCO) Sports Vision Club traveled to the nation’s capital in partnership with Vision Service Plan’s Global Eyes of Hope, the Washington Nationals baseball team, Nike and sports vision optometrist and PCO alum Dr. Keith Smithson, to help screen and provide glasses to more than 100 children in the D.C. area. The screenings for the children were held at the sports complex owned by the Nationals and for the second year in a row. It was quite a memorable experience for our students. Read more at salus.edu/Washington-Nationals 

To all of our Philly sports fans, gear up for tonight’s Eagles game with our newest Centennial feature on Carter Liotta, OD ‘03, the lead optometrist for the Eagles Eye Mobile. As the Eagles Charitable Foundation’s signature program, the Eagles Eye Mobile provides free vision screenings, eye exams and prescription glasses to under-insured and uninsured children in the Greater Philadelphia area, much like our Looking Out for Kids charity. Read more at salus.edu/Carter-Liotta.

It’s always fun to visit with PCO and Salus alumni. This week I had to occasion to welcome Dr. Sheree Aston (OD ’82) to campus. Dr. Aston recently completed her successfully tenure as the Assistant Provost at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California and has recently returned to her roots in Philadelphia. Dr. Aston is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Honor, but was unable to attend the ceremony in April to receive her medal. I had the opportunity to present that yesterday in my office, which was a real pleasure.

Finally, we’ll have bagels in the LRC on Monday morning to help that last group of PA students who will be taking final exams. I know you’ll all do great!

As we get ready for the weekend, it looks like the weather is going to be fantastic. Get out and enjoy it while we have it because before we know it, the heat and humidity will be back! Have fun, drink plenty of water, use lots of sunscreen and come back prepared to welcome all of your new classmates next week.  

Mike 

Bagel Day: Week of August 2nd

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

Good morning! It’s Bagel Day at the LRC. Warm bagels, along with cream cheese and butter should be ready for everyone around 8:30 to help get you through finals. Enjoy and good luck on your exams!

Later today we say farewell to Marilyn Daltry as she prepares to retire after 36 years of service to the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and now Salus. Hired in 1983, Marilyn has played an integral role within the Department of Optometric Clinical Affairs ever since.  She will certainly be missed and we wish her “fair winds and following seas” and the best of luck and happiness as she prepares to embark on her next adventure! 

I am very pleased to share the great news that we’ve been awarded a significant grant from the commonwealth’s Redevelopment Assistant Capital Program (RACP), that we had applied for several month ago. This money will help us to renovate additional classrooms as well as begin work on a standardized patient simulation lab in the near future. Nice to see all those trips to Harrisburg paid off!

As Orientation Week quickly approaches, I’m happy to announce that this year’s White Coat guest speaker will be Vice Admiral Michael Cowan, USN (retired). Dr. Cowan, an internal medicine specialist, served in the United States Navy for 33 years, retiring as the Surgeon General of the Navy.  He will address the University’s incoming students on Friday, August 16 at 2pm at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. I have known VADM Cowan for over 35 years. He has been a mentor and friend and I know that those of you who are lucky enough to attend the White Coat Ceremony will certainly understand why I’m so excited about his participation in the event.  Read more about his extraordinary career at salus.edu/dr-cowan

For the second year in a row, Prevent Blindness and the National Optometric Association have teamed up to declare August as Children's Eye Health and Safety Month in an effort to educate parents and caregivers on the steps they should be taking to ensure students are provided with the best opportunity to have a successful school year through health and effective vision. This effort is very much in line with our Looking Out For Kids Charity which operates this through school vision screenings, comprehensive eye exams and free glasses, as needed for underprivileged children in Philadelphia and Montgomery County schools. 

If you’re looking for something fun to do next week, check out Abington Township’s 20th National Night Out Block Party event Monday from 5-9 p.m. at the AbingtonTown Center (Target Parking Lot). There will be food, music, clowns, face painting and other entertainment! Stop by, enjoy yourself, and say hello to the faculty and students at the Salus table!

Finally, it looks like it’s going to be a fairly nice weekend. For those of you not having to study, I encourage you to get out and do some exploring around our region. Valley Forge State Park is a perfect destination for this time of the year with their shaded trails and history lessons.  For those of you still taking finals, take a short break, get some exercise, eat healthy and get plenty of sleep! For all, stay safe, use sunscreen if outdoors and drink plenty of water. Have a great weekend!

Mike