Preventing the Spread of COVID-19: Week of February 28th, 2020

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

Good morning from a very chilly Elkins Park. It’s been another busy week at Salus with many of us getting back into the swing of things following a very successful continuing education event in Aruba last weekend. 

As we hear more about the proliferation of the COVID-19 virus worldwide, I wanted to have a short discussion about that this morning. As the director of the CDC mentioned earlier this week, it’s just a matter of time before we confront the virus more directly in the U.S. While this sounds extremely ominous and clearly is something we need to be paying very close attention to, we also need to remember that there are steps that we can take and share with others, that will help to minimize the risk of spreading or catching the virus. Clearly, not traveling to areas that have known disease, such as China, Japan, Italy and some other places, is paramount at this point. Infectious disease experts remind us that the most important thing we can do personally is to practice good hygiene, such as routine hand washing. Although the CDC believes the immediate risk of the virus to the American public is relatively low, they do have some specific recommendations we all should be following. They include:

• Ensure you get a flu vaccine
• Take everyday preventive actions to help stop the spread of germs, such as routinely washing your hands with soap and water
• If you’re sick, stay home so you don’t spread germs to coworkers or patients
• Take flu antivirals, if prescribed by your doctor

For those of you actively involved in patient care, you need to be on the look-out for people who recently traveled from China, Italy, Japan or other affected areas and have a fever and/or respiratory symptoms. If you encounter a patient with an acute respiratory infection, especially those who have recently traveled to affected areas, you must follow the CDC’s guidelines, found here to ensure we can minimize exposure to yourself, other providers, staff and patients. For more information and to keep up-to-date with this, I recommend you routinely check the CDC’s COVID-19 website. We also have a link on our website that can be accessed here. As healthcare providers we have a responsibility to stay up to date with the latest factual information that will help to keep us informed and also help to dispel any rumors and falsehoods that tend to develop during these events.

Given the previous discussion, this might be a good time to discuss our Mental Health Minute. All this talk about potential pandemics, on top of the usual challenge you have just trying to stay ahead in school, creates stress. Some stress is good, but there comes a time when we all need to ask for some help. The National Institute of Mental Health has a very good website addressing this which I would encourage you to access. If you need to access our Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD), their office is located on the 3rd floor of the West building in Suite W-326. Counselors are available Monday-Friday and can be reached for appointments at 215-780-1315 or 215-780-1534. You may also email a counselor individually.

Closer to home, please take the time to check out the story about the Kraskin Family Legacy on our website. Dr. Jeffrey Kraskin, a classmate of mine at both undergraduate school and PCO, comes from a long line of optometrists in the Washington, D.C. area. Read about how his family’s practice has been operating for three generations and the impact it has had on the profession of optometry.

The Sexuality and Gender Alliance at Salus (SAGAS) asked me to pass along that they have a meeting from noon to 1 p.m. today in room W111 where they’ll discuss upcoming events and there will be elections for the new e-board. If you're interested in running for a position (president, vice president, treasurer, secretary) submit a letter of intent to sagas@salus.edu. 

After studying for their boards, our PCO Class of 2021 got to exhale a bit and attend “EyeBall 2020” at the end of January before they head off to their clinical externships in March. Check out some of the class awards that were presented and the great photos from “A Night on the Red Carpet.” 

Salus has partnered with Widener University to offer a certificate in Healthcare Management program for both students and alumni. The online four-course, 12-credit program is expected to accommodate up to 10 students and is scheduled to kick off in the fall. For more information, email careerservices@salus.edu or gel@widener.edu. We’re also preparing to work with The Erivan K. Haub School of Business at St. Joseph’s University will offer several different options for our students and alumni to gain business and finance acumen either during your time at Salus or beyond.  You’ll hear more about this in the very near future.

Grand Rounds at The Eye Institute from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. this morning, will feature Dr. Lucinda Kauffman, who will speak on “Diabetic Retinopathy in Youth and Young Adults” and Dr. Kelly Seidler, who will talk about “Visual Disturbances”.

Finally, many of us will be in Atlanta next week to attend the annual meeting of the Southern Educational Congress of Optometry (SECO). We’ll be hosting an Alumni and Friends reception at the Omni Hotel from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. We hope that anyone attending SECO can join us for this fun opportunity to reconnect with classmates and faculty from PCO. I hope to see many of you there!

Remember that this is a Leap Year, so tomorrow will be 29 February, not 1 March! For those of you with a birthday, anniversary or other significant event tomorrow - I hope you enjoy your once in every 4 year celebration :-).  Have a great weekend and please continue to monitor our website and the news to follow what’s happening with the COVID-19 virus.  Stay safe, stay warm and look out for one another. 

Mike

Greetings From Sunny Aruba: Week of February 21st, 2020

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

Greetings from sunny Aruba! We’re here, along with 30 optometrists and their families, of which 28 are PCO alumni, for our CE by the Sea event. The event was planned as a special opportunity for PCO alumni and other optometrists to relax and escape the winter weather – although our winter here in the Northeast hasn’t been that bad so far – while earning continuing education credits. The goal of the program is to bring optometrists together from all over North America for lectures on various topics and research, offered by our world-class faculty, as well as provide a great opportunity to renew old friendships and acquaintances. The meeting is off to a great start thanks to the hard work and great planning by Kate Braemer, Jacquie Patterson, Dr. Melissa Vitek and Natalie Standig. I can’t wait to hear the lectures starting tomorrow morning!  Put it on your calendar for next year. 

Today’s Mental Health Minute addresses your eating habits.  Just as important as the obvious things such as avoiding drugs and alcohol, eating a healthy diet is one of the top mental health tips for everyone to follow. That’s because what you put into your body, will affect your mood. Chemicals that regulate moods such as happiness, anger, anxiety, and depression are also found in your brain and other parts of your body. The healthier the food and drinks you consume, the better regulated your mood will be and the better your body will be able to release the chemicals that make you feel good. A night of drinking beer and taking shots, followed by a pizza binge at midnight is going to make you feel awful, physically and mentally. Eating healthy meals that include fruit and vegetables each day will offer positive benefits.

This is a reminder to submit nominations for exemplary students, staff, and faculty for our annual Salus Awards Gala. Nominations are closing this Saturday, Feb. 22. After this date, nomination forms will no longer be accessible. Also, please be aware that when you are filling out your nominations, you should be providing descriptions on why you are voting for a specific individual or organization. Submissions without descriptions will not be put on the voting ballot. You may go back and resubmit your answers if necessary. If you have any questions, please contact Monae Kelsey or the Campus Activities Committee. You can find the links below for both students/student organization nominations, and faculty/staff awards nominations:

• Students and Student Organization Nominations

• Faculty and Staff Nominations

The introduction of electronic medical records into the doctor’s responsibilities has challenged healthcare providers to find a way to keep the focus on the patients. There is a concerted effort in every College to make sure students across the University take care of the patients first and their EMRs sometime after that. Mike Morsch interviewed a few of us to get our thoughts on EMRs. Check out this story on how and why we’re emphasizing patient-centric care here at Salus.

Finally, while I’m not exactly sure what the weather is going to be there this weekend, I do want to remind everyone to try and get out and get some exercise and enjoy some fresh air.  Be safe, take care of one another and try to relax! See you on campus Monday morning!

Mike

Valentine's Day: Week of February 14th, 2020

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

Greetings and Happy Valentine’s Day from Elkins Park! Since today is Valentine’s Day – a day that’s supposed to be dedicated to love and relationships, I thought I’d do a deeper dive into the history of this Hallmark and Hershey holiday. As it turns out the history of St. Valentine’s Day is somewhat dubious according to historical documents, because it includes a gory story involving the decapitation of a third century martyr. According to Smithsonian Magazine, there were several St. Valentines who died on Feb. 14. Two of them were executed during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus in 269-270 A.D., at a time when persecution of Christians was common. It wasn’t until Geoffrey Chaucer, the famous author of “The Canterbury Tales” declared the February feast of St. Valentinus to the mating of birds, that Valentine’s Day took on a more romantic meaning. Smithsonian notes that in Chaucer’s day, English birds paired off to produce eggs in February. Soon, nature-minded European nobility began sending love notes during bird-mating season. As the story goes, the French Duke of Orléans, who spent some years as a prisoner in the Tower of London, wrote to his wife in February 1415 that he was “already sick of love” (by which he meant lovesick.) and he called her his “very gentle Valentine.” (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018) The rest is history, as they say. If you would like to read a bit more detail about this history of St. Valentine’s Day, go to the Smithsonian Magazine website here.

Related to Valentine’s Day, love was in the air this week at Salus as students, faculty and staff could stop by the Learning Resource Center (LRC) and design a handmade valentine for their significant others.

The Pennsylvania Ear Institute (PEI) “Hear the Love” event attracted a large crowd that came to hear an educational talk that focused on hearing loss and how it can impact patients’ lives and relationships. Complimentary hearing screenings were also offered for those who attended.

This week’s Mental Health Minute discusses the positive effects of regular exercise. There have been many scientific articles that speak to how exercise helps to reduce stress and anxiety as well as increase self-esteem and self-confidence. Most of you already know that increasing your heart rate can actually stimulate the production of neurohormones like norepinephrine, which not only improve cognition and mood but can improve thinking that might be influenced by stressful events. Endorphins, when produced during even moderate exercise give us a natural high that can produce feelings of happiness and euphoria. Just developing a simple exercise regimen that could be as simple as regular walks, to some regimented gym time, will have a positive effect on your mental health. 45 minutes, three times a week is generally recommended, so think about how you’re going to work this into your schedules. I’ve done it for years and have made it a priority. Try to see if you can do that as well. If you’d like to learn a bit more about all this, check out an article from the American Psychological Association here that goes into much greater detail about all this.

As healthcare providers and students preparing to enter healthcare fields, many of our patients, family members and friends will expect us to know something about the coronavirus pandemic, so it’s probably a good idea to keep up with the latest news about it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in humans and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Officially designated as COVID-2019 earlier this week, the virus is most often spread from person-to-person during close exposure to a person infected with the virus. While serious, the risk to most people outside China remains very low. According to the CDC there are at least 15 cases that have tested positive for the virus in the U.S., with a little over 400 people being observed. Generally speaking, to avoid any viral illness, be it COVID-2019 or the flu, the CDC advises getting the flu shot, washing your hands frequently and avoiding your office, school or clinic when you’re sick. To keep up with the latest reliable news about the coronavirus, I suggest you check the CDC website periodically as it’s updated frequently. 

Last Friday afternoon, many of us enjoyed seeing all the creativeness of our students, faculty, staff and friends on display at the opening reception for this year’s “Community Expressions 2020” exhibit in the D’Arrigo Family Gallery at the Hafter Student Community Center. Elynne Rosenfeld, curator and director of the gallery, has once again done a great job of gathering and displaying the work of our talented Salus community members. The exhibit runs through March 13, so stop over when you get a chance and check it out. 

Celebrating our heritage and remembering our history is always important. Take a look at the fascinating story on our website about an historic piece of PCO history that almost ended up being scrapped. But thanks to Dr. John J. Crozier and Dr. James Caldwell, the original desk that our founder Dr. Albert Fitch used was saved, restored and is still in use at the Elkins Park campus. 

Dr. Lindsay Bondurant, director of the Pennsylvania Ear Institute at Salus, will discuss “Aging Gracefully: How Addressing Hearing Loss Can Improve Your Quality of Life” at the next Lunch & Learn from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, at the Willow Grove YMCA, 3300 Davisville Road, Hatboro, Pa., 19040. Dr. Bondurant will discuss the signs and symptoms of hearing loss and the impact untreated hearing loss can have on health, happiness and relationships. She will also provide an overview of current management options for hearing loss, including hearing aids, cochlear implants and communications strategies. There are probably many of us here than can benefit from this talk!

Finally, winter has returned to Philadelphia this weekend, so if you’re headed out to enjoy the sunny weather, dress accordingly! Have fun, try to take some time to relax and evaluate how you’re going to fit some exercise into your daily routines, if you don’t already do that. Be safe and look out for one another!

Mike

Black History Month: Week of January 7th, 2020

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

Greetings from Elkins Park where we’re not exactly sure if it’s winter or spring here! The good news is that we’ve not had any snow days and the power has remained on (hopefully, I didn’t just jinx us!)

Last week I started my update with a short discussion about mental health. I intend to keep that conversation at the forefront with some "Mental Health Minutes." This week I’d like to share some advice I found from the National Institute of Health addressing some strategies for getting enough sleep.  We all know that getting enough sleep is essential to not only our physical health, but also our mental health. Click here to learn a bit more about the importance of sleep and how to improve some of your sleep habits. 

February is Black History Month. We use this month to celebrate the achievements by African Americans and as well as recognize the central role African Americans played in U.S. history. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating black history. To learn more about Black History Month, check out the History Channel’s site. 

The Campus Activities Committee has announced that nominations for the annual Salus Awards Gala are now open. If you know some exemplary students, faculty, and staff, this is a chance to nominate them for their accomplishments and contributions to our community. You can find the links below for both students/student organization nominations, and faculty/staff awards nominations. Nomination forms can be obtained at either of these two sites: Students and Student Organization Nominations or Faculty and Staff Nominations.

You’re invited to join the Pennsylvania Ear Institute’s (PEI) "Hear the Love" event from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, in Room W111 at the Elkins Park campus. The educational talk will focus on hearing loss and how it can impact patients’ lives and relationships. Learn about hearing aid styles and technologies currently available. Complimentary hearing screenings will be offered 30 minutes before and after the event.

Yesterday we celebrated the opening of the "Community Expressions" art exhibit at the D’Arrigo Family Gallery in the Hafter Student Center. I would encourage all of you to check it out as all of the art work has been done by staff or family members of our staff. Special thanks the Elynne Rosenfeld, our volunteer "Resident Artist" for putting this, and all our other art displays together.

In today’s politically charged and polarized environment it’s growing increasing more important to be respectful and tolerant of those who might have differing opinions than us. To help us address some of these issues, our students have been invited to attend three events hosted at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to providing an opportunity to meet other students in the city, the events will help to provide suggestions on how to hold difficult conversations on campus, online or with your families and friends. If you’re interested, you can register for the events here.

Finally, Dr. Robert Carroll will present a program on "Drugs, Delivery and Durability: The Present and Future of Wet AMD Treatment" from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 14, at The Eye Institute.

Hoping you all have a great weekend – for those of you getting ready to take boards, study hard and good luck!

Mike