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
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