Yellow Phase Operations: Week of May 29th, 2020

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

Greetings from a muggy Horsham, PA!

Today I wanted to bring everyone up-to-date on our plans as Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties prepare to enter the Yellow Phase of the Process to Reopen Pennsylvania, on June 5th.

On Monday, June 8th, we’re planning to reopen our Elkins Park campus on a limited basis and expand our clinical operations beyond emergency services.

During this phase, faculty and staff that can perform the essential functions of their jobs from home are encouraged to do so. We need to continue to minimize the number of people on campus. To that end, only those whose essential functions require them to be on site will return to campus and our clinical facilities. For our faculty and staff, your supervisor will be in touch with you to discuss if you are expected to return to our facilities. If due to health reasons, you are concerned about returning to campus or our clinical facilities, your supervisor and Human Resources will work with you to determine if an accommodation can be made or if a leave of absence (sick days, vacation, FMLA) is appropriate.

For our students, each program has developed plans for limited on-site laboratory and clinical instruction which they will share with you. As we’ve previously discussed, your didactic classes will remain online for the balance of the summer semester.

As we continue to all work through this, the health and safety of the entire Salus community, remains our utmost concern. We have adopted multiple operating protocols in accordance with CDC and state guidelines. When you do come to campus, you will notice significant changes to our facilities. Everyone will be subject to a daily screening including a temperature check. While in common areas or working with others, you will be required to wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth. This includes the parking lots. If you do not have your own mask, we will provide you with one. Clinical providers will be provided with PPE for patient care. Our hallways are marked for one-way traffic, as are our stairways. Conference rooms and elevators have reduced capacities. And, of course, we have enhanced cleaning and disinfecting procedures.

Our protocols are designed to reduce the risk of exposure, but due to the contagious nature of COVID-19 we cannot eliminate all risk of infection. Everyone must also do their part by practicing physical distancing of at least 6 feet, frequently washing your hands, not touching your nose, mouth or eyes, and most importantly staying home if you are sick.

We appreciate all you have done by working remotely to keep Salus moving forward. As we enter the Yellow Phase, we are excited, but remain cautious about resuming added physical operations. Additional information, including our protocols and procedures can be found on our updated COVID-19 webpage. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Chief of Staff, Brian Zuckerman, who I have appointed as our Pandemic Safety Officer.

In addition to working to reopen our campus, lots of other good things have also been going on virtually.

First, I want to congratulate, once again our graduates and thanks to all of those who made our first-ever virtual commencement the best it could be. Here are two stories from that day: the first on the ceremony itself, the preparation that went into to, and some reaction from the graduates; and another on the honorary degree presented to Dr. Anthony Di Stefano, whose reflections on legacy, public health and political action and his plea for everyone to remember to vote resonated with everyone.

Wrapping up Better Speech and Hearing Month in May, here are more Faculty Focus feature stories on three of our great clinical educators at the Speech-Language Institute: Laura Evak; Jackie Pittam; and Joanne Vesay.

Congratulations to Alta Fried, MSOT ’14, who was named the 2020 Occupational Therapy Alumna of the Year by our Alumni Association. You can read more about Alta and her accomplishments at salus.edu/AltaFried.

Don’t forget to sign up for the “Double Down on Double Vision” Continuing Education lecture scheduled from 4 to 5 p.m. Friday, June 5. For more info, visit salus.edu/events.

Finally, as the weather gets nicer, there will be more people out and about. While I strongly encourage you to enjoy the outdoors, please ensure you continue to practice physical distancing and your good hygiene habits of washing your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds. Don’t let down your guard just because it’s nice outside. We’re winning this battle because we’re doing all the right things.

Stay safe, stay healthy, stay SALUS STRONG!
Mike

Graduation Day: Week of May 22nd, 2020

Students, especially today’s graduates, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,

Good morning! It’s going to be a beautiful day - because it’s GRADUATION DAY!

Graduation should be a time of celebration and pride – for our students, their families, significant others, as well as our faculty and staff. It also should be a time of reflection – on what’s next, how fortunate you all are to be able to help others and finally to thank those who helped get you here. This year’s graduation ceremony will be a bit different from any other we have ever celebrated, but that doesn’t diminish the remarkable and extremely laudable accomplishments of the Class of 2020! 

While some things are clearly different, as you reflect on all of this, you will see that the things that matter most actually remain the same. You all chose healthcare as a profession because of your sincere desires to make other’s lives better. That hasn’t changed; it’s actually even more important now. The fact that you’ve all embarked on extremely exciting and rewarding careers that enhance your ability to help people improve their lives remains a real gift; one that must be cherished, honed and continually nurtured throughout your professional lives.

As I’ll remind you in my remarks later today, the technology you’ll be surrounded with to assist you in caring for your patients and clients should never become the primary focus of your attention. Treat your patients and not the technology. While data on each patient must be collected, your primary job is to accurately interpret these data and effectively communicate the implications to your patients, ensuring their welfare remains central to everything you do.  

One other thing that hasn’t changed is that when you chose healthcare as a profession you’ve also chosen professions requiring a commitment to life-long learning. Salus will always be your academic home and I want you to think of us that way. Never stop asking questions, challenging your assumptions and sharpening your skills. We will all be there to help you continue your professional journeys. 

One of the traditions that I started when I came to Salus almost 8 years ago, was to informally talk with the graduating class the morning of the ceremony, following rehearsal. Since that’s not possible this year, our communications staff has arranged for me to do this via Instagram Live. So, I’m going to give that a try at 9 a.m. this morning. Here’s a link to our commencement site that should help you view commencement at 2 p.m. Additionally, if you’re accessing your social media, you can tag today’s festivities at @SalusUniversity and using #SalusGrad. 

Finally, as you prepare to venture beyond our gates, I want to thank you for entrusting your education to us. You all are leaving here SALUS STRONG, ready to help define what the next normal will look like as we overcome the challenges presented to us by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Stay safe, stay healthy, stay strong and keep in touch!

Mike

Class of 2020: Week of May 18th, 2020

Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and our growing number of Friends,

I want to direct today’s Monday Message to our graduating class of 2020. This morning as I prepared to head out on a bike ride into the city, I threw my normal riding gear, helmet, shoes, gloves plus one addition, a new face mask, into the car it was again a stark reminder that things have changed as we approach our next normal (see below). It also sparked a few thoughts that I’d like to share with you.

As I was thinking about the graduation ceremony at the Kimmel Center that we’ve grown accustomed to, the thought occurred to me that there might be some advantages of our upcoming virtual ceremony. Think of it – how many of you actually look forward to wearing that silly hat, dressing in multiple layers in a room that’s often too hot, wearing uncomfortable shoes and in my case wearing about 20 pounds of bling on top of everything else, for almost 3 hours? And then there are the speeches. Some are quite memorable, such as last year, from Dr. Lou Catania or when the U.S. Surgeon General came and told us you’d always remember him because he’s the guy who put the warning on beer labels. This year’s speech will also be one of those memorable ones as well, knowing Dr. DiStefano. But some of the others, forgettable, at best!

Graduating from Salus is much more than a ceremony and I know most of you realize that. The day represents your hard work, dedication and commitment you’ve made to help others throughout your academic careers. You are passing the threshold and have become a healthcare professional. The day also represents the pride our faculty and staff share in helping you to achieve your success. As you prepare to leave Salus, I wanted to take the opportunity to share just a few pieces of advice that have served me well over the years. As you begin your new careers, make it a point to establish a work-life balance that allows you to prioritize things that make sense for you. Prioritize your life in such a way that you can put family and significant others first.

Attack your work with passion and excitement every day. Never be satisfied with average performance. Just doing enough to get by is just not acceptable, especially as a health care professional. 

Listen to and treat your patients, rather than all the technology that surrounds you. Your patients should be at the center of everything you do.

Be part of the solutions and help to make the world a better place. Listen, learn, be gentle with people and volunteer your talents so you can teach by example. 

We’ve got some significant challenges ahead of us as a country, but I am absolutely confident that your generation of graduates are well-prepared to address these and make things even better than they were before COVID-19 entered our lives.  

As I noted in last week’s message, THIS IS OUR TIME – really, this is YOUR time and you are ready to confront whatever challenges may come your way.

Class of 2020 - You are SALUS STRONG!  Go forth and get ready to do great things – we will always be here for you and very much look forward to watching you spread your wings as you leave our nest.

Mike

Making a Difference in Healthcare: Week of May 15th, 2020

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

Greetings from sunny Horsham, PA, where we finally are experiencing nice Spring day! Even in the midst of the pandemic, it’s so nice to have beautiful morning to get out and exercise! 

One of silver linings of the pandemic is that we’ve really begun to harness the power of online continuing education.  Last week we did our first virtual Grand Rounds with over 120 people participating. Thanks to Drs. Candice Evernden and Megan Rother for providing two exceptional inaugural lectures and to Dr. Vitek and our ICE department for putting this all together!

Speaking of CE, on Sunday, May 17, 2020 optometrists can earn 6 COPE approved credits by virtually attending our annual Glaucoma Symposium. You can register for the event here.

Last Saturday five students from our Physician Assistant Studies program were a big part of a delivery chain that helped get much needed PPEs from South Carolina to Temple University Hospital. We’re so proud of our student Morgan Lukievics, Allison Tomack, Elizabeth Scott, Marina Brown and Kimberly McCarty, all ’20PA, who answered the call for volunteers from the National Student Response Network (NSRN) and really helped make a difference. Read more about this great effort by our students on our website by clicking here.

In the College of Education and Rehabilitation, our Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS) program renewed its partnership with the Northeast Pennsylvania Lions Service Foundation (NEPALSF), which will make $25,000 available to support students in our programs. The result of this partnership will help to increase services to individuals with visual impairments, particularly in the northeast region of Pennsylvania. In other news from the program, Orientation & Mobility student Sherri Hoffert has received this year's AER Blasch O&M Scholarship award, and BLVS adjunct faculty member Shelly Faust-Jones has received the 2020 Penn-Del AER Richard L. Welsh Service Award. 

We continue our salute to Better Hearing and Speech Month with Part II of “Raising Awareness About Communications Disorders”. Read more about that here; and with a Faculty Focus feature on Dr. Lindsay Bondurant, the director of the Pennsylvania Ear Institute.

Dr. Bhawan Minhas, director of our on-campus Residency Programs since 2016, has received the Alumni Association’s 2020 “Distinguished Service Award.” This award is presented to a non-alumnus who is closely identified with Salus and who has provided notable service to the University and their profession. I can’t think of any more deserving individual!  Read more about Dr. Minhas here. 

We recently partnered with St. Joseph’s University to offer students, faculty and staff additional opportunities to earn advanced healthcare business certifications, online and in person, without considerable interruption to individual schedules. Read more about how you can leverage this partnership here. 

One of our faculty members recently sent me a copy of a very heartwarming Ted Talk by Eddie Jaku, a 99-year old Holocaust survivor, that’s well worth taking the 11+ minutes to listen to. When we look at all that’s going on around us today, it’s so important to put things into proper perspective and be thankful for what we have, even in the middle of a pandemic. Listening to how this man survived the Holocaust and today claims to be the “happiest man alive” is both inspiring and instructional. If you want to smile and be uplifted, even if just a bit, I encourage you to take  a few minutes and check out Eddie’s story here.

On Monday our volunteer Board of Trustees will be holding their first ever (I believe) virtual quarterly meeting.  Throughout this public health emergency, our Board has been fully engaged ready to offer advice, counsel and support as we’ve made many difficult decisions moving forward. We owe them a debt of thanks for their time and talents as they are also having to deal with the same challenges we are in their own businesses and personal worlds, in addition to their work with Salus.

Finally, next Friday we will celebrate the many accomplishments of almost 300 Salus graduates during our virtual commencement ceremony. Please join us as we honor and pay tribute to our Class of 2020 on May 22^nd at 2 PM right here.

As you prepare for what looks to be a pretty nice weekend, I encourage you to get out and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Remember to wear your face mask if you’re going to be around others or inside a store. Continue with frequent hand-washing and practicing social distancing. While we don’t have a definite date from Governor Wolf yet, I’m encouraged by the decreasing numbers of cases we’ve seen in both the Commonwealth and our county. 

Like Mr. Jaku in the Ted Talk, try to put things into perspective as we work our way through this emergency together as one team, One Salus. We are SALUS STRONG and before we know it, we’ll be back on campus defining our next normal.  

Be safe, be smart, stay healthy!

Mike

An Unprecedented Health and Economic Crisis: Week of May 11th, 2020

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

As we prepare to start our 10^th week of online teaching, learning and sheltering in place I wanted to share just a short message today since you’ve heard a great deal from me on Friday.

I don’t know about all of you, but I think by now we all realize that we’re living through an unprecedented health and economic crisis. How people are responding to the events precipitated by COVID-19 are often compared to those who lived through the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, the Great Depression and World War II. While this is certainly true, it is also important to realize that, as we live through all of this and make the necessary adjustments in our personal, professional and social lives, this is our time – and history will judge us on how we responded to this crisis.

As we live through this, how do we want to be remembered as our children and their children look back? I would think we would want a commentary comparable to those who lived through those pivotal events of the past – many often described as “The Greatest Generation”; optimistic, patriotic, resourceful, supportive, community-minded, etc.

We are well-poised to not only emulate those who came before us, but to set the example for generations to follow.  Maintaining a positive attitude, remaining flexible, acting on the science, establishing a routine of healthy eating and exercise, following public health guidelines and concentrating on actively working towards accomplishing goals will help guide our trajectory through all this. 

THIS IS OUR TIME – We don’t get a do-over. Be strong, be honest, be resilient.  We’ll get through this together as one team, One Salus because we are SALUS STRONG!  

Mike

Better Hearing and Speech Month: Week of May 8th, 2020

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

Good morning from my home office in Horsham, PA. Just as I thought we were well into Spring, our weather forecast is calling for temperatures in the low 30’s with wind chills in the 20’s tomorrow! At least it’s not snowing.

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month and we have a three-part Q&A series highlighting audiologists and speech-language pathologists. The first part features Robert Serianni talking about raising awareness on communication disorders.

Our Physician Assistant (PA) Studies students got a firsthand account of what it’s like on the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19 during a recent webinar that featured Salus alums and faculty members, along with other healthcare providers, that are out there treating patients with the virus. More than 100 of our PA students signed up for the webinar, moderated by Dr. John Fitzgerald, associate director of the University’s PA program.

The Faculty Focus feature this week is on Dr. Alan Kabat. In addition to his love of teaching our students, Dr. Kabat has two other passions he pursues when he’s not teaching.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Andrew Gurwood, who has been selected as the 2020 Albert Fitch Memorial Alumnus of the Year. Andy has been a teacher and mentor to thousands of practicing optometrists for many years in his role at PCO/Salus University.

Hearing loss makes communication difficult under the best of circumstances, but add a mask to the equation and it can be a big problem. Dr. Lindsay Bondurant talked to KYW Newsradio about how difficult communication is for those with hearing loss, wear hearing aids or rely on lip reading around people wearing masks.

On Monday, The Eye Institute will begin seeing emergency patients in-house. Special thanks to Dr. Maria Parisi who has been leading the taskforce, comprised of several TEI faculty members, to develop protocols resulting in safe and efficacious care to our patients, while keeping residents, faculty and staff members safe as well.

On Monday, the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and the optometric profession lost a true icon. Dr. Harry Kaplan, PCO Class of 1949, passed away earlier this week. Dr. Kaplan retired from PCO in 2016 after teaching for over 52 years. An expert in contact lenses, Dr. Kaplan also played a key role in helping the university to raise funds by establishing the “I” Raffle, now called the Salus Cares Raffle, which is credited with raising over $800,000 over the 33 years it’s been in existence.

Finally, later today, you will be receiving a more in-depth update on how our plans are evolving as we look towards the future. As I’ve said several times over the course of this public health emergency, we are well poised to be flexible, agile and adaptable as conditions around us change. I have no doubt that we will be able to fulfill our commitment to our students, patients and all those who have entrusted their care and futures to us. 

Have a great weekend (but dress warmly on Saturday!). Remember, we are SALUS STRONG. Working together as a single team we are all going to be fine when this is all over.

Mike

Flexibility and Adaptability: Week of May 4th, 2020

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

Today we begin our 9^th week of online training as the semester winds down and sheltering at home. Again, I want to sincerely thank our faculty, students and staff for their flexibility and adaptability as they all work long and hard to make this a meaningful educational experience.

I got out to play 9 holes of golf yesterday morning – all by myself. While the golf was ugly, the time allowed me to think about what might be next for all of us. While I didn’t come up with any new, groundbreaking thoughts on the matter, I kept coming back to the thought about how lucky I was to be part of team that’s capable of adapting quickly to just about anything, if we continue to do it together.

What is abundantly clear is that none of the great work that’s already been accomplished, and will need to continue well into the future, happens without great teamwork and malleability. In my Weekly Update on Friday I referred to this when I noted that even in our name SALUS, there is an “US”, which I think it’s important to highlight. In this difficult, unpredictable, unprecedented time, we will always be stronger working as a team – a SALUS. There are many examples throughout history of how teams perform much more effectively and efficiently than individuals.  

I just read an interesting article about how a Navy Reserve cardiac electrophysiologist from Phoenix, with the help of a team of active duty Navy cardiac surgeons, Hospital Corpsmen and remote contractors, who had never worked together previously, performed the first ever pacemaker surgery on the USNS Mercy while she was assisting the city of Los Angles. This type of surgery, while commonplace in civilian healthcare facilities, is not the type of procedure routinely performed on a hospital ship designed for combat casualty care. The only way they were able to pull this off successfully was as a team. If the cardiac electrophysiologist decided to try to do it alone or for that matter, if one of the other surgeons would have tried to do this without seeking help, it would not have been successful. Here’s a link to the article.  

Teamwork provides us a roadmap to success as we navigate through the uncharted waters of this pandemic. Unfortunately, there are more unknowns than knowns, but that shouldn’t discourage us – it should only motivate us to be more innovative, creative and resourceful. It also should inspire us to be thinking as a team rather than just an individual – because we are stronger together in thoughts and deeds. 

Throughout all this our clinic and academic leadership teams have been working with administration, the facilities staff and others to develop our reopening plans. Not knowing exactly when the Governor will allow us to proceed, we have developed several different scenarios that can be adjusted as needed. It is our sincere hope, that working together, we’ll be able to gain safe access to both our Elkins Park campus as well as our clinics as soon as possible. I’ve been lobbying State authorities to treat us differently from K-12 educational institutions. While I know our messages have been received, there’s been no decision as of yet. As soon as I know, you all will know and then, responsibly and safely, we’ll be off and running.

Finally, I wanted to share a bit public health trivia with you that was sent to me by Board Vice-Chair, Dr. Dan Abramowicz. Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, was a Hungarian physician and scientist who was an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures, specifically in maternity care. His work centered around hand-washing, resulted in dramatically cutting the incidence of puerperal fever (childbed fever) in new mothers. You can hear more about this interesting story here. One of the sad aspects of the story, as you’ll hear, is that while he was right, because people didn’t agree with him, it took years for his ideas to catch on – and to this day, people still don’t follow his sage advice. 

As you begin your week, think about the importance of teamwork and how even Dr. Semmelweis’s work would have been much more effective, if he had worked collegially with a team. If you’re feeling stressed, and who isn’t these days, or wondering when will this all end, you are not alone. We are in this for the long-haul so we need to be mentally and physically prepared for that. If you want to talk with one of our counselors, don’t hesitate to make an appointment here.  

We will get through this as a team – we are ONE SALUS – which makes us SALUS STRONG!

Have a great week – and don’t forget, next Sunday is Mother’s Day!

Mike

Cabin Fever: Week of May 1st, 2020

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

Good morning from a damp and relatively warm Horsham, PA! It’s been another busy virtual week at Salus. We’ve completed our 8^th week of distance teaching and learning. On Tuesday, we recorded several segments of our virtual commencement ceremony. While not even close to ideal, Dr. Jim Caldwell and his staff, Ms. Alexis Abate and her staff, and our great facilities and security teams all worked together to help us celebrate the hard-earned successes of the graduating class of 2020. We are trying to make this as special and memorable as possible.

Around our virtual campus, we’re continuing with our observance of National Occupational Therapy Month. I encourage you read the Faculty Focus feature on Anna Grasso, assistant professor and the OT department’s academic fieldwork coordinator. If you’re like me, you might be surprised to learn about her love of the rough-and-tumble sport of rugby. No wonder all the students really listen to her! We’ve got a firsthand account from one of our OT graduates, Katlyn McCaw, MSOT ’16, detailing what it’s like on the front lines battling COVID-19 at the 182-bed nursing home where she works.

Congratulations to Kathryn Dowd, AuD ’08, who has been named the Audiology Alumna of the Year by our Alumni Association. Kathryn has dedicated years of service to the profession of Audiology, promoting awareness of chronic and infectious diseases and ototoxic medication and the impact of hearing loss among patients, diabetes educators and audiologists nationally. Bios for all the 2020 alumni award winners can be found the alumni page of our website.

I’ll be participating in a special meeting of the Sunday Breakfast Club this coming Wednesday evening. The club originated during the Great Depression to attempt an understanding of the economic happenings causing unemployment in the city. It has evolved into an influential group of current and emerging leaders from the Greater Philadelphia Region’s business, non-profit and government sectors who come together to learn from each other, as well as other thought leaders, and engage in conversation about the issues of our time. In 1935 they moved their meetings from Sunday mornings to Wednesday evenings, but kept their original name. They are holding a special Zoom event to discuss region's response to and recovery from the pandemic. I’ll be representing the Higher Education sector with speakers from other sectors addressing their areas of expertise. They include Steve Mullin, President of Econsult, who will discuss how the pandemic affects the economy, Donna Cooper, Executive Director, of Public Citizens for Children and Youth will discuss the effects on Children and Families, Dr. Harvey Rubin, Professor, Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, will address the Public Health impact of the pandemic, Pedro Ramos, President and CEO, Philadelphia Foundation will discuss the effects on our community and cultures and finally, David Thornburgh, President and CEO, Committee of Seventy will address how this might affect our democracy and future elections. It should be a fascinating evening. 

Finally, as you get ready to enjoy the weekend, I realize that many of you are getting cabin fever and just want to be done with sheltering in place. This will end but it’s going to take a little more time before we can resume even some “normal” activities. As I noted in my message on Monday, the “next normal” is going to require us to continue to practice social distancing, frequent hand washing (that’s always been a good idea) and not gathering in large groups. We are preparing for all this as we plan to reopen our campus and clinics in what I hope will be the near future. In the meantime, please be safe, continue with your social distancing, hand washing and sheltering in place.

We are all SALUS STRONG, with the emphasis on US! We are one team - ONE SALUS – working as a team, we will come out of this stronger and ready to take on any challenges that may come our way. Have a great weekend! 

Mike