Welcome Back: Week of August 28th, 2020

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

Good morning from a warm and muggy Elkins Park!

WELCOME BACK! - I’d like to welcome back all of our students returning to campus – I recorded a welcome video stressing the importance of our Safety Strategy and what will be accessible on campus during this fall semester. While I won’t win the academy award for the video, I encourage all of you to check it out. 

FACULTY FOCUS - This week’s faculty focus features Bisant Labib, OD ‘14, Resident ‘15, FAAO. Learn more about why she believes humor has the ability to transform any negative situation or emotion into a positive one. It’s well worth the read!

N95 MASK DONATION - Salus recently received a much-needed donation of more than 285 N95 masks from Medical Students for Masks – an organization dedicated to protecting frontline healthcare workers. Read more at salus.edu/PPE-Donation.

OUR NEW FACULTY MEMBERS - We have a couple new faculty members I’d like to welcome to the Salus Community: Eileen Hunsaker, MS, CCC-SLP, recently joined the University as director of Clinical Education for the SLP program and Chad Killen, OD ‘19, Resident ‘20, who became a PCO instructor. 

UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT DAY - This morning, we’ll conduct a virtual faculty-wide Development Day from 9-11:30 a.m. Please join in on Blackboard Collaborate.    

VOTE! – As the country prepares for the presidential election this coming November, I want to ensure everyone has a chance to vote, no matter what your political affiliation is. If you’re going to vote by mail, which I encourage, given the pandemic, I urge you to get your mail-in ballot early so it will be counted. Here are the steps to vote by mail in Pennsylvania:

1.    Request your mail-in ballot with a mail ballot application.

2.    Fill out the application completely.

3.    Submit the request to your local election office. You should request your ballot as far in advance of the election as possible. The deadline to request a ballot by mail is (received by) Tuesday, October 27, 2020.

4.    When your ballot arrives, read it carefully and follow the instructions to complete it and return it.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This week we all were witness to yet another shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake. This time in Wisconsin. I am again angered and dismayed by the event and that our nation once again finds itself reeling from the tragic shooting of a Black man by police, as three of his children looked on. Mr. Blake, who is now paralyzed as he fights for his life, is just the latest in a long line of Black men and women who have been shot and severely wounded or killed by police.

We continue to stand with all those who demand justice, equality and accountability for Black lives in our country – lives like those of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony Robinson, Denise Hamilton, Earnest Lacy, and Sylville Smith. I want to reiterate what our DEI committee noted in their email yesterday encouraging all members of the Salus community to check on each other, and especially on our Black students, friends, and colleagues. Ask questions such as “How are you feeling? What do you need from your us – your classmates and colleagues?” We will fully support our Black students, faculty and staff and try to use this tragedy to come closer together as a Salus community, not get pulled farther apart. 

On a much more positive note, this weekend should be pretty nice, so please take some time to relax, reflect and get outside. Remember to continue to socially distance, wash your hands frequently and wear a face mask when around others. Also, please remember that what you do off campus effects all of us on campus, so please be vigilant. This pandemic, while it seems to be lasting a lifetime, will end - we just need to stay on top of things until it does.

Stay safe, be smart and remain Salus Strong!

Mike

Wrapping Up Orientation Week: Week of August 21st, 2020

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

Welcome on a beautiful morning from a busy Elkins Park campus where we’re wrapping up orientation week. 

WHITE COAT CEREMONY: Thanks to Dr. Jim Caldwell, Alexis Abate and their staffs for helping to orchestrate our virtual White Coat ceremony yesterday. We had about 325 people in attendance. It was great to be able to hold the non-traditional, virtual ceremony, even without distributing the white coats. This has always been one of my favorite ceremonies at Salus because of what it symbolizes – the transition from undergraduate student to becoming a healthcare professional. I’m looking forward to when each program will be able to distribute the white coats in person!

ORIENTATION SPEAKER: Earlier in Orientation Week, Juliana Mosley, PhD, chief diversity officer and community relations officer at Chestnut Hill College presented a virtual Zoom webinar titled “Making the Unconscious Conscious . . . Through Cultural Humility” as part of our Orientation Week for new students. I encourage you to read more about Dr. Mosley’s presentation at salus.edu/CulturalHumility.

 

FACULTY FOCUS: This week’s Faculty Focus feature story is on Laine Higa, OD, Resident ‘15. When he’s not teaching PCO students, Dr. Higa has utilized his quarantine time to explore and cultivate his love for cooking and baking. Read more at salus.edu/LaineHiga.

 

DONATION TO LOFK: Bruce Foulke, the dynamic president and CEO, and Dorian Smith, senior vice president for business development of American Heritage Credit Union, presented a check earlier this week for $10,000 to the Looking Out for Kids (LOFK) initiative. American Heritage Credit Union shares our mission of helping children in need and we greatly appreciate their generosity and the opportunity to partner with them on this important initiative. 

VOTING: The Postal Service has warned almost every state that voters may not get their ballots back to election offices in time because of election rules that are not compatible with the time needed for delivery and return of absentee ballots through the mail. No matter what your political affiliation is, if you have decided to vote by mail, I implore all of you to request your mail in or absentee ballot early and return it as soon as you receive it. We want to ensure your vote is counted!

FINAL THOUGHTS: It was great to be able to welcome some of our new students in person and most of you virtually to campus this week. I’m extremely excited about the upcoming school year. As I mentioned to you earlier in the week, while this year will present some very unique challenges to all of us, the training you will receive under these conditions will make you better clinicians and decision makers. When I was in the Navy, we would always say you fight the way you train. Training under pandemic conditions will teach you to think more critically about yours and your patient’s safety as well as to pay much more attention to details that would normally be considered routine. These additional pressures will build resiliency, more defined critical thinking skills and the ability to pivot under pressure. We will all get through this together.

Just a few reminders – it’s easy to fall into old habits and forget about social distancing when talking with your classmates before and after class. Please ensure you maintain those appropriate distances, even while wearing your face coverings. Speaking of that, please ensure that you’re wearing those face coverings properly – covering your nose and mouth. I’ve seen some creative variations of that this week which are not very functional. Also, I ask that you please restrict eating to the cafeteria areas which include the tent outside the south building, the outdoor seating around the pond, as well as the regular cafeteria and not eat in classrooms or the common hallways. It’s okay to drink and lower your mask for that, but not for prolonged times while indoors. Finally, please continue to wash your hands frequently and remember that what you do off campus directly affects all of us on campus – we need to minimize our risks as much as possible. 

It looks like it’s going to be a nice summer weekend, so I encourage you to get out and enjoy some of the local hiking, biking or jogging trails where you can remain socially distanced or just relax in a park somewhere. Next week, I suspect you’ll be pretty busy as classes and labs spools up, so take advantage of this weekend to recharge and prepare for the upcoming week.

Be safe, be careful and be smart.

Mike

New Student Orientation: Week of August 14th, 2020

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

Greetings on another hot and muggy Southeastern Pennsylvania morning. While the weather outside may be a bit soupy and gloomy, things are pretty bright at Salus. Our students and faculty have been working hard completing required lab work, NexGen training and even some didactic coursework, even though the majority of classroom work remains virtual. Below are some examples of what’s happening around campus. 

NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION: I am so excited to welcome all of our new students to Salus. I know many of you have been engaged in our virtual orientation program since early last week. We’re thrilled to be able to hold our first synchronous events next week, where we may actually get to greet some of you on campus personally. Of course, because we’ll all be wearing our masks, we won’t recognize each other, but it still will be wonderful for me to personally welcome you all on board – mask to mask!  

WHITE COAT CEREMONY: As most of you already know, this year’s White Coat ceremony will be conducted virtually next Thursday at 9:30 AM. All members of the University Community will receive a link to the event, so you can participate from afar. Dr. Eckert and I are thrilled to be keynote speakers for the event. While we won’t be handing out white coats at this time, each program will be holding their own ceremonies later in the semester where students will actually receive their coats.

 

OPTOMETRIC GRAND ROUNDS TODAY: I hope you are able to tune in this morning to Erin Jenewein, OD, MS, and Siva Meiyeppen, OD, Resident ‘15, Pennsylvania College of Optometry assistant professors, who will be presenting, "The Ins and Outs of Strabismus Management in a Primary Care Optometric Practice” for Grand Rounds. We really appreciate the time and energy our faculty and residents put into making these lectures so fantastic.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY UPDATE: Salus University’s own Dr. Fern Silverman, Occupational Therapy (OT) assistant professor and assistant director of the Occupational Therapy Doctoral (OTD) program, and Dr. Andrea Tyszka, OT associate professor, were recently interviewed by Rebecca Smith from Thomas Jefferson University and Deanna Longo from Stony Brook University for the student-run podcast “My OT Journey.” Get to know more about this niche area of OT practice, all while getting to know the Salus OT faculty, by tuning into the podcast here.

FACULTY FOCUS: All through middle school and high school, Alice Lim, OD ‘18, Resident ‘19, took art classes. Although she never officially studied art once she started college, she always maintained an interest in drawing and painting as a long-term hobby. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, though, Dr. Lim drew on that interest and incorporated it into her teaching. Read more at salus.edu/AliceLim.

SALUS COMMUNITY SUPPORT: Dr. Brandy Scombordi and optometric staff members took the Salus Vision Van on the road again on Aug. 13, where they provided much needed vision care for children in the Kingsessing Hub section of the city. Salus PCO and TEI continue to connect with our communities in meaningful ways during our challenging times. I’m so proud of Dr. Scombordi and her team for the work they continue to do under challenging circumstances. I know our patients really appreciate their work.

SUPPORTING OUR FELLOW INSTITUTIONS: Earlier this week I had the opportunity to participate in Arcadia University’s annual golf outing. For those of you who know me, you know that golf is not my forte, so this was somewhat humbling, yet enjoyable. Salus sponsored a hole and got great visibility for the work we’re doing in the Speech-Language Institute for our community.   

 

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS: A new academic year is always an exciting time for our incoming students, as well as for our faculty and staff. This year, though is different. Not only are we confronted with the usual butterflies that go along with starting a new adventure in one’s life, but we’re doing this in the middle of a global pandemic that has affected almost every aspect of our lives. I want you all to know that we have been working very hard since this all began to ensure that your learning and teaching environment and other campus activities at Salus remain safe and effective. 

If you’re a returning student you will see many differences, starting from when you actually enter the buildings. Once inside, we have a shared responsibility to keep each other healthy and safe. The pillars of these responsibilities are wearing a face mask that covers both your nose and mouth, social distancing of at least 6-feet and frequent hand washing. While no one can predict if all of these precautions will be enough, we have a joint obligation to try our hardest to keep Salus safe and these are the best tools we have to do that right now. As testing becomes more available, cost-effective, and reliable, that too will be integrated into our process. We must all do everything we can to be as successful as possible. That means, even while you are off-campus, remember to practice social distancing, properly wear a face mask and frequently wash your hands. What we do off campus will directly affect everyone on campus. 

I am convinced that whatever this year brings - between the pandemic, exploring and helping to address social injustice and a national election - it will present us will the opportunity to be united in the fact that we are SALUS STRONG. When we all look back on these times we can say that we have been able to overcome adversity and enable Salus to accomplish the mission of educating all of you, while at the same time addressing the biggest challenge we have ever faced – and we have accomplished this together. What an achievement to embrace! 

Mike

Summer Semester Comes to a Close: Week of August 7th, 2020

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

Greetings from a rather warm and humid Elkins Park. We weathered Tropical Storm Isaias unscathed without even losing power, so that was good. Unfortunately, many around the greater Philadelphia region as well as others as far as North Carolina and New York lost power and suffered a good deal of damage from the storm. Our thoughts are with those who were adversely affected. 

LABS, CONSTRUCTION, AND RECONFIGURATION: It’s been a busy week on campus, even with the storm. Our optometry, occupational therapy, physician assistant and blindness and low vision studies students have been busy in labs as well as joining their audiology and speech-language pathology colleagues in respective online classes. We’re also in the midst of construction of our Standardized Patient Simulation Lab, several new classrooms and have completed the reconfiguration our cafeteria, LRC, Hafter Center and other spaces so they’re ready for Fall semester. We’re even getting a large tent which will be located right outside the cafeteria so people can eat outside.

VIRTUAL ORIENTATION AND WHITE COAT CEREMONY: As the Summer Semester comes to a close, we are preparing to welcome our newest students to Salus in the coming weeks. Our online orientation program went “live” yesterday for all incoming students. The synchronous portion of the program, where Dr Eckert, myself and others will have guest appearances, will be on 18 August, followed by a non-traditional, virtual White Coat Ceremony on 20 August. While students won’t be receiving their white coats on the 20^th, each program is planning a separate ceremony where they will have the opportunity to distribute them to students. 

FALL COMMENCEMENT: I’ve made the very difficult decision that our Fall 2020 commencement will be held virtually. While this wasn’t what we had originally envisioned in the Spring, current conditions dictate that this is the only responsible course of action we can take. It’s important to note that no venue is accepting large groups into the foreseeable future and there still is a restrictive limit to the number of people who can congregate in one location. Also, many students who would graduate in the Fall would have to travel long distances to get here for the ceremony. That’s a risk we can’t ask people to take. The virtual format will allow all of our graduates to be honored and to celebrate their achievements with their families and friends, no matter their location or the then current state of the pandemic. As we did for the Spring commencement, we will include a student address, a keynote speaker, my message to graduating students, the reading of each graduate’s name and the oath of professionalism presented by Dr. Eckert. Commencement will be pre-recorded, to be premiered on October 13th, at 2:00PM. Graduates and their families and friends will have the opportunity to interact live with each other during the premiere using YouTube. Each graduate will receive their regalia, diploma and commencement programs through the mail. More details will follow as the date approaches. Once the pandemic is behind us, we plan to hold an in person event to honor all of our graduates who graduated virtually. That’s the very least we can do to celebrate your achievements and successes.

DYNAMIC DUOS CE: Don’t forget to register for “Dynamic Duos,” delivered via Blackboard Collaborate as a synchronous live-streamed event Aug. 9. The program is COPE approved for eight CE credits. For more information, go to cvent.me/Xk9Lqz.

LEGACY GRADS:  For graduates like Priyanka Patel, OD ‘20, and Roheena Malik, OD ‘20, legacy family members are much younger pioneers among the same generation, offering a solid support system as they worked toward their degrees. PCO has even been the place where graduates like Stephanie Reitter, OD ‘20, met their matches – finding a shared vision of their futures in the optometry profession. Read more about some of our most recent grads in part three of our Legacy Student Series at salus.edu/LegacySeries3.

LOOKING OUT FOR KIDS:  Dr. Brandy Scombordi and several optometric staff have taken the Salus vision van out in Philadelphia several times in the past few weeks, most recently Aug. 6 to the Sayre Morris Hub, conducting vision exams in the various neighborhoods. Working with the Greater Philadelphia YMCA and the city, each week they block off a few city blocks for a “kids block party” and the team provides care for a few hours for children who have signed consent forms. Great job connecting Salus PCO and TEI with the community, Dr. Scombordi!

FACULTY FOCUS:  This week’s Faculty Focus features Jenny Rajan, AuD ‘09, who wears a number of hats in OCA — assistant professor, clinical preceptor at PEI and faculty advisor for the Student Academy of Audiology (SAA). Read more about Dr. Rajan at salus.edu/JennyRajan. If you are interested in being featured in our “Faculty Focus” series, please fill out this form.

HAFTER CENTER UPDATE:  Over the past few weeks, the Hafter Student Community Center has been preparing to reopen to our students, faculty and staff members. Be aware there will be many new rules and regulations as well as operational  changes put in place for your safety. Staff will be sending out an email with the updated information along with the official reopening date closer to the beginning of the fall semester, so keep your eye out. 

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP:  A few weeks ago I mentioned we had a new Alumni Association president. Amanda Marchegiani, AuD ‘10 took over in July for David Friess, OD ‘02, FAAO who did a wonderful job for us during his two-year term. To read more about Dr. Marchegiani’s goals for the Alumni Association, visit salus.edu/AmandaMarchegiani.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS:  I know it’s very frustrating to all of us that we’ve not made more progress with the pandemic. That said, we have a shared responsibility to ensure we’re all making adjustments in everything we do to remain safe and healthy.   Practicing social distancing and wearing a face mask that covers both our mouth and nose, in addition to frequent hand washing are essential tools for all of us to leverage to help prevent further spread of the virus. If you see others around campus that are not doing this, please politely remind them to. As I will continually remind all of you, what you do off campus directly affects all of us on campus, so please be mindful of that. Stay away from large groups and practice the same preventive measures when you’re not on campus – it protects all of us! While this discussion can be discouraging, we need to be mindful that this will eventually end. I know that if we continue to look out for one another and practice good prevention measure, we’ll all be fine. We are SALUS STRONG – and working together we are even stronger!  As a reminder, if you feel like you’d like to speak with a counselor about all this, I encourage you to make an appointment here.

 

Have a great weekend – Try to get out and enjoy the fresh air – of course socially distanced and with a face mask when around others!

Mike