Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,
Good morning on a chilly Fall day from Elkins Park. It’s been another busy week around as we work to help keep everyone safe and healthy heading into the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
NEW GALLERY DISPLAY: To help keep spirits up, curator Elynne Rosenfeld has come up with another fabulous art display for the D’Arrigo Family Gallery outside the Bennett Lounge at the Hafter Student Community Center. Works from the recently formed Philadelphia Pastel Society (PSS) can be viewed through Dec. 17, 2020. If you’re on campus, stop by and take a look at the display – you won’t be disappointed! Read more about it here.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s “Where Are They Now” features Kelly Garcia, MS ‘19, a speech therapist at the Independence Charter School in Philadelphia. To read more about Kelly’s professional journey after graduating from Salus, go here.
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY PLANNING: This is going to be a Thanksgiving holiday unlike most of us have ever experienced. Most years, the holiday is a time to connect with family and friends for good food, fun and fellowship. For some, it may be a difficult time, as we remember those we have lost or that returning home to family may not always be pleasant or welcomed for various reasons. When we think of all we have endured in 2020, and now, seeing increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases nationally and in our own region (see charts below), it may be more difficult to find a reason to be grateful. However, as you approach Thanksgiving, try to make the best of what I know is a stressful and challenging situation and reflect on all we do have to be thankful for – our health, our loved ones, our opportunities to help others and a brighter future ahead.
There will be temptations to see friends and family members you haven’t seen in a while during this short break. I would caution you not to take chances and to resist the temptation to gather, even in small groups.
To that end, consistent with the latest CDC guidance, I want to strongly encourage you not to travel during this holiday, as difficult as that might be. If you do, please ensure that you are taking all the necessary steps to maintain your health and safety as well that of as your family members and your classmates. That means wearing your face mask at home if you’re going to be with people not from your immediate circle (your immediate circle includes family members you live with, roommates and others you have regularly spent time with), social distancing of at least six feet, washing your hands frequently and maintaining maximum airflow in your house by opening windows, doors, etc.
If you travel outside Pennsylvania, you need to be aware that beginning today, anyone who visits Pennsylvania from another state, including Pennsylvanians returning to the Commonwealth, must get tested within 72 hours prior to entering the Commonwealth. If you are unable or choose not to be tested, you are required to quarantine for 14 days upon returning to PA. The Commonwealth is expecting individuals to police themselves, which means that you would be unable to come to campus and would miss any scheduled face-to-face instruction.
AFTER THANKSGIVING BREAK: Below are enhancements that we are making to the Salus Safety Strategy designed to protect our community over the next two months.
December
Following Thanksgiving weekend, our academic programs have made adjustments to limit on campus instruction through winter break. While our clinics will remain open to serve our patients and clients and certain lab instruction will continue at Elkins Park, student activity on campus will be reduced. Your individual program will be in touch with these details. Please note, that there is an exemption from this restriction from the PA travel restriction for our students traveling in and out of Pennsylvania to “work” at their clinical sites.
Vaccine
You all have heard the good news concerning some of the vaccines currently be developed, which has been shown to be about 95 percent effective against the virus. While this is great news, an effective vaccine is still awaiting FDA approval and it will be several months after that before the vaccine is distributed to the public. Additionally, we will still need to take all the current precautions, such as continuing to wear a face mask for several months after receiving the vaccine to ensure there is no additional spread. While there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s imperative that we remain vigilant until we get there - which we will.
Winter Break
The Elkins Park campus and all Salus clinics will be closed from Thursday, December 24th through Sunday, January 3rd. Any essential staff that needs to work during this period will be informed by their supervisors.
Return to Learn Testing
Following winter break, all students, laboratory educators, clinical educators and clinic staff will be required to be tested for COVID-19 prior to their return to campus or our clinics in January. We are partnering with LabCorp to provide Pixel at-home COVID-19 self-administered PCR tests by mail. Salus will make these tests available, at no cost to you, on or around December 28th via a secure web portal. Individuals will access the portal to order their test (which will be sent by overnight mail), take the test at home and then return the test via pre-paid overnight mail to LabCorp. Test results will be communicated to the individual and Salus 24-48 hours after receipt by LabCorp. A negative test result will be required to access campus or the clinics. Any positive tests will be followed up by medical professionals and Salus. The entire process from start to finish will take between 4 and 6 days, so individuals will need to plan to order the test early enough to allow for their return to scheduled instruction/work. Additional details will follow in the coming weeks.
Please remember that while our protocols are designed to reduce the risk of exposure, the contagious nature of COVID-19 means we cannot eliminate all risk of infection. We have successfully made it this far thanks to your efforts in following protocols and remaining flexible throughout pandemic. I ask that you continue to follow guidelines and act responsibly. You have become more resilient and adaptable as we have moved through these past nine months. Let’s hang in there so we can all sprint across the finish line together in the upcoming months. Please try to get out and enjoy the nice weather that’s predicted for this weekend. As always, please remember to wear your face mask, socially distance and wash your hands frequently. Be safe, remain vigilant and stay SALUS STRONG!
Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment