Dear Salus Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,
Good morning from a very picturesque Elkins Park campus. Even with the snow storm shutting us down for two days earlier this week, we maintained our virtual classroom work and are now our students, faculty and staff have been busy playing a little catch-up in labs and clinics.
Here’s what else has been happening around campus:
NEW ARTICULATION AGREEMENTS: We’ve recently signed articulation agreements that will benefit college students who want to pursue several in-demand healthcare professions. These partnerships give qualified undergraduate students special consideration for admission, including reserved seats (if they meet admission requirements), under new agreements with Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania, and Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. Read more at salus.edu/TwoArticulations.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s Where Are They Now features James Komorinik, OD ‘’17. Find out how Salus University prepared him to become a professional and the details surrounding his early career success by going to salus.edu/JamesKomornik.
NEWS FROM NORRISTOWN SITE: Check out the latest update on our Norristown Federally Qualified Health Center site, the Norristown Regional Health Center, where Luis Trujillo, OD ‘09, Pediatric Resident ‘12, trains PCO/Salus students to learn to help their patients without saying a word. To read more, just click here.
BUILDING RESILIENCE: Join Ryan Hollister, MS (BCSC), associate director, Bennett Career Services Center at Salus and Molly Marcus, PsyD (CPPD), a counselor from the University’s Center for Personal and Professional Development, for a webinar discussing resilience, mindfulness and strategies for remaining positive and persevering through difficult times at noon Wednesday, Feb. 17. The virtual event will also focus on how resilience applies to the job search process. All students are invited and encouraged to attend this event. You can register here.
OPTOMETRIC GRAND ROUNDS: The next Grand Rounds at The Eye Institute (TEI) will be from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 12. The topic will be an update on “Management of Diabetic Retinopathy” presented by Dr. Joshua Greene. For more information about Grand Rounds, click here.
WORKOUT BLOCK TIMES: Workout block times at the Hafter Center have been pushed back 15 minutes, now beginning at 6:45 a.m. and ending at 7 p.m. They are still one-hour long with 15 minutes in between workout blocks in order to clean and disinfect the equipment. You must make a reservation before you arrive at the Fitness Center. You can do this by selecting the “Book Class” tab in either the PTFitWorks app or on the salus.ptminder website. You can reserve up to five days in advance.
FINAL THOUGHTS: I wanted share some thoughts concerning the importance of people getting one of the COVID-19 vaccines. Wednesday evening, a couple of us had the opportunity to hear Dr. Drew Weissman, one of two University of Pennsylvania researchers responsible for the development of the mRNA technology used to develop the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, speak about the attributes of the new vaccines. Dr. Weissman noted that while this mRNA vaccines sound new to most people, the technology has actually been around for over ten years. He also stressed how safe, inexpensive and effective these new vaccines are. He noted that mRNA is a non-infectious agent and it does not affect one’s DNA, so there is no potential risk of infection nor can it cause cancer. Another advantage of this technology is the ability to make adjustments to vaccines, such as combat new strains of the virus relatively quickly.
Even with the threat of serious illness or even death from COVID-19, there are large segments of our population that refuse to take the vaccine for numerous reasons. Many think the process went too quickly, others, understandably, don’t trust the government and some have always been against vaccines, the anti-vaxxers. From a public health perspective, vaccines are one of the safest and most effective ways we have to combat infectious disease. They have had an incredible impact on reducing the overall burden of disease across the globe. Yet, there are those who just refuse to take them. These new vaccines have been shown to be 100% effective against serious disease and hospitalizations. They can save your life.
Experts tell us that if we’re ever going to get control of our lives again and reach a level of herd immunity, between 70 – 80% of the population needs to be vaccinated. As of yesterday, only 8.5% (28M people) of the U.S. population has received one dose and less than 2.1% (6.9M people) has received their second dose of one of the COVID 19 vaccines. I realize there is currently a limited supply of vaccine, but I’m also hopeful, especially as the Johnson and Johnson vaccine comes on line, that will change over the next several weeks. As availability permits, it will be imperative for as many as possible to get vaccinated as soon as practical. Once current supply and deployment challenges do get resolved, as healthcare professionals, we will need to set the example and get vaccinated as soon as we can. (We will continue to provide updated information regarding Montgomery and Philadelphia appointments as we receive it.) We also have a responsibility to ensure that whenever we have the opportunity to educate others about the safety and efficacy of these vaccines, we do so. Unless enough people take these miraculous vaccines, the virus will continue to spread.
So, as you prepare for some time off this weekend, please think about who in your circles might be reticent to take the COVID vaccine and see what you can do to positively influence them to change their minds. Our public health depends on it. Once you are vaccinated, it will be important to continue to social distance, wear your double face mask and wash your hands frequently. Tomorrow, Tanis and I will receive our second dose of the Moderna vaccine. Even after that, we don’t plan to change our current practices of socially distancing and wearing our double facemasks when around others until more folks have been vaccinated and the experts tell us it’s safe to do so.
As we navigate these choppy waters, please continue to be safe, stay healthy and remain SALUS STRONG!
Mike
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