As a Country We Dropped the Ball Concerning Vaccinations: Week of July 30th, 2021

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

Greetings from our Elkins Park campus where things have been humming along nicely throughout this Summer semester. Just when we thought the pandemic was in our rearview mirror, we are now having to watch things much more closely as the Delta variant of the virus spreads throughout the country. We are aware of the new CDC guidance regarding indoor mask wearing for fully vaccinated people in certain regions of the country and are closely monitoring local and regional data to ensure we comply. As of this today, there is no local requirement for vaccinated people to wear a mask indoors because our numbers are relatively low, but this can change over time and we will make adjustments as necessary. If only everyone would get vaccinated! There are several things going on around campus that I wanted you to be aware of:

MIDDLE STATES ACCREDITATION: This week, we highlight Standard VI - Planning, Resources & Institutional Improvement. Our working group is led by Radhika Aravamudhan, PhD, PhD, CCC-A., FAAA, Dean & Associate Professor, Osborne College of Audiology, who is joined by Don Kates, CPA, Vice President of Finance, Jill Leslie, Director, Instructional Technology and Support Services, Rebecca Delia, MS, Salus University Board of Trustees, Margie Singer, Administrative Coordinator, Physician Assistant Program, and Wendy Woodward, Director, Sponsored Programs & Academic Finance. Together they are documenting how we plan, use and continuously assess our resources to support our educational offerings and the continued improvement of the university, as a whole.

MEET THE AMBASSADORS: Salus University has 17 students representing various academic programs who serve as student ambassadors at University events both on campus and in the community. In the third and final part of the series, meet six more student ambassadors representing what our Salus community is all about. Click here to read about them. 

STUDENTS AT LEISURE: We’ve kicked off a new online series called “Students at Leisure” (SAL) that features some of the fun, interesting and unique outside activities that our students engage in when they’re taking a break from their studies. The first SAL story focuses on Katie Stanton ‘24OD, who practices “leviwanding,” an object manipulation discipline where the practitioner controls a seemingly floating stick. It has its origins in the magic world dating back to the mid-1800s and is known as the “Dancing Cane” trick. To read more about Katie and leviwanding, go here.

RESIDENT PROFILE: Since we just welcomed our newest Resident class to TEI, we’re profiling them over the next several weeks on our website so everyone can get to know them better. Kicking things off will be Rochelle Fleisher, OD, ‘22Resident, who was inspired by her mother, a nurse practitioner, to pursue a career in healthcare. Read more about Dr. Fleisher here.

PODCAST UPDATE, TAKE I: Join Robert Serianni, MS, CCC-SLP, FNAP, the Chair and Program Director of the department of Speech-Language Pathology at Salus University, as he moderates a podcast that focuses on the services provided at the Speech-Language Institute. He is joined by an SLI client, a student working with that client and the supervisor overseeing the care of the client. Click here for details.

PODCAST UPDATE, TAKE II: Check out this extremely interesting podcast featuring David Meltzer, OD ‘02, assistant professor at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University. Dr. Meltzer talks about his time in the United States Army and working as an optometrist in Germany, Iraq, and Italy before returning to the United States and his alma mater to teach the next generation of optometrists. We’ll also have a Faculty Focus story on our website about Dr. Meltzer next month, so look for that as well.

DONATIONS FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN: Hearts in Motion will be collecting school supplies to donate to schools in Gualan, Zacapa, Guatemala, during its mission trip at the end of August. The group is looking for unopened/new school supplies to give to the schools. Examples of what they are looking for: pencils/pens, sharpeners, crayons/markers, scissors, backpacks, paper, folders/binders, small toys, etc. There will be a box in the lobby at the Elkins Park campus for donations to be placed.

PA FORMAL: The Physician Assistant Program Class of 2022 will celebrate the end of the didactic year before they move on to their clinical sites all around the country with a PA Formal Saturday, July 31. Look for a story and photos on our website about the event.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I’ve spent the last few weeks talking about the importance of getting vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. The fact that the delta variant has been spreading so rapidly across our country (now with the greatest number of cases again) illustrates how, as a country, we have totally dropped the ball when we had the opportunity to finally put the pandemic behind us. Vaccine hesitancy has always been around, but because this entire pandemic has been defined both politically and scientifically, politics have played an unacceptably high role in determining who gets a vaccine and who does not. As healthcare providers we have only one acceptable avenue to determine efficacy of vaccines, treatments, etc. and that is SCIENCE. As we have learned throughout the pandemic, the science can change, depending upon how the virus mutates and changes. Clearly, science is telling us that the delta variant of the virus is more transmissible and potentially more dangerous than previous variants. What is scarier to me is that the more hosts this virus has the opportunity to infect, the greater the chance we have of confronting an even more virulent variant of COVID-19 that may even be vaccine resistant. Every person who is unvaccinated presents a greater opportunity for the virus to mutate and adapt. Most recently the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, the City of New York, a myriad of large health systems have mandated or required vaccines for front line healthcare workers and the Federal government just announced that all federal employees must attest to being vaccinated against Covid-19 or face strict protocols including regular testing, masking and other mitigation measures. Additionally, many corporate entities such as Netflix, Morgan Stanley, Saks Fifth Avenue, Facebook and Google are requiring all of their employees returning to work to be vaccinated. Like us, they did this to protect their patients, coworkers and each other. 

Please, if you are not yet vaccinated, reconsider your decision – if not for yourself, do it for those of us who must work or live with you. If you are vaccinated, share your stories and help to educate those who have not yet gotten the vaccine to feel more comfortable about doing this. We’ve come to the point where, unless there’s a legitimate medical or religious reason not to be vaccinated, there is no excuse not to be. The benefits, individually and collectively, of getting vaccinated far exceed any perceived risks.

Please think about this over the weekend. The weather is going to be extremely nice, so I encourage you to get out and enjoy the fresh air. For those of you not yet vaccinated, please wear your face mask when around others. For those of us who are fully vaccinated, please check local positivity numbers if you go outside our region for your situational awareness. If in doubt, wear a face mask indoors, just to be safe. Enjoy the weekend and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Vaccines Work - Get Yours Now: Week of July 23rd, 2021

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

Good morning from our Elkins Park campus where we’ve been cleaning up after some pretty strong thunderstorms rumbled through here on Wednesday, leaving us without power both here and at The Eye Institute in East Oak Lane for almost a day. Things are pretty much back to normal now but that’s after having to close early on Wednesday and half the day on Thursday. Always something! That said, there are some pretty good “somethings” I wanted to make you aware of below: 

DEEP DIVE INTO AUDIOLOGY: Check out our latest podcast, which includes a discussion with Christopher Speece, assistant director of Admissions at Salus University, about the Audiology program, what it entails and how to become a competitive candidate for the application process. Click here to listen.

NEW LASER LAB FEATURES: In this story, Alissa Coyne, OD ‘10, Resident ‘11, FAAO, course coordinator for the Ophthalmic Lasers and Minor Surgical Procedures course and assistant professor in the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University, details what’s now featured in the new Laser Suite on the University’s Elkins Park campus. Read more here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s Where Are They Now profiles Tiffani Methuen, OD ‘19, who shares how some of her PCO/Salus mentors helped her achieve her professional goals. Read more here.

OT DIPLOMA DAY, TAKE II: As I mentioned last week, the OT department held its first-ever OT Diploma Day recently. More than half the graduating Class of 2021 attended the event, which allowed the students the opportunity to see each other, socialize and celebrate their accomplishments. For a story and photos of the celebration, click here.

WET PAINT: As we do every summer, we’re sprucing up our facilities with some fresh paint. Please be aware while walking around campus that we’ve started our normal summer projects throughout all of our buildings, including in the stairwells. The work will take place after 4:30 p.m. to avoid high-traffic times. I just love the smell of fresh paint!

FALL COMMENCEMENT: I want to remind everyone to save the date for Fall Commencement that is currently scheduled to be held at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, October 12th. Our guest speaker and honorary degree recipient will be Ms. Alison Beam, Acting PA Secretary of Health.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I know you are all either reading or hearing about the prevalence of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus. What saddens me about the continued spread of this more infectious and potentially dangerous variant is the fact that this all was preventable. Millions of Americans have received either the Moderna, Pfizer or Janssen vaccines with minimal side effects and proof of great efficacy. Unfortunately, almost half of those eligible to receive the vaccine in our country have not done so and many of those are in healthcare. Imagine if this vaccine hesitancy occurred when the smallpox or polio vaccines were developed. We would still be dealing with both on a broad scale, yet smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980 and the U.S. has been polio free since 1979. Vaccines work!

As I’ve said in the past, as healthcare professionals, I strongly believe it is our responsibility to set the example and get vaccinated. We also need to be playing a key role in helping to educate those who have yet to make that decision. We can do this by providing factual, scientific data that clearly explains the importance of getting vaccinated. The longer we allow this virus to spread and ultimately mutate, the more dangerous it can get, the more lives will be lost and the longer we will have to live with it. It is imperative we break the chain of possible hosts this very opportunistic virus has - and the only way to effectively accomplish this is by getting the majority of us vaccinated. So, if you’re currently not vaccinated, please take the time to learn more about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines to make you more comfortable with getting it. It’s the right decision to make.

As you prepare for the weekend, please be smart about your interactions around other people, even if you are fully vaccinated. I recommend (and continue to do so myself) wearing a face mask in places such as grocery stores or places that large groups of people you may not know tend to go. If you are unvaccinated, you need to wear a mask when around others indoors and when in larger crowds outdoors. Remember that our vaccine requirement policy goes into effect on August 13th. Please don’t get caught off-guard.

Be safe, look out for each other and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Help Thwart Misinformation Concerning Vaccines: Week of July 16th, 2021

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

Good morning from a warm and sticky Elkins Park Campus where we were just notified by the National Optometric Association that PCO/Salus was recognized as their University of the Year for our work in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This recognition belongs to each and every one of us, but especially those who helped us to navigate some challenging waters along the way. There will be a formal recognition ceremony sometime in the Fall where we can recognize some of these individuals. In addition to learning that great news, here are some other things I wanted to make you aware of:

OT DIPLOMA DAY: We celebrated our most recent Occupational Therapy graduates with our first-ever OT Diploma Day this week. More than half the class returned to the on-campus ceremony to receive their diplomas. These young professionals are more than ready to meet the challenges they will encounter when they land their first jobs since every curveball that was thrown at them these past two years was overcome with grace and professionalism. I’m so proud of them. Look for a story on the event next week on our website.

BOARD CHAIR TRANSITION: As I mentioned last week, Rebecca Delia became our new board chair, taking over for longtime chair Jo Surpin, effective July 1, 2021. Here’s a story about Ms. Surpin reflecting on the board’s accomplishments during her tenure and Ms. Delia talking about her role moving forward. For details, click here.

POST-BACC PROGRAM ADDITION: Since its inception, students applying to the University’s Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program require specific prerequisite courses. In the past, those students would need to go somewhere else to fulfill this requirement. But starting this fall, that’s going to change. Prospective students will be able to obtain that coursework through the SLP track in the University’s Post-baccalaureate program. To read how that will set our program apart from others, click here.

FACULTY FOCUS: This week’s Faculty Focus is on Bre Myers, AuD ‘06, PhD ‘17, CH-AP. Read about Dr. Myers’ distinguished career at Salus, why she named her bulldog Scarlet and about her experience in the rough and tumble world of roller derby. Go to salus.edu/BreMyersFocus.

SLP MOVIE NIGHT: The Department of Speech-Language Pathology is hosting a movie night featuring the documentary “Magnolia’s Hope,” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 21, in Room S300 on the Elkins Park campus. The film is about a girl with Rett Syndrome, a rare genetic neurological disorder that leads to severe impairments affecting nearly every aspect of her life. Following the film, the movie’s creator will join the group for a question-and-answer session.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Yesterday the Surgeon General of the United States issued an advisory warning the American Public about the threat of health misinformation. In the advisory, Dr. Vivek Murthy stated, “Health misinformation is an urgent threat to public health. It can cause confusion, sow mistrust, and undermine public health efforts, including our ongoing work to end the COVID-19 pandemic”. As we attempt to get more of our population vaccinated, this issue becomes more critical as data suggests over 65% of unvaccinated adults have heard at least one of these COVID vaccine myths and either believed it to be true or were not sure how valid it was (KFF website, May, 2021). Unfortunately, an analysis of social media posts found that false news stories were 70% more likely to be shared than true stories (Science, 2018). As healthcare professionals, it’s our responsibility to ensure that we are giving our patients and clients fact-based information concerning these vaccines. It’s also our responsibility to get vaccinated and set the example for others. Given the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the virus, even with all this misinformation being purposefully distributed, I’m totally amazed that there are people who still refuse to get the jab. It makes no sense, especially since COVID-19 is now a preventable disease with the vaccine.

To that end, I want to remind everyone that our deadline for being fully vaccinated, unless you have an approved exemption, for all students, faculty and staff, is August 13th. If you are not fully vaccinated at that time, you will be asked to show proof of a negative test that was performed that week at your own expense. You will then have to provide proof of negative tests weekly, at your own expense, in order to come on to campus. You will also be required to wear a face mask at all times when on campus and in the clinics, even with a negative test result. Faculty and staff, please ensure that you have reported your vaccination status in our vaccination database. It is essential that we keep our vaccination data current. Students, you will be contacted by Castlebranch to provide your vaccination information in the near future.

Maintaining a safe Salus campus is paramount to getting us back to normal academic and clinical operations this Fall. Having us all vaccinated gets us there! We’ve done so well until now, let’s keep it going!

As we approach the weekend, please remember to keep doing all the important things we’ve been doing to get us through the pandemic to include frequent hand washing and not coming to work, school or clinic if you are not feeling well. Also, if you’re not vaccinated, please wear a face mask when around others and for those of us who are vaccinated, you should feel comfortable wearing a face mask whenever you feel it’s needed.

Stay safe, stay hydrated and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Get That Vaccination Now: Week of July 9th, 2021

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

Good morning from a pretty soggy Elkins Park campus as Tropical Storm Elsa has been paying us a visit throughout the night. All of this morning’s rain hasn’t dampened the excitement of our Summer Enrichment Program students who started their in-person classes this week. Students from most of our other programs have also been very engaged in classes and labs which makes our campus a very busy, but fun place to be in the summer. In addition to all the great things happening on campus, here are some things that will also interest you:

NOA VIRTUAL CONVENTION: The National Optometric Association (NOA) 2021 Annual Convention is virtual this year. Starting today through Sunday, July 11, the online event will provide 15 hours of COPE approved continuing education. The chair of the National Medical Association (NMA) Ophthalmology section, Dr. Ninita Helen Brown, MD, PhD, will present with NOA president Dr. Sherrol A. Reynolds along with many more well-known speakers. To see the full schedule and register for a session or two over the weekend, click here. 

CIAO – CHOW: Last night we said farewell to our outgoing PCO residents and welcomed our class of new residents at the annual Ciao-Chow event. While normally held at one of our PCO faculty’s homes, this year we opted to hold the event at the Hafter Center to allow for more social distancing. As always, the evening allowed everyone to let our outgoing class of residents know how much we appreciated working with them and wish them the best as they prepare to launch their optometric careers and also welcome our new residents to the PCO/Salus team.

PCO WINS ESSILOR STUDENT BOWL: I know I wrote an addendum about this last week, but it’s so fantastic, I wanted to ensure it was included in the “real version” of the update. The Pennsylvania College of Optometry won the Essilor Student Bowl at Optometry’s Meeting last Friday evening in Denver!! Now, they just didn’t win it, they crushed it - one team member, in particular deserves special mention - Tyler Lesko - he pretty much carried the ball the whole length of the field for the event. We plan on honoring Tyler sometime in the near future but he needs to know how much we appreciate his efforts in bringing the Bowl back to PCO/Salus! Well done Tyler and our entire PCO team.

STUDENT AMBASSADORS: Salus University now has 17 students representing various academic programs who serve as student ambassadors at University events both on campus and in the community. Meet the student ambassadors representing what our Salus community is all about in the first of a three-part series.

NEW SALUS BOARD CHAIR: I am pleased to announce that, effective 1 July, Ms. Rebecca Delia became Chairwoman of our Board of Trustees. Ms. Delia joined our Board in 2018 and currently serves as Chair of the Finance Committee and a member of the Executive Committee and the Audit & Compliance Committee. She is currently Senior Vice President of Financial S&lutions LLC, a financial advisory firm to colleges and universities. Ms. Delia is a member of the advisory council for the Women’s Leadership Network of the United Way of the Capital Region and a Founding Board Member of Ladies First, a professional association of women engaged in the public finance industry.

FITNESS CENTER REMINDER: Sign-ups are still required for the Fitness Center at Hafter. You must reserve a workout block before you arrive, which you can do 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, must bring your Salus ID to scan into the building and must be vaccinated to utilize the Fitness Center. 

FACE MASKS: A reminder that if you’re working in any of our clinics or clinical procedure labs, you are required to wear a face mask, whether or not you are vaccinated. While required in those two areas, if you feel more comfortable wearing a face mask anywhere else on campus, please feel free to do so. All unvaccinated individuals are required to wear a face mask at all times while on campus and in our clinics.

OTI VIRTUAL SUMMER CAMP: The Occupational Therapy Institute (OTI) of Salus University is providing a virtual summer camp for children entering kindergarten and first grade. The program began this week and will run through the week of Aug. 9. This camp offers one daily activity, six days per week, to encourage the use of occupation-based skills through play. To read more, click here.

FINAL THOUGHTS: For those of us in healthcare who remember our basic sciences, we all understand that the more chances a virus has to replicate, the more chances it has to mutate. Well, that’s exactly what’s very troubling about all those folks who are refusing to get the very safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.

Fortunately for us, the five largest clusters of unvaccinated people are concentrated in the South and parts of the Midwest (see graphic). Even though Pennsylvania and our surrounding states are in much better shape, these large cohorts of unvaccinated people present a risk to all of us as they provide a host for the virus to replicate and potentially mutate to other, more virulent forms that might be resistant to existing vaccines. Right now, the current vaccines are very effective against all the variants of the virus, but there is no guarantee that will remain the case if given the chance to mutate on a larger scale. Given that fact, it is imperative for all of us to continue to help educate and convince those not vaccinated to get it done NOW. Not only are those unvaccinated people placing themselves at great risk, but they risk ruining the great progress we’ve had in slowing the spread of the virus. As a reminder, Salus will be requiring all students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated by August 13th, unless they have an approved medical or religious exemption.

If you know anyone not vaccinated, help them understand their decision doesn’t just affect them; it also affects all of us! We’re all in this together.

Have a great weekend. Be safe, stay hydrated in this heat and humidity, if you’re unvaccinated – GET THE JAB – and remember to wear a face mask when around others, look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Wishing Everyone a Safe and Happy 4th of July Holiday: Week of July 2nd, 2021

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

Good morning from a much cooler but very busy Elkins Park Campus. As we prepare to celebrate the 4th of July holiday, it’s been a busy week around Salus. We’ve named the new members of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee welcomed our newest Residency class to The Eye Institute and Accelerated Scholars Program students to PCO/Salus. In addition to all this, here are some other notable things happening:

DICE DEAN: Congratulations to Melissa Vitek, OD, FAAO, director of the Department of International and Continuing Education (DICE) and assistant professor, who has been named Dean of DICE (that can be construed very differently if we were in Atlantic City or Las Vegas! Sorry, couldn’t pass that one up!) Dr. Vitek has provided her department with excellent leadership, playing a crucial role in the success and progression of international and continuing education students at Salus University.

BLACK EYECARE PERSPECTIVE: Salus University alumni are leading a dialogue asking for 13 percent Black representation in the optometry community through the Black EyeCare Perspective. In the last story of the three-part series, Essence Johnson, OD ‘10, shares her experiences surrounding her journey to becoming an optometrist, including the PCO Summer Enrichment Program (SEP), which recently relaunched as the Robert E. Horne SEP after a six-year hiatus. Read more about Dr. Johnson here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week's Where Are They Now features Elizabeth Patterson, AuD ‘09, who has been a practicing audiologist for more than a half century, serving as a preceptor to several Salus OCA students over the years. She's developed an expertise in the areas of hearing aids and diagnostic testing for all ages. Read more about Dr. Patterson's career and the wisdom she would like to share with fellow audiologists here.

FOCUS ON NEW FACULTY: The Faculty Focus this week is on Stephanie Holt, OD ‘04, Resident ‘05, who recently joined the faculty as an assistant professor, working and teaching in the Clinical Skills Lab as well as teaching Clinical Problem Solving. Click here to read more about how faculty inspired her as a PCO/Salus student – and an ice hockey player – years ago.

STUDENT HOUSING PODCAST: Join Monae Kelsey, associate director of Student Engagement and assistant director of Admissions at Salus University, as she guides students through all of the housing options, including resources and locations, available to incoming and current Salus students. Click here to listen.

OCA APPOINTMENTS: Bre Myers, AuD ‘06, PhD, CH-AP, three-year track program coordinator and associate professor, has been named assistant dean for Foundations; and Jonette Owen, AuD ‘03, MS, assistant dean for Clinical Education and assistant professor, has been promoted to associate dean for Clinical Education. To read more about the impacts they have made on OCA at Salus and their new roles, click here. 

OPTOMETRIC GRAND ROUNDS: The next Grand Rounds at The Eye Institute (TEI) will be from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Friday, July 9. The topic will be "Fluorescent Affliction: A Functional Fix for a Photophobic Patient" presented by Dr. Gabriel Fickett. For more information about Grand Rounds, click here.

MSCHE MOMENT: Our Middle States (MSCHE) accreditation process continues to move forward with our draft self-study completed. We had a very positive initial meeting with the Chairman of the accreditation team earlier this week. She had a couple of recommendations to help bolster the self-study, which we are already addressing.

COVID-19 DELTA VARIANT: There is a great deal of information concerning the Delta variant of the virus currently in the news. While the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the wearing of facemasks indoors for vaccinated people, the CDC has not followed suit. The WHO must take into consideration all of those countries around the world that have extremely low vaccination rates. CDC’s focus is only on the U.S. We are watching this very carefully and will continue to follow CDC’s guidance. Of note, we are closely monitoring the positivity rates in our region, all of which are well below 0.75%. Vaccine rates are also relatively high, with people over 65 having one or more doses at 99.9% and people older than 12 at about 74%. If things change we will quickly pivot to ensure everyone’s safety.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Like many of you, this year I am very much looking forward to celebrating the 4th of July holiday with family and friends. Unlike last year when we pretty much had to remain home, thanks to safe and effective vaccines, most of us can safely get out and about. No matter what you end up doing for the holiday, whether it be having picnics, enjoying parades and fireworks, or just relaxing at the beach, Independence Day also provides an opportunity to reflect on the true meaning of being an American.

The Declaration of Independence makes it clear that being an American is about much more than the place we call home. It’s a deep commitment to higher principles: equality, liberty, opportunity, and self-governance. As healthcare providers, it also inspires the spirit of caring and respect for others – even if they don’t see the world the same way we do. As we approach this year’s holiday, please take some time to reflect on all the positive things we have in the United States that have enriched our lives and have given us the opportunities to help enrich the lives of others. We’re certainly not perfect – as a nation, we’ve got some important work to do – but compared to other places I’ve been to, we are lucky to be Americans.

Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend. Stay safe, have fun, use lots of sunscreen, stay hydrated, if your unvaccinated, wear your face mask when around others and come back ready to hit the deck running SALUS STRONG!

Mike