Addressing Gun Violence in Our Country; Week of February 23, 2024

 

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

Good morning from our Elkins Park campus where Mother Nature cannot decide if it’s winter or spring! This week we hosted our Drexel colleagues for our monthly Salus-Drexel Integration Council meeting. It was great to hear progress reports from our “Thread Leads” on the substantial work undertaken to ensure seamless integration. I know President John Fry joins me in thanking our DEIB/student Life, finance, IT, MARCOM, legal and risk management leads for the work they’re doing with each of the seven verticals. It was also great to welcome Drexel Provost Paul Jensen to provide for faculty a comprehensive overview of Drexel’s strategic plan to faculty. We look forward to inviting Drexel colleagues to a future university wide meeting to share strategic priorities with our faculty and staff. The more we communicate and interact, the more comfortable everyone will feel as we merge our two institutions. Here are some other items I hope you will find of interest:

POWERFUL PARTNERSHIPS: When you get a chance, check out the 2023 President’s Report titled “Powerful Partnerships” by Drexel President John Fry. In addition to reviewing some key milestones and achievements at Drexel from 2023, President Fry addresses the formalized merger agreement between Drexel and Salus and the benefits of such a merger. To read the report, click here.

CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHOR: On top of her busy schedule as a second-year student in the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University, Edesthele Decius ‘26OD released a children’s book titled, “Grandma, Can You See?” on Feb. 6, 2024. The concept of a children’s book came about from her passion for working with/for children. Click here to read more.

SAG NOMINATIONS: If you haven't already done so, please take the time to make your Salus Awards Gala (SAG) nominations and recognize those who have made your experience at Salus great. If you have already made your nominations, please encourage your classmates and faculty members to do the same. Eligible nominations must include a thoughtful description. Nominations will close Friday, March 1, 2024. Nominate Faculty here! Nominate Classmates and Student Organizations here. There are also QR codes around campus that will lead you to the nomination forms.

FINAL THOUGHTS: It’s been a while since I’ve talked about the issue of gun violence in our country, but last week’s mass shooting in Kansas City and this week’s tragic death of a firefighter, police officer and paramedic due to gun violence has once again raised the issue to the forefront of my thoughts. Along with the opioid epidemic, gun violence is a key public health issue uniquely facing our country and more so than any other developed country in the world. Compounding the issue is that of the 50,000 annual deaths by suicide in the U.S. with over fifty percent involving the use of firearms. There has been a 35% increase in deaths by suicide over the past twenty years in the U.S. which is antithetical to what is occurring globally, with deaths by suicide rates decreasing.

It’s not surprising that people who attempt suicide with a firearm are 90% successful as opposed to those who attempt suicide by overdose. Studies suggest that many suicide attempts are likely to have been, “hastily decided upon and to involve little or no planning.”. Following a failed suicide attempt, many go on to live normal lives with only about 7% actually succeeding in committing suicide later in life.

With over 400 million guns circulating in the U.S., it’s fairly easy for many to acquire a firearm. Red Flag laws in some states have proven effective but until these laws are passed more uniformly across the nation, access to firearms by people who should not have one will likely remain easy. In addition to controlling access to firearms, we need to do a much better job in assuring access to mental health assets within communities. Both of these issues will require proactive leadership at all levels of government and civic involvement.

From a public health perspective, it is hard to reconcile why the U.S. has not been more proactive in restricting firearms to those who should not have them and providing mental health support to those in need. As health care providers we have a responsibility to educate our law and policy makers so they can make informed decisions about this often-contentious issue.

As you prepare for this weekend, please check out the references in my update and reflect on how you can help to address this important public health issue. Stay safe, continue to look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!

-Mike

Addressing Our Spiritual Health: Week of February 16, 2024

 

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

Good morning on this bright, crisp, windy morning in Elkins Park. I just returned from attending the annual meeting of the Society of Federal Healthcare Professionals in Maryland where I had the opportunity to listen and participate in discussions with our nation’s federal healthcare leaders. I took the liberty of discussing one presentation, in particular, from Dr. Vivek Murthy, the Surgeon General of the United States, in my Final Thoughts section that I thought we would all benefit from. While I was gone our campus has remained busy and vital between classes, labs and clinical activity. One distressing piece of news to note is the mass shooting in Kansas City, which has put a bit of a damper on things as we mourn the loss of a young lady and all those people, mostly adolescents, who were wounded during this senseless act of gun violence. It needs to stop!

Here are some other, certainly more uplifting things, I hope you will find of interest:

SALUS LOVE STORY: It started off with a toque and ended up with Akirta Sran, OD ‘20, and Brendan Connors, OD ‘20, getting married backwards and without a ring. And along the way, four attempted marriage proposals got delayed on account of rain, just to add another level of uniqueness to a love story that started at Salus University. Read more about this unique wedding tale by clicking here.

SLP CAREER OFF TO A GOOD START: In only seven months since graduating from Salus University’s Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program, Sultana Abdur-Raheem, MS ‘23, has begun to form a budding career as a speech-language pathologist. Click here to read more about how her career is progressing.

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT — O&P: An aspect unique to the Salus University Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P) program is the integrated 18-month clinical residency, where students are immersed in O&P clinical practice and research. Not all graduate O&P programs include an integrated residency, which sets the Salus program apart. Read more here.

PTE CHAPTER RECOGNIZED: This past January, the University’s Delta Mu chapter of Phi Theta Epsilon (PTE), the national honor society for occupational therapy (OT) education, was recognized in the national PTE “Scroll & Pen” newsletter for scholarly work. Click here for details.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Earlier this week, while attending the annual meeting of the Society of Federal Health Professionals, I had the opportunity to hear US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy discuss the importance of spirituality. In addition to physical and mental health, he suggests it is equally -- or some would suggest, more important to pay attention to our spiritual health. Dr. Murthy breaks down spiritual health into four areas: belonging, purpose, awe and inspiration, and service.

We are in the middle of a loneliness epidemic. Across multiple college visits, Dr. Murthy has found a very high percentage of today’s college students who report being lonely most of the time. While people congregate together, very few feel a sense of belonging, which he attributes to excessive social media, smartphone and other technologies that can isolate people, even when they are physically around others. Belonging to groups, clubs, or other ways of doing things in groups helps to mitigate some of the situations that can cause loneliness.

Closely connected to this is feeling a sense of purpose in life. It can be as simple as routinely participating at a soup kitchen to working to solve civic issues in one’s community. The third aspect of spirituality is awe and inspiration. This can be elicited by walking in nature taking in the beauty of the surrounding landscape. The fourth, and possibly one of the most important facets of spirituality, is that of service, doing something for others. Volunteering to help with setting up a party, assisting friends or siblings through hard times are examples of acts of service. Service can be closely related to purpose, which is defined by The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley as “an abiding intention to achieve a long-term goal that is both personally meaningful and makes a positive mark on the world.” Serving as a healthcare provider certainly would check both boxes, as would many other professional and social endeavors that enable us to actively participate in causes larger than ourselves.

Whether we realize it or not, feelings of tiredness, stress and even occasional hopelessness and despair are understandable due to classes, schedules, exams, family challenges, our merger and conflicts happening around the world. By paying attention to and nurturing spirituality, we can better manage our feelings and concentrate on what’s most important to each of us individually.

If you want to learn more about the importance of spirituality, I encourage you to check out Dr. Murthy’s recent “House Calls” where he discusses this in-depth with Dr. Lisa Miller, a psychologist who has worked on this for many years.

As you prepare for this weekend, I encourage you to think about Dr. Murthy’s advice and how you might begin to incorporate some of his ideas into your daily routines. Be safe, continue to look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!

- Mike

Remembering Black History Month: Week of February 9, 2024

 

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

Greetings on this beautiful February morning from our Elkins Park campus. It’s been another busy week -- welcoming our Drexel colleagues to our beautiful facilities to show them our programs and to mix, mingle and talk about our combined future. Special thanks to our deans and program directors, admissions, student life and student ambassadors, Kristen Dittrich and Jennifer Brown in Academic Affairs, TLS, LRC, facilities, security, housekeeping, and dining services staff for organizing and supporting this event. Here are some other items that I hope you will find interest in:

ALL THINGS SLP: In our latest podcast, we discuss all things clinical for the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program at Salus University with Taylor Evans, office manager for the Speech-Language Institute, Robert Serianni, MS, CCC-SLP, chair and program director of the SLP department, and Kara Maharay, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, director of clinical education for the SLP department. Click here for details.

YOUNG AUD ALUMNI: Make sure to check out this interesting and informative question and answer session with one of our young alumni from the Doctor of Audiology program, Payton Burke, AuD ‘21. For more, click here.

STUDENT ADVISORY BOARD: Raman Badh ‘26OD, a second-year student at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University, is one of 18 current optometry students from across the country named to the Women in Optometry student advisory board. She has been enthusiastic about immersing herself in clinical experiences this semester to further develop her skills in delivering quality eye care. Women In Optometry (WO) is an online publication that targets the fast-growing female OD segment. It caters to women ODs’ professional informational needs with one key distinction: articles are written from the uniquely female perspective.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Since 1976, February has been designated Black History Month, providing an opportunity to learn, reflect and acknowledge the accomplishments of Black Americans. While there is much rich history to explore, I am always drawn to the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen. This group of highly talented and motivated Black pilots, who trained at several, segregated, Black only, Tuskegee, Alabama airfields, was assigned to multiple escort and bomber squadrons throughout World War II. Eventually, they combined into a single squadron, the 332nd Fighter Group in Europe. Their primary mission was to escort bombing missions over Germany and other occupied territory in Europe and Africa. They earned the reputation of being among the best fighter pilots the Army Air Corps (predecessor to the U.S. Air Force) had with multiple commendation awards along the way.

It wasn’t until 1947, under President Truman, that the Army Air Corps and later the entire U.S. military was integrated. We’ve come a long way since then. In 1940 Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr, a former Tuskegee Airman, became the first Black American general officer in the U.S. Army and later served in the U.S. Air Force. Since then, there have been many others. Colin Powell became the first Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989 and Secretary of State for President George W. Bush in 2001. General Lloyd Austin became the first Black Secretary of Defense in 2021. Vice Admiral Samuel Gravely was selected as the first Black Navy Admiral in 1971. He retired as a Vice-Admiral several years later. In 2022, Gen. Michael E. Langley became the first Black four-star in Marine history. Most are unaware that the Tuskegee Airmen have a presence in Philadelphia, with an office at Enon Tabernacle East (2800 Cheltenham Ave.). You may visit this link to find out more about the local chapter and visiting the office.

As you prepare for the weekend, please take time to reflect on the contributions and accomplishments of Black soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines throughout history. They all have played a role in preserving the freedoms we all enjoy today. Be safe, continue to look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!

- Mike

Placing Quality and Safety Above Profitability: Week of February 2, 2024

 

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

Good morning on this first Friday in February, Groundhog Day! It appears that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow so we should have an early Spring! We’ll see!

It’s been an extremely busy week on campus as we hosted our all-volunteer Board of Trustees for their annual and quarterly meetings, held a Community Meeting to discuss what we’ve learned about the merger with Drexel to date with faculty and staff and shared similar information with our student leaders. In addition to all that, our classes, clinics and labs have remained busy and productive. Here are some additional items I hope you will find of interest:

MYTH BUSTERS: Hear from Salus University faculty across academic programs as they bust common, program-specific healthcare myths. Read about these common healthcare myths here.

BLVS PODCAST: Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS) alumni Katelyn (Kate) Maffei, MEd ‘21, TVI, VRT, and Kinshasa Coghill, MS ‘02, CLVT, CVRT, OMS, and current student Carolyn Pijanowski, '24VRT, '24O&M, share what a day in the life of a BLVS professional looks like, in addition to giving a sneak peak into Salus University’s programs. Check out the podcast here.

DAY IN THE LIFE: Follow second-year Occupational Therapy student Madison DeLong ‘24OT through a day in her life on her level 2 fieldwork rotation. Read more about Madison’s day here.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I recently read an article in the New York Times that discussed how the change in corporate culture at Boeing from one of quality, safety and superior aircraft design to attaining maximum profitability has had a significant impact on what was their stellar reputation for safety. It prompted me to reflect on the American healthcare system, which has been leaning in this direction for many years.

As healthcare institutions across the country placed more emphasis on productivity by counting Relative Value Units (RVUs) and Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs), the focus on quality declined as cost and productivity became key drivers. Unquestionably, both cost and productivity are important factors in any business, but just like Boeing, the healthcare industry has a sacred responsibility to those in our care to ensure that quality and safety are the primary measures of success.

As students preparing to enter the American (and in some cases Canadian) healthcare systems, you have an opportunity to help introduce a change in culture. Our Oath to Professionalism states that, “I will uphold and honorably promote by example and action the highest standards, ethics and ideals of my chosen profession.” Providing high quality and safe care clearly falls within that charge.

Healthcare should be value based – meaning our patients and clients should always expect high quality, safe care at a reasonable price. Outcomes should drive ultimate costs. While significant discussion has surrounded this method of remuneration, there is little to show in execution. If quality and safety are first, improved health outcomes should follow. Providing healthcare with a profit-only focus leads to reduced health outcomes, dissatisfied patients, clients and providers.

As you prepare for this weekend, please think about how you will influence our healthcare systems to return to a quality, safety and value-based system. Today’s disjointed, expensive and embarrassingly ineffective system is not sustainable. 

Be safe, continue to look out for one another and come back SALUS STRONG next week!

- Mike