Gun Violence is a Public Health Crisis: Week of December 2, 2022

 

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

Good morning from our Elkins Park campus. It’s a nice crisp December morning here, reminding us that winter is nipping at our heals! Even with the colder weather outside, things are heating up inside as our students and faculty prepare for final exams and new and exciting clinical rotations. In addition to all that’s happening on campus, here are some other areas of interest I hope you will read about:

NEW NSSLHA BOARD: The National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA)’s chapter at Salus University welcomes a new executive board; Stevie Goldman ‘23SLP, as president, Alyssa Dallmer ‘23SLP, as vice president, Jess Kusters ‘23SLP, as treasurer and Emily Steinslofer ‘23SLP as secretary. The purpose of NSSLHA is to support students within the communication sciences and disorders professions as they prepare for their future careers. Read more here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Healey Miller, MSOT ‘21, ‘23OTD, focuses on people. But after coming out of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she was wondering what career path she was going to take. She then decided to attend Salus University to pursue OT as her career. Read more here about what Healey’s doing now.

FACULTY FOCUS: The path to Salus University has taken Maria Boka, MSPAS, PA-C, to quite a few different places. Click here to find out what route she took to become one of the newest members of the faculty in the University’s Physician Assistant Studies program.

SWANKY SOIREE: The annual Salus Soiree, held Nov. 18, attracted approximately 225 students — all transported to the museum from the University’s Elkins Park campus in four school buses — all dressed to the nines and ready to party. Read more about the evening here.

VACCINATION EVENT: We will host a vaccination event Wednesday, Dec. 7, from 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. in the Hafter Center gym. In collaboration with Walmart Pharmacy, the event will provide the new bivalent COVID booster as well as the flu vaccination. Registration is required. Attached is an information sheet with registration information and a list of documents that you will need to bring with you.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Today I wanted to highlight recent research on gun violence, the connection between social determinants of health and this growing epidemic, and local and federal efforts to address it. As I have before, I want to be sure this public health emergency remains on our radar. The more we can learn about this epidemic, the more prepared we will be to curtail its impact on the patients we serve and the broader society.

New data released on Tuesday from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) looks across 32 years of national data and is the first of its kind to track firearm fatality trends over time by intent, demographics and geographics. The findings are striking: 

• Men account for the overwhelming percentage of fatalities over time (86% male vs 14% female);
• White, non-Hispanic individuals (61%) comprise the largest share, followed by Black, non-Hispanic (26%), and Hispanic (10%) individuals;
• Males had higher rates of suicide and homicide compared to females, with the highest rates of firearm suicides among White men aged 80-84;
• The sharpest rise in maximum rates of firearm homicides over time has occurred among men aged 20-24 with Black fatality rates rising 22 times higher (up to 142 per 100,000) and Hispanic fatality rates rising 3.6 times higher (up to 23 per 100,000) compared to White men (up to 6 fatalities per 100,000 persons aged 30-34 years).

Importantly, the data shows over time the increase in gun fatalities from west to southeast over the past three decades:

Figure 1: Trends and Disparities in Firearm Fatalities in the United States, 1990-202

JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(11):e2244221. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.44221

I draw your attention to this, as just yesterday, I gave a lecture to students on the effects of social vulnerability on diabetes. Check out the slide below:

Figure 2: Effects of Social Vulnerability on Diabetes. Lecture, 1 December 2022. 

What we see when we compare the maps is this: Socioeconomic status, lowered health outcomes and homicides follow the same geographic patterns. Disparities in health outcomes follow disparities in economic income, access, and stability.

Mounting evidence shows the array of promising responses that make a difference in addressing this complex public health issue:

• Firstly, stronger state policies designed to reduce firearm violence are effective in reducing firearm fatalities (JAMA, Firearm Laws and Firearm Homicides: A Systematic Review, 2017).
• This week I attended a Leadership Breakfast hosted by State Senator Art Haywood in which gun violence was discussed by several experts. They included the establishment of Nightly Street Teams to build relationships with shooters and victims; deploying mental health and social service providers to deliver services to shooters, victims, and their family members; sponsoring frequent job fairs for neighbors in high crime areas; increased police presence and weekly block cleanups. Systemic approaches that strengthen community support while attending to the root causes of gun violence are effective.
• A growing number of resources also address gun violence prevention and related supports. Check out the following:
• CDC’s Gun Violence Prevention website
• Montgomery County Gun Violence Prevention Page
• National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform

As current and future health care providers, we have a responsibility to continue to call attention to this epidemic with our local and federal representatives and to advocate for our patients’ increased resources that improve access and equity in health outcomes.

As you prepare for the weekend, please take some time to think about how you can have an impact on the gun violence epidemic in our region. Change will take time but unless we make the efforts now, nothing will improve.

Please be safe, look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!

-Mike

Salus New Year Message: Week of January 1st, 2021

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

As we prepare to thankfully leave 2020 in our rearview mirrors and welcome in 2021, I want to take this opportunity to thank the entire university community for your continued support, indefatigable resiliency and compliance with our Salus Safety Strategy which has allowed us to effectively provide our world-class programs, overcoming significant challenges along the way. You all rock!

Reflecting upon 2020, with its many challenges, it has been a year of intense focus, clarity and noteworthy achievements, to include the completion of our Standardized Patient Simulation Laboratory; our Occupational Therapy Program received a 10-year reaccreditation; we celebrated milestone professional recognition for several of our faculty and staff members; we recognized 4 outstanding faculty members with the Presidential Medal of Honor; several of our professions have already achieved or are on the road to achieving 100% national board pass rates; we welcomed our new Special Assistant for Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, Dr. Juliana Mosley-Williams; we welcomed our new Dean of the College of Health Sciences, Education and Rehabilitation, Dr. Jim Konopack; we wished Mr. Bill Brichta a fond farewell as he began his retirement and welcomed Ms. Regina Scriven as our new Vice President, Technology and Learning Resources and we recently received a $750,000 Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant from the state to help fund our new Orthotics and Prosthetics program.

While 2021 promises to be much brighter than 2020, we still have a ways to go before we approach any semblance of what we would consider normal. History reminds us that in the midst of a crisis, things might actually get worse before they get better. For example, in late 1944, following the successful D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, it seemed as if the Second World War was all but over. On Dec. 16, with the onset of winter, the German army launched a counteroffensive that was intended to cut through the Allied forces in a manner that would turn the tide of the war in Hitler's favor. Thousands were killed or wounded. The battle that ensued is known historically as the Battle of the Bulge. The U.S. Army ultimately beat back the German offensive, but with great sacrifice, and continued their drive toward Berlin, thus helping to end World War II.

We can draw some parallels from this to what we’re experiencing today. While there are now several vaccines approved for COVID-19 around the world, experts are still predicting a rather grim winter for our country, given the current number of infections and hospitalizations. Thus, it’s imperative that we continue our diligence with wearing face masks, social distancing and frequent hand washing. While these measures are certainly effective, as you know, we have also implemented our “Return to Learn” testing program for all students and clinical faculty returning to campus for scheduled instruction. To date, over 500 people have signed up for their tests and I’m sure others are preparing to do that this week. Remember, you cannot return to campus for your scheduled instruction unless you have evidence of a negative test. Additionally, throughout the semester we will be offering testing solutions to our students returning to campus from their externship, clerkship and other clinical rotations.

There is light at the end of the tunnel as we look towards 2021. We will emerge from this public health emergency stronger, smarter and better prepared for the next time we’re confronted with any emergency that comes our way. We are better healthcare providers, with refined critical thinking skills. 

My staff and I are working hard to ensure we receive the vaccine along with other healthcare professionals at the appropriate time. As you know, we’ve applied to become a COVID-19 vaccine closed Point of Dispensing (POD) that will help to ensure all of us, including our immediate family members, are vaccinated efficiently. Hopefully, that will be approved shortly.

Needless to say, 2020 has been a most challenging year for us all; probably the most in our school’s 100-year history. Personally, I can’t wait to see our classrooms and labs full of students and faculty and be able to show up on campus and not wear a mask and douse my hands with hand sanitizer. But, that will all have to wait. Looking ahead, 2021 does promise to be a much brighter and exciting year. As vaccines become more ubiquitous, and people receive them, things will improve quickly. Salus is a great university because of the students, faculty, staff and volunteer board members that bring our university to life. That has never been more apparent to anyone looking at us than this year. I look forward to working with each and every one of you as we prepare for an exciting 2021 and position ourselves for another year of great accomplishments, growth and successes.

Wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year. Stay safe, stay healthy and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Fall Commencement, Week of October 18th

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

This morning I’m sending this update out from sunny and cool Charleston, South Carolina where I had the opportunity to meet up with Dr. Eckert who is attending the annual conference of the Association of Schools Advancing Health Profession’s annual conference and board meeting.  Our own Dr. Mitch Scheiman will be presenting to the group and Dr. Eckert sits on their board.  I am “double dipping” on this trip as I am also in town to speak at a retirement ceremony for one of my Navy colleagues who will be transitioning after 30 years of service to our great navy and country.  I love it when a plan comes together!

I’d like to give a “shout out” to Dr. Jim Caldwell and Ms. Shannon Boss and their staffs for all the work they did to ensure that Monday’s graduation lunch and long white coat ceremony and Tuesday’s commencement ceremony at the Kimmel Center all went off without a hitch!  Thank you for all the work you do to make it all look easy (and we all know it’s not!).

Closer to home, I'm excited to announce that a Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS) grant proposal has been selected for funding by the Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). The $750,000 grant will support Project MORE: Mentorships for Outcomes Related to Employment, a project designed to alleviate the nationwide shortage of qualified low vision rehabilitation (LVR) and vision rehabilitation therapy (VRT) personnel and address documented employment challenges experienced by individuals with visual impairments. Kerry Lueders, MS, COMS, TVI, CLVT, assistant professor for BLVS will be the Project Director. Congratulations to the whole BLVS team for making this happen! 

During the last week of August, twelve Physician Assistant (PA) students, along with PA faculty members, returned to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for a one-time workshop with Museum educators as a part of a series of workshops called “The Art of Observation.”   NBC10 was there to feature the educational workshop on a segment called “Growing Greater Philadelphia” which aired Tuesday night. You can watch it online here. I encourage you to watch the entire segment as it features local business leaders and entrepreneurs from our region. Our segment starts roughly at 16:30. Thank you to everyone who made this happen!  

Last weekend, Anna Grasso, MS, OTR/L, CAPS, assistant professor of our Occupational Therapy (OT) program, along with two OT students from the Phi Theta Epsilon OT Honor Society volunteered with the Rebuilding Together Philadelphia (RTP) Block Build event in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. During these events, Ms. Grasso and the students were able to provide adaptive equipment and home safety recommendations for homeowners and their families to improve health and safety. Read more about their partnership with RTP at salus.edu/RTP-OT.

This Saturday, the Pennsylvania Ear Institute (PEI) will be hosting its annual Fall Open House from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Audiology students and PEI clinical staff will be hosting tours of PEI, providing hearing screenings, demos of hearing aids and other technology, “meet the experts” talks, and more. If you know anyone who would be interested in stopping by, send them this link to register! 

Also this weekend, students from our Student Academy of Audiology (SAA) will be attending the Pennsylvania Walk4Hearing event at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia. Our students and audiology faculty members will also be providing hearing screenings for this years attendees. For more information visit http://hlaa.convio.net/site/TR?fr_id=2566&pg=entry.

With some of you now finished with mid-terms and others still looking forward to them, I encourage you all to take a “brain-break” and get out to enjoy the pretty fall colors and nice weather.  Have a great weekend – Many of us will be gone next week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Optometry.  For those of you who will be there, please join us for our Alumni and Friends reception on Friday evening in the Orchid Room at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at 7:30PM.

Mike

Cold Weather Won't Stop Our Salus Team from Doing Great Things: Week of February 1st

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

Good morning from a frigid Elkins Park. The temperatures the past couple of days reminds me of living in North Chicago when I would go out for Saturday morning group runs when the temperatures were -10 on some days! Makes my teeth chatter just to think about those days! Cold weather, snow, sleet or rain can’t stop our Salus team from doing great things. This week was no exception.



On Sunday and Monday, our Board of Trustees joined the team that has been working on Scenario Planning for the past six months. As you might recall, we thought it was extremely important to begin to take a long view as it relates to health science education and how Salus should position ourselves to optimally meet the health education needs of the 21st century. Scenario Planning allows us to explore alternate futures that might affect the very complex health education landscape we operate in. Our team, which included student, faculty, administration and Board representation, developed four different scenarios to work from. Each scenario provided an alternate future that may come to pass. While none of the scenarios will be completely accurate, they incorporate many real-world occurrences and provide a framework for us to discuss strategic imperatives that will help to inform our University’s strategic plan and direction over the next several years. We are scheduling town hall meetings to share our findings and seek input from you. (Faculty/staff town hall will be on February 15th, with time and place information to follow; the student town hall is TBD). We are also developing a survey that will be sent out to the entire student body to ensure we’re concentrating on the right strategic priorities from the student perspective. This is an exciting opportunity for us to really define how Salus needs to evolve as an institution so we can continue to provide world-class educational opportunities across and maybe even beyond the broad spectrum of the health sciences. I hope you all embrace this process!

Yesterday, Salus and Rosemont College held a signing event for new articulation agreements for nine of our programs. These include:

Master of Education, Blindness and Visual Impairment (TVI)
Master of Science, Low Vision Rehabilitation (LVR)
Occupational Therapy (MSOT)
Master of Science, Orientation and Mobility (O&M)
Master of Science, Vision Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT)
Master of Medical Science Physician Assistant Studies (PA)
Doctor of Audiology (AUD)
Doctor of Optometry (OD) Traditional program (3 + 4)
Doctor of Optometry (OD) Traditional program (4 + 4)

Entering into these types of partnerships and agreements will become even more essential as the health education landscape continues to change around us. Taking a proactive position such as this will help to ensure both Salus and Rosemont students have access to the very best programs possible.

Today is Dr. Barry Eckert’s first day on the job as our new Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. Please join me in officially welcoming him to the Salus team! As our provost, Dr. Eckert will be responsible for maintaining the University’s academic vision and providing global leadership for all activities related to the academic enterprise of the University.

Centennial story: Here’s some proof that interprofessional education has been in the PCO and then Salus DNA for a long time.

If you get a chance, I encourage you to head over to the Hafter Student Center to check out the “Community Expressions Invitational Show” at our D’Arrigo Family Gallery. Gallery curator Elynne Rosenfeld invited 10 people, some who have shown previously and others who are first-timers to display their works of art. There’s a really nice variety, to include mixed media, oils, acrylics, drawing, photography and wall sculpture. I understand Elynne even invited herself to the display! Check out her four miniatures – they’re easy to pick out.

Finally, while the weather might moderate a bit this weekend, it’s still going to be cold. If you’re doing outdoor stuff, please keep that in mind. If you’re headed to a Super Bowl party, enjoy yourselves but please, if you drink, don’t drive. I’m not rooting for any one team this time around so I hope whoever your team is, they win! How’s that for being noncommittal? Have a great weekend!

Mike