Vote Next Week: Week of November 4, 2022

 

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

Good morning on this beautiful Fall morning where our Elkins Park and East Oak Lane campuses have been buzzing with activity. We are nearing completion of minor renovations to The Eye Institute that will improve the patient check-in process and flow. And, of course, we are watching the Phillies, Eagles and Union!

Here are some other items of interest:

LOOKING OUT FOR KIDS: We are excited about our upcoming Looking Out For Kids charity fundraiser at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. This year’s event will be held at the National Constitution Center where we will honor Professor Kovin Naidoo with our Lighthouse Award. If you haven’t already purchased your tickets, please consider going to our website here to help us provide healthcare for children in need.

VACCINATION EVENT: On Wednesday, Nov. 9 from 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. in the Hafter Center gym Salus will host a vaccination event, in collaboration with Walmart Pharmacy, that will provide the new bivalent COVID booster as well as the Flu vaccination.

EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION: This Sunday, Nov. 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. there will be the "Excellence in Education” annual conference in tribute to the late Dr. Joseph C. Toland, a PCO graduate and professor with more than 40 years of service. His avid support of optometric education and residency training have shaped how we practice optometry. Salus University extends our deepest respect and gratitude to Dr. Toland. In his honor, all proceeds from this annual event will directly benefit our residency program. Click here for more information, and here to register.

OT FACULTY FOCUS: Being in on the ground floor of establishing Salus University’s Occupational Therapy (OT) department was a memorable time for Caitlyn Foy, DOT, MOTR/L. Read more about Dr. Foy’s role in that here in this week’s Faculty Focus.

RESIDENCY CLASS OF 2023: Ryan Keenan, OD ‘22,’23 Resident, knew he wanted to get into healthcare when he entered college and explored several professions through volunteer opportunities. Now he’s one of our residents and he says his residency is everything he expected. Read more about Dr. Keenan here.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME TO END: Remember to set your clocks back one hour on Saturday night as Daylight Savings Time ends at 2AM Sunday morning. We all get an extra hour of sleep!

FINAL THOUGHTS: Last week I wrote about the imperative of exercising your right and responsibility to vote for your candidate of choice on election day. Our democracy, and the right to vote, are more fragile than most realize. Your vote helps ensure that your voice is heard.

The day is now upon us: Tuesday, Nov. 8th. If you have not filed your mail-in ballot, please make time to vote!

As you consider for whom you will vote, check candidate voting records that can help predict how candidates will vote in the future. Remember that social media posts tend to represent opinions rather than facts. Verify facts using multiple sources before taking a position.

The weather is going to be amazing this weekend! Try to get out and enjoy it while we still have it! As you go about your activities over the weekend, please remember CDC masking guidelines and be cognizant of your surroundings at all times. If you haven’t already been vaccinated with the new COVID bivariant vaccine and flu vaccine, please try to register for our campus event or get them at your local pharmacies. It’s the safe and responsible thing to do.

Be safe, remain vigilant and stay SALUS STRONG!

Exercising Your Right To Vote To Preserve Our Democracy: Week of October 21, 2022

 

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

Good morning! It’s a beautiful, cool Fall morning in Elkins Park where I hope everyone is as energized as I am! With our commencement ceremony in the rearview mirror, our planning for the Spring is underway with lots to do between now and then! Planning for the renovation of the first floor, south building is nearly complete. I can’t wait for construction to begin! Here are some other items of interest:

A DAY OF PRIDE: Eighty-eight graduates from our Osborne College of Audiology (OCA) and the College of Health Sciences, Education and Rehabilitation (CHER) received master’s and doctorate degrees at our 125th commencement ceremony last week. Click here to read more about the special day.

‘COVID CLASS’ GETS ITS LONG WHITE COATS: The 47 students in the Salus Physician Assistant (PA) Studies Class of 2022 walked into the Hafter Center for their Long White Coat ceremony Oct. 12 to the strains of “Celebration,” the 1978 hit by Kool and the Gang. The “COVID Class” as it was known was ready to finally celebrate. Click here for more about the ceremony.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ADVOCACY: Salus student Weilong Li ‘23PA understands his impact on future generations of Physician Assistants (PA) and is using his personal platform to advance the PA profession. Read more about his efforts here.

CLASS OF 2022-23 RESIDENT: Since she was little, Allison Raff, OD ‘22, ’23 Resident, knew she wanted to be a doctor. While an undergrad student at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, she learned about different professions and decided she wanted to have a specialty. Now she’s one of our residents. Read more about Dr. Raff’s journey here.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Exercising our right and responsibility to vote is core to a functional democracy, and especially critical now, as a woman’s right to choose, health equity, gun control, economic stability, national defense and other consequential issues are hotly debated. Every one of the professions we train at Salus is statutorily regulated. Because of this, it is extremely important to understand where candidates stand on scope of practice issues, as well as all the other issues, no matter what profession you serve.

As we approach election day, I anticipate the ads we see will become more frequent and negative. I strongly encourage you to seek out multiple, reliable, unbiased sources of information when deciding for whom to vote. The U.S. government has a helpful guide with resources for making informed choices. Likewise, candidate voting records can predict how candidates will vote in the future. Social media posts tend to represent opinions rather than facts. I try to keep this in mind and verify facts using multiple sources before taking a position.

If you have not yet registered to vote, it’s not too late. In Pennsylvania, the deadline to register to vote is October 24th. If you decide to vote by mail or require an absentee ballot, it must be requested by November 1st and received by November 8th in order for it to be counted.

As you prepare for the weekend, get out and enjoy the Fall colors, which should be peaking around here. If you haven’t yet gotten your COVID bivariant booster and Flu shot, please get those scheduled as soon as you can. I’d like to ensure that we’re fully protected as we get closer to the holidays. Stay safe, remain healthy and stay SALUS STRONG!

-Mike

Congratulations New Grads: Week of October 14, 2022

 

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

Greetings on a beautiful fall morning from our Elkins Park campus. It’s been a busy week at Salus. On Wednesday, we celebrated our newest class of physician assistants with our Long White Coat ceremony. Yesterday, our 125th commencement at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia launched our latest group of graduates with inspirational remarks given by Admiral Tom Cullison. We look forward to watching our graduates spread their wings as they leave our nest. Check out our website in the coming days for stories on both of those events.

In other campus news:

THE FIRST OF MANY ‘FIRSTS’: The inaugural class of the new Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P) program at Salus University recently had its first patient experience in a didactic setting. And, its relevance wasn’t lost on the students. Read more about this unique experience for our O&P students here.

CLASS OF 2022-23 RESIDENT: As a child, Taral Patel, OD ‘22, ‘23 Resident, liked going to the eye doctor. As a youngster with eye issues, she needed to see an optometrist every year, and each time she went, it was a good experience. Read more here about Dr. Patel’s journey to becoming an optometrist and continuing her quest to learn as one of our current group of residents.

O&M GRANT: The University’s Orientation and Mobility (O&M) program received a grant from the Reader's Digest Partners for Sight Foundation to support its internship programs. Read more here about what that means for our O&M students.

STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS: As the cost of higher education skyrockets, I know many students are worried about paying off their loans. The Bennett Career Services Center will be hosting an event on Student Loan Forgiveness & Non-Traditional Employment Options on Thursday, October 20th on the Elkins Park campus, room S300 from 6:00PM – 7:30PM. They be featuring several government, non-profit, military, etc. programs that offer student loan forgiveness. Don't miss your chance to learn about these life-changing programs!

LOOKING OUT FOR KIDS: I want to remind everyone about our upcoming Looking Out For Kids charity fundraiser on 12 November at 6:30 PM. This year’s event will be head at the National Constitution Center where we will be honoring Professor Kovin Naidoo with our Lighthouse Award. If you haven’t already purchased your tickets, please consider going to our website here to help us provide healthcare for children in need.

FINAL THOUGHTS: It’s been a great week! I want to once again wish all our graduating professionals the very best of everything as they leave Salus and begin their new and exciting professional careers.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. It’s going to be a pretty one, so try to get out and enjoy some of the early Fall colors. If you already haven’t, please schedule your Covid and Flu vaccines. CDC is predicting an upsurge of both as we approach winter, and I want to be certain that we have as much protection as possible.

Stay safe, continue to look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!

-Mike

Addressing Climate Change: Week of September 30, 2022

 

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

Greetings from our Elkins Park campus on a cloudy Fall morning! It’s been another busy week on campus where our students have been learning new clinical skills, going to lectures and caring for our patients in our clinics. In addition to our campus activities, here are some things that may also be of interest to you:

VISUALLY IMPAIRED SUBWAY TRAVEL: Our Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS) Department engaged in a subway travel lesson this summer as a part of its Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Techniques course. Click here for details as student Suha Almusa O&M ‘22 explains more about navigating subway travel as an individual with visual impairment.

CLASS OF 2023 RESIDENT: Alisha Musau, OD, Resident ‘23 was a biology major at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Although she knew she wanted to be in healthcare, she wasn’t quite sure which path she wanted to pursue. A routine eye exam and conversation with her optometrist set her on a career path to optometry, and now she’s one of our newest residents. Read more about Dr. Musau here. 

ARTICULATION AGREEMENT WITH SJU: We’re excited to announce our first articulation agreement with Saint Joseph’s University (SJU) making it easier for qualified SJU students to achieve a masters of science in our College of Health Sciences, Education and Rehabilitation (CHER) Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program. For details of the agreement, click here.

DEPRESSION SCREENINGS: National Depression Screening Day is Thursday, Oct. 6. Our Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) is offering free, brief depression screenings from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in its offices (W300 B,C,E) that day. Walk-ins are welcome.

GIVING WEEK: Join us for the Annual Salus Giving Week, October 2-8, 2022, by supporting funding for student scholarships, capital improvements, and community outreach. Your donation enables us to continue providing high-quality education to all of our students and underserved communities in the Philadelphia area. For more information, click here.

FINAL THOUGHTS: As we prepare to experience the remnants of Hurricane Ian this weekend, with forecasts of tropical rainstorms locally, please keep those in Florida, where the storm has already left a path of death and destruction in the southwestern part of the state in your thoughts and prayers. As Ian heads toward the Carolinas and into our region, it brings into clear focus the effects of climate change on our environment. We can expect stronger, more frequent storms like this one, and we need to be prepared. Climate change presents a clear and present challenge to those of us who are responsible for the maintenance of public health in our society. As healthcare providers, many of us will need to be prepared to diagnose and treat more water and vector-borne diseases such as West Nile fever and antibiotic resistant infections. Now is the time to ensure that the next generation of health care professionals are prepared to effectively care for patients and clients under their charge. The CDC provides guidance on both what we can do and what is needed. I encourage you to become knowledgeable and active in broader efforts to strengthen and invest in our public health infrastructure.

Please keep all affected by the hurricane in your thoughts and prayers over the weekend. Please be careful, especially if you are out and about tomorrow, as we are forecasted to get significant rainfall. This could be a great weekend to curl up with your study notes or a good book! No matter what you do, please keep in mind that what you do off campus affects all of us on campus, so continue to follow CDC masking guidelines and stay on the alert for symptoms of Monkeypox if you believe you’ve been exposed.

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

-Mike

Doing the Right Thing: Week of July 8th, 2022

 

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

Good morning on a beautiful July day from our Elkins Park campus. It’s been another busy week at Salus with our summer semester just about half done. Our students and faculty have been engaged in lectures, labs and clinics in addition to fieldwork and externships around the country. Here are some additional things you might find interesting:

CSD OPEN HOUSE: Our Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) open house is set to welcome all this Monday, July 11, at our Elkins Park campus. Don't miss out on this opportunity to connect and engage with current students and renowned faculty, tour our campus and state-of-the-art clinical facilities and learn to navigate the application process.

BLAUSTEIN AWARD WINNERS: Wayne Tan, OD ‘21, Resident ‘22, on-campus resident at The Eye Institute (TEI), along with Tina Choe, OD ‘20, Resident ’22, off-campus resident, have been named the Bernard Blaustein Residents of the Year for the residency class of 2022 by the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University. The award is named for Bernard Blaustein, OD ‘67, FAAO. For six years, from 2003 through 2009, Dr. Blaustein managed the On-Campus Residency Programs. In addition to educating students at PCO, he spent time as chief of the Optometry Service at the VA Medical Center in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and in private practice before retiring in 2018. To read more, click here.

OT FIELDWORK: Check out our latest podcast featuring two, second-year occupational therapy students, Xin Song and Michelle Berg, who are completing their fieldwork at the Occupational Therapy Institute (OTI) of Salus University. They talk about the unique clinical and management skills that they've gained, and how they'll utilize them in their future healthcare careers. Click here for details.

QUIZ BOWL CHALLENGE: April Mishley ‘23 OD knew that she had to be lightning-quick to compete in the Quiz Bowl at the annual meeting of the American Optometric Association (AOA) and the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA). To find out how April did, click here.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Over the course of this last year, I’ve been reading the works of the Roman and Greek Stoics, and in particular, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the Roman philosopher and playwright Seneca and slave turned philosopher, Epictetus. What stands out in their work is their contagious optimism and regard for truth and honesty. Here’s a segment that I thought is particularly germane, given current events including today’s horrid assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“Never shirk the proper dispatch of your duty, no matter if you are freezing or hot, groggy, or well-rested, vilified or praised, not even if dying or pressed by other demands. Even dying is one of the important assignments in life and, in this as in all else, make the most of your resources to do well the duty at hand.” -- Marcus Aurelius on Duty and Circumstance

This passage underscores that no matter what circumstance you are confronted with, doing the right thing is generally a clear and intuitive choice. While morality is often complicated and sometimes the difficult path to take, it’s important to take the high road, remember your overall mission, no matter what may be happening around you.

Whether global incidents like the most recent shootings in Highland Park, the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs or today’s dreadful assassination of Prime Minister Abe, or daily occurrences such as your next set of exams or suffering a flat tire on the way to campus, they all have an impact on your daily life. It’s hard to compartmentalize some of these things, but keep in mind that your duty, even under these arduous circumstances, is to remain focused on those skills that you are learning or teaching to help improve the lives of others. That is what we must do – our current and future patients and clients expect no less.

As you prepare for the weekend, please remember to follow CDC masking guidelines, stay hydrated and look out for one another. I’m getting ready to depart on a short vacation but will try to reach out from where I’ll be next Friday. Stay safe, stay smart and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Keeping COVID Victims in Our Thoughts: Week of April 2nd, 2021

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

It’s been a relatively short week. I know that students, faculty and staff have been busy preparing for board exams and clinical practicals, in addition to attending virtual and in-person classes and providing patient care in our clinics. Here’s some of what’s going on around our Salus Community:

HOLY DAYS: This time of year includes several cultural and holy days that are significant to many in our community: 

• Passover (March 28 - April 4) — The Jewish holiday observed for eight days (sundown to sundown) celebrates the Israelites being freed from slavery in Egypt.
• Holi (March 29) — An annual Hindu festival held in the spring to signify the triumph of good over evil, the end of winter, and the arrival of spring and the harvest.
• Holy Week (March 28 - April 4) — Holy Week is a Christian observance from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, as a time of devotion to the Passion of Jesus, who died on Good Friday and rose on Easter Sunday to give new life to all who believe.

SAVE THE DATE: Mark your calendars for this year’s Osborne College of Audiology (OCA) Externship Celebration. The virtual event will be held on April 27, 2021, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of the Class of 2022 as they journey into externship. This year's event will be interactive with trivia and a few other surprises. Please click here to RSVP to the event.

BEHIND THE SCENES: In the latest episode of “Behind the Scenes at TEI,” we get some insights from Jeffrey Nyman, OD, FAAO, director of emergency services at The Eye Institute (TEI), and its most senior staff member. The nature of emergency care can be unpredictable, but Dr. Nyman gives us an inside look at how his day unfolds. To read more, click here. 

FACULTY FOCUS: This week’s Faculty Focus is on Amy Lustig, PhD, MPH, CCC-SLP, assistant professor in the University’s Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program. Dr. Lustig plays guitar, piano, percussion and sings. For years she has had a particular interest in Afro-Cuban and Brazilian folkloric music. Find out more about Dr. Lustig here.

NEW CLASS OF RESIDENTS: Congratulations to the class of newly matched PCO optometry residents. They will be honing their skills in Primary Care/Ocular Disease, Pediatrics/Vision Therapy, Low Vision Rehabilitation, Cornea/Contact Lens and Neuro Ophthalmic Disease. We look forward to seeing you at The Eye Institute this summer!

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Check in on Alexandra Kistner, MS ‘17, and how her career has progressed since graduation in this week’s “Where Are They Now.” A member of the inaugural Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) class in 2015, she is now a speech therapist in the Central Bucks School District in Pennsylvania. To read more about Alexandra, go here.

VACCINE AVAILABILITY: Vaccine availability is becoming more ubiquitous in our region. It’s taken a while to get there but by the middle of this month, any person over the age of sixteen will be eligible. What has been incredible about these new vaccines is how effective (100%) they have been proven to be against severe COVID disease and hospitalizations. If you have not yet had the opportunity to receive either the Johnson & Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, here’s a link to the Commonwealth’s website that will explain the vaccine rollout timeline and help guide you to one of many pharmacies in the area where vaccines will be available. I strongly encourage all of you to get vaccinated as soon as you can. Once you are vaccinated, here is the CDC guidance that outlines what you should and should not do.

FINAL THOUGHTS: As we look forward to having 4-days off from class, clinic and work, I ask that you take a few moments to remember all those who have lost their lives to COVID. To date, over 552,000 Americans have died, with the global toll over 2.8 million people. While we are not yet out of the woods, your perseverance, resiliency, creativity and stamina have allowed all of us to weather this storm better than most. That said, now is NOT the time to let our guard down. We must continue to be vigilant in all we do, even if we’re vaccinated, to help stem the spread of the virus. To that end, please continue to wear your double face mask when around others who are not in your immediate circles and are unvaccinated, continue to socially distance and wash your hands frequently.

Over the course of these next four days, try to take some time for yourselves and get out and enjoy the nice weather. Fresh air and exercise are great for rejuvenating yourself both physically and mentally!

We wish everyone celebrating Passover, Easter or Holi peaceful and restful holidays.

Finally, we are SALUS STRONG because of your unyielding commitment to excellence in everything you do. I look forward to seeing you around campus and clinics next week. Stay safe, stay active and continue to look out for one another.

Mike

Resident's Graduation: Week of June 7th

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

It’s been another busy week at Salus as we get ready to launch a new group of optometric residents later today!  As the summer semester moves into high gear, our students are out and about, learning and practicing in our state-of-the art labs and classrooms and taking care of patients in our clinics around the city. 

I want to offer a heartfelt congratulations to our 38 PCO residents who are graduating later today. Over the past couple of days, we held the annual PCO/Salus Resident's Days where each resident had the opportunity to present lectures on topics including glaucoma, neuro-optometry, anterior segment disease, low vision, contact lenses, pediatrics, vision therapy and traumatic brain injury.  All in all, our residents offered faculty, staff and alumni over 9 hours of COPE approved CE.  Resident's Days will culminate with graduation and a dessert reception in the Hafter Student and Community Center at 1:00 p.m. today. Everyone is invited to attend.

Today we welcome some prospective audiology students who are visiting Salus as a part of our Audiology Learning Experience (ALE).  The students have the opportunity to see a clinical skills demonstration, tour our campus and the Pennsylvania Ear Institute,  receive admissions advising, participate in a faculty panel, and more. If you see them around please say hello!

We recently rolled out SIPQ, the Salus Interprofessional Questionnaire at the Pennsylvania Ear Institute and The Eye Institute’s Chestnut Hill and Falls Center satellites. SIPQ asks patients about vision, hearing, balance, speech and language, voice, and swallowing symptoms they may be experiencing. When fully launched, SIPQ will foster greater collaboration between the clinical facilities of Salus University Health and a more patient-centered approach to care. Kudos to our early adopters! Your experience with SIPQ and your feedback are vital to its success. Special thanks to Drs. Karen Hansen, Lindsay Bondurant, Maria Parisi and Bob Serianni for spearheading this important initiative.

Next Tuesday,  take some time to visit the Learning Resource Center from 12:00 p.m - 2:00 p.m.  to learn about “Strength Against Stress”. Led by a nutrition expert, you can learn how to strengthen yourself against stress with nutrients that help us stay balanced and focused - and sample some delicious piña colada chia pudding!

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the 75th anniversary of D-Day that was yesterday. On June 6th, 1944 allied forces, under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, executed the largest ever amphibious and airborne invasion the world has ever seen on to the beaches of Normandy, France to begin the liberation of Europe from Nazi forces.   Code named, “Operation Overlord” D-Day is often considered one of the most important days in the 20th century as more than 11,000 aircraft, 5,000 ships and over 160,000 allied soldiers from the U.S. Great Britain, Canada, Australia, France, Czechoslovakia, Norway and Poland were assembled to thwart the Nazi war machine.  Confronted with fierce Nazi resistance, resulting in an estimated 10,000 casualties and over 4,000 killed, these members of what has been labeled, “The Greatest Generation”, persevered and established a beachhead that would facilitate the beginning of the end of Hitler’s Nazi regime.  It’s important to remember what these heroes accomplished on this day and those days following the invasion to ensure that liberty and freedom would be restored in Nazi held territories.  These sacrifices have allowed us to live in relative peace, economic prosperity and freedom that has lasted for seventy five years.  Let’s not forget the lessons of the past and the fact that because brave men and women gave their lives back then, we have the opportunities we currently enjoy here and elsewhere in the world. (see attached photos)

Finally, I will be taking a 2 week break from our Salus Weekly Update as Tanis and I will be getting some R&R in the Baltic Region. Enjoy the weekend and make sure you take some time to reflect on those sacrifices made by our fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers during World War II and other conflicts, and if you can, thank them for all they did to give us the freedoms and liberties we now enjoy.



Mike