Happy Holidays: Week of December 18th, 2020

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

Good morning from a beautiful, cold, snow-covered Elkins Park campus. While we, happily, didn’t get the 10 -14 inches of snow originally predicted, we got enough to make it look like a winter wonderland. We’ve made it through the semester; face masks, social distancing, virtual classes and all! I look forward to the day when we are mask-less, able to meet in larger groups and see our campus buzzing with activity again! As we get ready to depart on Winter Break, just a few things to leave you with:

WELCOME TO REGINA SCRIVEN: Please join me in welcoming Regina Scriven as the University’s new vice president of Technology and Learning Resource Services. Regina comes to us after serving more than eight years as director of Information Technology for the School of Public Health at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Welcome aboard, Regina. We’re so happy to have you as part of the Salus team. To read more about Regina, go to salus.edu/ReginaScriven.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s “Where Are They Now” features Brittney Hamlett, MMS ‘17, a physician assistant in the Emergency Room at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore. Read more about how Brittney’s career has progressed since her graduation at salus.edu/BrittneyHamlett. 

SLP PODCAST: Check out the first of a five-part ongoing podcast series about the University’s Speech-Language Pathology program. Chair and program director Bob Serianni talks to some of our students from the Class of 2022. Click here to listen to the podcast.

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT DAY: Very special thanks to Jeanne DiVincenzo and her staff at CPPD for leading a very thought-provoking discussion on things we all could be doing to help recognize and alleviate the stress our students, faculty and staff have been experiencing during the pandemic. I found this extremely helpful, personally - thank you! We hope to continue this important discussion next semester.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Congratulations on making it through probably one of the most challenging semesters in our history. I look forward to getting the vaccine and getting on with our normal lives! A Navy tradition I have embraced through the years was who ever had the watch on Christmas Eve was supposed to write a “clever” poem in the logbook. As a junior officer, I had to come up with several. So, I will leave you with this, as we all prepare to get some much-needed rest and relaxation: 

‘Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the campus,

Not a student was stirring, not in clinics or classes;

The finals were finished, the grades were prepared,

In hopes that an “A” soon would be there;

The pandemic has challenged through much of the year,

But even with that, we have all persevered;

A vaccine is in sight,

That sure will end our plight;

With the New Year approaching,

We hope for no masks and in-person toasting;

As we wait for the end of this long misery,

We look to next summer when we’ll be COVID free!

While we wait for that time with patience and hope,

We wish you all peace, rest and time on the slopes.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanzaa to all and to all a good night! 

Be safe, get some rest, and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Hitting the Wall: Week of December 11th, 2020

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

Good morning from a cold and very quiet Elkins Park Campus. As a precaution, with few exceptions, most of our students, faculty and staff are off campus following the Thanksgiving break. Our labs and clinics remain open with plans for clinics and the Elkins Park campus to shut down from 24 December – 4 January. Even with limited activities on campus, much has been happening virtually.

AUDIOLOGY LEARNING EXPERIENCE: The Audiology Learning Experience is scheduled from 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. today. The program includes a program overview, admissions tips, campus tour and more. It's the first time it will be held virtually and so far, 15 prospective students registered.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Our “Where Are They Now” feature this week focuses on Jenae Stiles, OD ‘17, FAAO, who after graduation started a three-year active duty tour with the U.S. Army. Find out how the training she received at Salus helped her handle some complex cases right at the start of her professional career as an optometrist. Go to salus.edu/JenaeStiles.

TOLAND SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT: The Joseph C. Toland Memorial Scholarship winner this year is Heather McKay ‘22OD from Columbia, Maryland. Read about the unique and fun way that Heather found out she won the award by going to salus.edu/HeatherMcKay.

LENGTH OF SERVICE AWARDS: Although the Salus Holiday Party will not be held as usual this year, an important part of the event — the Length of Service Award presentations — will still be conducted. I’ve recorded a video to acknowledge all faculty and staff who recently celebrated a five-year milestone in 2020. Salus has many dedicated employees who have contributed to the success of the University over the years and we look forward to keeping that prestigious list growing. Look for that video and a story on our website before the holidays.

HAPPY CHANUKAH: As Dr. Mosley-Williams acknowledged yesterday in an email to the University community, today marks the first day of Chanukah. I’d like to wish all of our Jewish colleagues and friends a very happy and healthy Chanukah as they celebrate the Festival of Lights.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Many of you know that I have run several marathons, most recently in Berlin last year. Marathoners often describe “hitting the wall” at around mile 20, something I’ve experienced as well. The advice for overcoming this physical and psychological phenomena is to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other and focusing on the finish line and I can tell you it works. Applying this same advice may help us work through the next few months of the pandemic.

Back in March, we thought the pandemic would be over within a couple of months, as opposed to potentially over a year. Right now, many of us are “hitting the wall”. Some have characterized it as pandemic fatigue. I think what people are feeling right now more closely aligns with human nature. We’re just not built to withstand this level of stress, facing the unknown for long periods of time. That’s why it’s imperative, now, more than ever, to concentrate on placing one foot in front of the other to get to the finish line – remaining safe and healthy. In order to do that, we have to maintain trust in our current protocols. While they have been effective to date, we are discussing ways to augment them to continue to keep us safe.

In addition to conducting testing prior to our “Return to Learn” for the Spring Semester, as more cost-effective testing options become available, we are discussing ways we can augment what we are already doing to keep the Salus Community safe and get us all the way through the pandemic. This could include testing students returning to campus from externship or clerkship sites, where appropriate.

We’re also looking forward to when vaccines are being deployed to the general public. We’ve applied to become a vaccine administration site so we can ensure the Salus Community receives the vaccine in a timely fashion. While not guaranteed, we’re hopeful our application is approved. I realize how stressful and tiring this is for everyone. I ask that you continue to hang in there as we look towards the future. We just need to focus on the finish line and we’ll all get there together, I promise.

So, as we approach this weekend, especially in light of the Governor’s increased pandemic restrictions on indoor dining, indoor gym activities, and the number of people who can congregate inside and out, please try to maintain what the U.S. Surgeon General calls the 3 “W’s” - Wear a face mask, Wash your hands and Watch your distance. Try to get outside - away from others - and enjoy the warmer weather. It won’t be long before it gets much colder!

Please continue to act responsibly and remain SALUS STRONG! If you would like to talk with one of our counselors at CPPD, just hit the link here to get an appointment.

Mike

Dealing with the Stress and Preventing the Spread of COVID: Week of December 3rd, 2020

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

I wish everyone a good morning from a cold, almost deserted Elkins Park campus. In light of the projected increase in COVID-19 cases secondary to the Thanksgiving holiday, all of our programs made adjustments to minimize their presence on campus and in our clinics to ensure student, faculty and staff safety. That said, our clinics have remained open thanks to our clinical faculty at TEI and those students who are currently assigned to clinical rotations in PEI and SLI. Even with the apparent lack of visible activity on campus, things still continue to happen. These include: 

SIMULATION LAB RIBBON-CUTTING: We cut the ribbon this week on our new state-of-the-art Standardized Patient Simulation Lab that was made possible by a $500,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). Now, all of our students will have the opportunity to work in a genuine clinical setting without having to leave the Elkins Park campus. To read more about the renovation project and what it means to our faculty and students, go here.

A BRIGHTER THANKSGIVING: Thanks to Dean of Student Affairs Dr. James Caldwell; Center for Personal & Professional Development (CPPD) counselor Tami April-Davis; vice president of Finance Don Kates; chief of staff Brian Zuckerman; and Matt Morett, chief manager of the University’s Cafe for Metz Culinary, for putting their heads together to make Thanksgiving a little brighter for our students who chose not to go home for the holiday. They created a “Turkey Gobbler” event that allowed 72 students to get a Thanksgiving dinner while remaining close to campus as opposed to traveling home during the holiday. To read more, check out salus.edu/TurkeyGobbler. 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s “Where Are They Now” feature is on Jenna Fenton, AuD ‘20. While at Salus, Dr. Fenton conducted research on cochlear synaptopathy, also known as hidden hearing loss, with her mentor, Dr. Martin Pienkowski, PhD, associate professor at the University’s Osborne College of Audiology (OCA). Read more about how Dr. Fenton has been able to continue working with hidden hearing loss patients in her professional career at salus.edu/JennaFenton.

LUNCH & LEARN EVENT: The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee’s most recent Lunch & Learn event featured Jeffrey Carroll, PhD, assistant professor of Political Science and the chair of the Center for Data & Society at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. Dr. Carroll offered his perspective on the topic, “2020 Election Results, National Impact and Marginalized Populations.” To read more about that discussion, go to salus.edu/ElectionEffect.

GRAND ROUNDS: The next Grand Rounds at The Eye Institute (TEI) will be at 7:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 11. The virtual event will feature Dr. Dominic Brown on “Triple Threat: Low Vision Rehabilitation Strategies for Central, Peripheral and Hemianopic Vision Loss” and Dr. Preet Dhami on “Ocular Complications of Uncontrolled Diabetes … Starring the Type 1 Diabetic: A Look into Diabetic Retinopathy after Cataract Surgery.” For more information click here.

FACULTY FOCUS: Featured in our Faculty Focus this week is Patricia Martin Mayro, who was one of our first faculty members when the Speech-Language Institute (SLI) opened its doors in 2015. Read more about how the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) department has evolved and Trish’s role in the department here.

PEER MENTORING PROGRAM: Our Peer Mentoring program continues to be strong. The purpose of the program is for second-year students to help first-year students become acclimated to the Optometry, Audiology and Occupational Therapy programs (the Physician Assistant Studies and Speech-Language Pathology programs have their own, separate peer programs). To read more about the program, go to this link.

DEALING WITH STRESS: I know that many of you, in addition to dealing with the stress caused by the pandemic, are also in the midst of preparing for final exams, leaving for externships or other clinical rotations or planning for a trip home for the holidays. I encourage each of you to be looking out for each other. Consider some virtual get togethers or even a small group, socially distanced activity outside to help alleviate some of the stress. You can also make an appointment to speak with any of our counselors in CPPD here.

FINAL THOUGHTS: To those of you who opted not to travel during the Thanksgiving holiday, you have my sincere thanks. There have been a record number of COVID-19 cases both nationally and locally over the last couple of weeks and secondary to holiday travel, most experts expect those numbers to increase even more by early next week.

While the FDA is preparing to issue an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer vaccine sometime within the next week or so, which will likely be followed by an EUA for the Moderna vaccine shortly afterwards, we are not out of the woods. While the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter, I don’t anticipate we will be back to what anyone might consider normal until early or mid-summer of 2021. It’s easy to get complacent knowing there is a vaccine that’s ready to be distributed, especially after all the sacrifices we’ve had to make since March. The truth is, we need to remain focused on staying healthy and safe until a large majority of the population receives the vaccine, which won’t be for a while. That means remaining conscientious about following all the guidelines outlined in our Salus Safety Strategy that we’ve been successfully following all these months:

• Continue to socially distance
• Wear a face mask when not around others in your immediate household indoors and outside and on campus at all times
• Wash your hands frequently
• Don’t leave your home if you’re not feeling well
• For faculty and staff, if you don’t need to be on campus, please work from home

You have been doing an exceptional job in helping us get to the end of this semester. Because of your efforts, as a Salus Community, we have remained healthy and safe. We have been able to conduct our classes both in-person and virtually and provide required laboratory and clinical instruction in our own clinics and through external clinical rotations. That is no small feat in the midst of a global pandemic. You should feel extremely proud of this accomplishment. I certainly feel very proud to be associated with you as you’ve navigated through these rough waters. We still have some treacherous waters in front of us, but I have no doubt that we’ll get through those relatively unscathed as well. A quick reminder - if you already haven’t, please ensure you download the COVID Alert PA app here. This will allow you to opt-in to receive alerts if you have had a potential exposure to someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

As you prepare for the weekend, even with the rain predicted on Saturday, try to find some places outside that aren’t crowded and enjoy the fresh air. Winter break will be here before we know it and looking ahead, some much needed rest and relaxation.

Be safe, continue to act responsibly and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

We Need to Remain Conscientious: Week of November 30th, 2020

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

I hope everyone had a safe and restful Thanksgiving and stayed close to home during the holiday.

I wanted take the opportunity to welcome those few who are returning to campus and to remind you, especially if you decided to travel and see family and friends who have not been part of your normal “bubble”, to ensure you are taking all the appropriate precautions upon returning to campus. If you traveled outside PA, you should have taken it upon yourself to get tested prior to returning or quarantining if you didn’t get tested. If you don’t feel well, even if you think it’s only a cold, don’t come to campus. If it persists, please check with your primary care manager or use the Jefferson Health link to determine if you need to be tested.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Matt Morett and the Metz Culinary team on campus for providing Thanksgiving meals to almost 75 students who decided to remain locally during the holiday. I know our students really appreciated the effort, especially since they decided not to travel and couldn’t spend the holiday with their families.

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, given the unsurpassed spread of the virus, we need everyone to be extremely conscientious about following the guidelines in our Salus Safety Strategy. Wear your face mask over your nose and mouth at all times while on campus and when around others not in your immediate bubbles off campus, wash your hands frequently, continue to socially distance and if you’re not feeling well, stay home.

As you know, we only have a few weeks until Winter Break and we need to ensure we do everything possible to keep our Salus Community healthy and safe as we navigate through this timeframe. While a vaccine is already being pre-staged around the country, most of us will not be the first to receive it. The end to all this is coming, but we have to exercise patience and not let our guard down now. We’re so close and we’ve done so well - let’s not let complacency change that.

Stay safe, stay Salus Strong!

Mike

Thanksgiving Holiday Planning: Week of November 20th, 2020

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

Good morning on a chilly Fall day from Elkins Park. It’s been another busy week around as we work to help keep everyone safe and healthy heading into the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

NEW GALLERY DISPLAY: To help keep spirits up, curator Elynne Rosenfeld has come up with another fabulous art display for the D’Arrigo Family Gallery outside the Bennett Lounge at the Hafter Student Community Center. Works from the recently formed Philadelphia Pastel Society (PSS) can be viewed through Dec. 17, 2020. If you’re on campus, stop by and take a look at the display – you won’t be disappointed! Read more about it here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s “Where Are They Now” features Kelly Garcia, MS ‘19, a speech therapist at the Independence Charter School in Philadelphia. To read more about Kelly’s professional journey after graduating from Salus, go here.

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY PLANNING: This is going to be a Thanksgiving holiday unlike most of us have ever experienced. Most years, the holiday is a time to connect with family and friends for good food, fun and fellowship. For some, it may be a difficult time, as we remember those we have lost or that returning home to family may not always be pleasant or welcomed for various reasons. When we think of all we have endured in 2020, and now, seeing increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases nationally and in our own region (see charts below), it may be more difficult to find a reason to be grateful. However, as you approach Thanksgiving, try to make the best of what I know is a stressful and challenging situation and reflect on all we do have to be thankful for – our health, our loved ones, our opportunities to help others and a brighter future ahead.

There will be temptations to see friends and family members you haven’t seen in a while during this short break. I would caution you not to take chances and to resist the temptation to gather, even in small groups.

To that end, consistent with the latest CDC guidance, I want to strongly encourage you not to travel during this holiday, as difficult as that might be. If you do, please ensure that you are taking all the necessary steps to maintain your health and safety as well that of as your family members and your classmates. That means wearing your face mask at home if you’re going to be with people not from your immediate circle (your immediate circle includes family members you live with, roommates and others you have regularly spent time with), social distancing of at least six feet, washing your hands frequently and maintaining maximum airflow in your house by opening windows, doors, etc. 

If you travel outside Pennsylvania, you need to be aware that beginning today, anyone who visits Pennsylvania from another state, including Pennsylvanians returning to the Commonwealth, must get tested within 72 hours prior to entering the Commonwealth. If you are unable or choose not to be tested, you are required to quarantine for 14 days upon returning to PA. The Commonwealth is expecting individuals to police themselves, which means that you would be unable to come to campus and would miss any scheduled face-to-face instruction.

AFTER THANKSGIVING BREAK: Below are enhancements that we are making to the Salus Safety Strategy designed to protect our community over the next two months.

December
Following Thanksgiving weekend, our academic programs have made adjustments to limit on campus instruction through winter break. While our clinics will remain open to serve our patients and clients and certain lab instruction will continue at Elkins Park, student activity on campus will be reduced. Your individual program will be in touch with these details. Please note, that there is an exemption from this restriction from the PA travel restriction for our students traveling in and out of Pennsylvania to “work” at their clinical sites.

Vaccine
You all have heard the good news concerning some of the vaccines currently be developed, which has been shown to be about 95 percent effective against the virus. While this is great news, an effective vaccine is still awaiting FDA approval and it will be several months after that before the vaccine is distributed to the public. Additionally, we will still need to take all the current precautions, such as continuing to wear a face mask for several months after receiving the vaccine to ensure there is no additional spread. While there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s imperative that we remain vigilant until we get there - which we will.

Winter Break
The Elkins Park campus and all Salus clinics will be closed from Thursday, December 24th through Sunday, January 3rd. Any essential staff that needs to work during this period will be informed by their supervisors. 

Return to Learn Testing
Following winter break, all students, laboratory educators, clinical educators and clinic staff will be required to be tested for COVID-19 prior to their return to campus or our clinics in January. We are partnering with LabCorp to provide Pixel at-home COVID-19 self-administered PCR tests by mail. Salus will make these tests available, at no cost to you, on or around December 28th via a secure web portal. Individuals will access the portal to order their test (which will be sent by overnight mail), take the test at home and then return the test via pre-paid overnight mail to LabCorp. Test results will be communicated to the individual and Salus 24-48 hours after receipt by LabCorp. A negative test result will be required to access campus or the clinics. Any positive tests will be followed up by medical professionals and Salus. The entire process from start to finish will take between 4 and 6 days, so individuals will need to plan to order the test early enough to allow for their return to scheduled instruction/work. Additional details will follow in the coming weeks.

Please remember that while our protocols are designed to reduce the risk of exposure, the contagious nature of COVID-19 means we cannot eliminate all risk of infection. We have successfully made it this far thanks to your efforts in following protocols and remaining flexible throughout pandemic. I ask that you continue to follow guidelines and act responsibly. You have become more resilient and adaptable as we have moved through these past nine months. Let’s hang in there so we can all sprint across the finish line together in the upcoming months. Please try to get out and enjoy the nice weather that’s predicted for this weekend. As always, please remember to wear your face mask, socially distance and wash your hands frequently. Be safe, remain vigilant and stay SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Presidential Medals and Alumni Awards: Week of November 13th, 2020

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

Good morning! It’s a bit soggy and cool around campus but that hasn’t dulled the spirits of our students, faculty and staff as they’ve continued their didactic, lab and clinical studies. Much is happening on and around campus that I’d like to share this morning: 

PRESIDENTIAL MEDALS AND ALUMNI AWARDS: Tonight we are celebrating the 2020 Presidential Medal of Honor recipients during a virtual event that will premiere at 6 p.m., featuring acceptance remarks from our award winners. Please join in with the link salus.edu/presidentsmedals. In addition, we are recognizing the 2020 Alumni Association Award recipients with an online event at salus.edu/alumni-awards. Our alumni awardees reflected on their memories at Salus and expressed their gratitude for the special recognition. I hope you watch both events and enjoy the shows!

IMPACT OF ELECTION RESULTS: Thanks to Dr. Juliana “Dr. J.” Mosley for setting up our latest Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee Lunch and Learn, this week featuring one of her colleagues, Dr. Jeffrey Carroll, assistant professor of Political Science and the chair of the Center for Data & Society at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. The timely topic was “2020 Election Results, National Impact and Marginalized Populations,” and provided a spirited discussion about several important topics related to the election. Thanks to Dr. Carroll for his insights. Keep an eye on our website for a story detailing the event.

PA LONG WHITE COATS: Congratulations to the Physician Assistant Class of 2020, which held its Long White Coat virtual ceremony last night, honoring 48 graduates. It was great to see everyone and participate in the ceremony.

SEP COMEBACK: The Summer Enrichment Program (SEP), initially started in 1977 by Robert E. Horne, was offered every summer for 39 years continuously until its hiatus in 2015. Now, thanks to a generous grant from National Vision, America’s Best, the program will be returning under the direction of Ruth Shoge, OD ‘06, Resident ‘07. Read more about the program at salus.edu/SummerEnrichment.

BATTLING THE PANDEMIC: While we’re still taking the proper precautions to battle COVID-19, check out a behind-the-scenes story about how our University team has managed the pandemic to this point, particularly the process that enabled a successful pivot to virtual instruction over the course of a weekend and what steps were taken to get our students, faculty and staff safely back to campus on a limited basis. Read more at salus.edu/PandemicBattle. 

BLVS AND EMPLOYMENT: The Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS) at Salus University recently hosted a panel discussion, in partnership with Penn State Abington Rehabilitation and Human Services (RHS) Program, called “Employment and Vocational Rehabilitation of Individuals Who are Visually Impaired” to educate current students and practitioners who are employed or seeking employment. For the first of a three-part Q&A series on our website, go to salus.edu/BLVSemployPart1.

FINAL THOUGHTS: COVID-19 cases have been dramatically increasing across the country to the point where we have surpassed the number of cases seen back in March and April (see graph). Our own region has not been immune from these increases. It’s imperative that we all continue to be remain vigilant when it comes to wearing our masks, socially distancing and practicing good hand hygiene. The CDC announced that there is growing evidence that face masks also protect those who are wearing one, so there’s another good reason to put that face mask on.

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday in a couple of weeks, there will be temptations to see friends and family members you haven’t seen in a while. I would caution you not to take chances and to resist the temptation to gather, even in small groups, given the rise in infections across the region. Most of the current spread has been linked to small family gatherings and sporting events. The last thing you want to do is get infected, infect family members or return to campus after the holidays and spread the virus here. I realize how difficult this is, but we all need to practice good judgement going into the holidays.

Most of you have heard the good news concerning the Pfizer vaccine, which has been shown to be 90% effective against the virus. While this is great news, the vaccine is still awaiting FDA approval and it will be several months after that before the vaccine is distributed to the public. While there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s imperative that we remain vigilant until we get there - which we will. In the meantime, if you haven’t already downloaded the COVID Alert PA app to aid in contact tracing efforts, I strongly encourage you to do that. Here’s the link: COVID Alert PA app.

Related to all this, there have been almost 400 flu cases confirmed in the state so far. If you haven’t already gotten your flu vaccine, please try to get that done this weekend. The weekend looks to be a typical Fall weekend, so please get outside to get some fresh air and enjoy what’s left of the Fall leaves. Remember to wear your face mask, socially distance and wash your hands frequently. What you do off campus affects all of us on campus! 

Be safe, be smart, remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Veteran's Day, Election Day and the Marine Corps Birthday: Week of November 6th, 2020

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

Good morning from Elkins Park on a beautiful Fall morning. It’s hard to believe it’s going to be near 70 degrees today, but we’ll take it! It’s been another busy week on campus with our students and faculty working hard together in labs, clinics and virtual and face to face lectures. Here are some of the other things happening around campus and virtually:

Election Results Discussion: Dr. Juliana Mosley and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee will host a Lunch & Learn event at noon Wednesday, Nov. 11, featuring Dr. Jeffrey Carroll, discussing “2020 Election Results, National Impact and Marginalized Populations.” I encourage all of you to participate in this. Remote access will be sent via email prior to the event.

Where Are They Now: Check out our new online feature “Where Are They Now?” which catches up with some of our recent graduates to see how they’re doing in their professional lives. This week features Susan (Barnes) Gresham, OD ‘19, a top Traditional Optometry Program graduate who gave the spring 2019 commencement address. To read more about Dr. Gresham, go here.

Private Practice Symposium: The PCO/Salus Private Practice Symposium 2020 will be held online from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12. Speakers include Janelle Davison, OD ‘06, James Deom, OD ‘14, MPH, FAAO, Kennard Herring, OD ‘14, and Michael Talone, OD ‘98. For more information, click here.

Long White Coat Ceremony: The Physician Assistant (PA) Long White Coat Ceremony will be held online at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12. For updated information, click here.

Presidential Medals Ceremony: The 2020 Presidential Medal of Honor ceremony will be online at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13. Keep an eye on our website for additional details.

Eye Care Tips: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), diabetes is the main cause of blindness among people under 74 years of age. However, 90 percent of vision loss from diabetes can be prevented. So, we’ve got some eye care tips for those with diabetes. Read more about that here.

OT Research: A paper titled “Exploring the Role of Occupational Therapy with Mothers Who Breastfeed” by Lauren Sponseller, PhD ‘18, OTD, MSOR/L, MEd, Chair of the Occupational Therapy (OT) Department, has been accepted for publication in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, a top OT research journal. To read more about Dr. Sponseller’s research, go here.

Final Thoughts: Tuesday marks the 245th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Here in Philadelphia, on November 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution establishing the Continental Marines. Since that time, Marines have distinguished themselves defending our freedoms around the world. During my 33-year Navy career I had the privilege of serving with the Marine Corps for almost one-third of that time. Wednesday, we also recognize all of our veterans as we celebrate Veterans Day. World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, has been regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.” Originally designated Armistice Day by President Wilson, November 11 commemorates the armistice that began that day. In 1954 Congress changed the name to Veterans Day to recognize all veterans.

While I was on active duty we observed the Navy and Marine Corps birthdays and Veterans Day by participating in cake cutting ceremonies and attending a few veteran’s events. I think this year it is even more important remember how fortunate we are to have men and women who, every day, make sacrifices and place their lives on the line to ensure we enjoy the freedoms we have as Americans. They do this while being held to the highest of standards, professionally, ethically and morally. Core values of Honor, Courage and Commitment have been the moral and ethical compass that have guided the men and women in uniform for 245 years. 

As we exercise patience and wait for our uniquely American democratic process to be completed and learn the results of the election, please don’t lose sight of the fact that the ability to hold elections such as ours was paid for by veterans, many who made the ultimate sacrifice, so we could freely choose our leaders. 

As healthcare professionals we have much in common with those who serve in our armed forces. We too have made a commitment to devote our time and energies to serve others. Most importantly, though, as healthcare professionals we also must be guided by an ethical and moral compass – one that emulates that of our Navy and Marine Corps – that of Honor, Courage and Commitment. 

So, as we celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday on Tuesday and take time to honor our veterans on Wednesday, I hope you reflect on how we can leverage our own commitment to always conduct ourselves with honor and have the courage to always do what’s right for our patients, clients and those around us. I think this is exceptionally true as we watch and wait to see the final results of the election.

Finally, as we approach the weekend, the weather is going to be near perfect. If you decide to participate in any election-related events, I’d like to remind you that whether your candidate wins or loses, you continue to embrace our core values of inclusion, acceptance, diversity, and respect for all people and our differences.

If you decide to participate in an in-person event, also please keep in mind the risks of the pandemic and be sure to socially distance and wear a facemask. Remember, what you do off campus affects all of us on campus.

Have great weekend and try to get out and enjoy the nice weather. Be safe, stay healthy and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike