Productive Time at Salus: Week of April 27th

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

I hope everyone has had a productive week. We certainly have had one at Salus.

I spent the beginning of the week in our nation’s capital, along with 15 of our students and members of the Pennsylvania and American Optometric Associations. We were there to educate and seek support from legislators and their staffs on priorities that directly affect optometry.  Those priorities included continuing pressure on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to withdraw its unnecessary, burdensome contact lens paperwork proposal for optometrists to have patients sign a document stating they’ve received their contact lens prescriptions, gaining new supporters for the American Optometric Association and American Dental Association-backed legislation to end health and vision plan abuses, and pushing back against efforts to downgrade and privatize Veteran’s optometric care and deploy a pilot telehealth program that could prove deleterious to Veteran’s health. Our students helped to carry the day as we went from appointment to appointment going over each issue.  It was fun and educational, all at the same time. I’ve attached a photo of part of our group in front of the U.S. Capital – to prove we were there!

In our College of Education and Rehabilitation, the Speech Language Institute’s Aphasia Support Group, led by Alison Finkelstein was highlighted by the National Aphasia Association and the Transgender Voice Group, led by Judy Koza, was highlighted by the Philadelphia Gay News. These are national and local platforms providing lots of great exposure for our SLI!  Bob Serianni and his crew of clinical educators never cease to amaze us! 

Congratulations to Dr. Lauren Sponseller, Director of the Occupational Therapy program, who recently graduated from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Academic Leadership Institute.  She is now a "Certified Leader in Academia" through AOTA. 

Students from the Mastery Charter School visited the Elkins Park campus on 26 April. They toured the campus and clinical skill labs and participated in a mock eye exam demonstration with Q & As with Salus Optometry students.

On Saturday, 28 April Salus will be participating in the Franklin Institute’s Science Festival Carnival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. We will have a booth and activities with SLP (involving marshmallows), Optometry (involving low vision simulators) and Audiology (sound level meters). This is a free event that has dynamic demonstrations, engaging experiments, geeky games, and electrifying entertainment for the entire family.  The weather should be great, so I encourage you all to go out there to support our folks.

Back by popular demand, the Sports Vision Club SVC be hosting a Dodgeball Tournament with proceeds going to SOSH! The entry fee is $5.00 per player with snacks and Gatorade provided! There will be prizes for the winning team!  There are only 8 team spots available, so email sportsvision@salus.edu to reserve your spot! At least 6 players are needed, with at least 3 female players per team.

Tonight, the annual Salus Soirée will be held from 8 PM-12 AM at the Arts Ballroom in Center City.  It’s a great opportunity to dance the night away under the stars at the Arts Ballroom in Philadelphia! 

This morning we were treated to an extremely informative optometric Grand Rounds lecture from Dr. Doan Kwak, one of our newest faculty members, on the pre and post-operative management of refractive surgery. I think our practice will really benefit from Dr. Kwak’s recent experience working at a major refractive surgery center. 

Finally, we’re making progress on the Lombardi Classroom which will be dedicated on May 23. 

Have a great weekend. Be safe, be courteous to one another and have some fun!

Mike