It’s been another great week at Salus. Here are some of our
highlights:
On Monday, we hosted State Representative Marcy Toepel at our
Elkins Park campus. We had the opportunity to discuss all of our programs, but
concentrated on why the legislature needs to update the current optometric
scope of practice laws to reflect what’s being taught at the Pennsylvania
College of Optometry and other optometry programs around the country. After a
great discussion and tour of our facility, where Melissa Trego, OD, PhD, dean,
Pennsylvania College of Optometry, had the opportunity to show Representative
Toepel our virtual reality training lab first hand. I think Rep. Toepel came
away with a renewed appreciation of what optometrists can and should be doing
to care for their patients. These visits are important to ensure our
legislators understand the high quality and comprehensive education our
students receive, not just in optometry but in every profession we train. It’s
also a great opportunity for elected officials to learn what services Salus provides to our local communities - often at no cost to the people we
serve.
NBC-10 news spotlighted our
School Vision Program, our doctors and students while they conducted screenings
at McCloskey Elementary School in Philadelphia just the other day. TEI resident
Dr. Ryan Kern and a team of third year optometry students did an excellent job
showcasing the great work that we do through our school screening program.
Congratulations to Mitchell Scheiman, OD, PhD, director,
Graduate Programs, Biomedicine and his team at New Jersey Institute of
Technology for winning two of three Auggie Awards – the most recognized
industry virtual reality awards in the world. The awards were given for
two projects - Excellence in collaborative projects between industry and
academia and the most impactful breakthrough and honoring a Women XR Laureate. Congratulations
Mitch!
The American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) will hold its
annual Optometry Cares 5K run/walk on Sunday, October 28 from 9 a.m. to noon at
Alverthorpe Park in Abington, Pa. All proceeds will benefit the American
Optometric Association’s Optometry Cares foundation. Please try to get out
there to support this great cause.
Our annual Looking Out For Kids (LOFK) charity fundraiser is
only a week away! If you haven’t already purchased your tickets, it’s
not too late. This year’s event is being held at the Hilton Philadelphia City
Avenue which is a beautiful venue in a great location. If you can’t come, please
consider donating on our website.
Finally, there’s been a good bit of distracting and distressing
news this week about politics, mail bombs, general discord and the geopolitical
fallout from the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. With all this swirling around us,
it’s helpful for all of us remain mentally and morally focused on our mission
at Salus – advancing integrated health care through innovative education,
research and clinical services. Our students have enough to do between studying
and going to class and labs and our faculty and staff are constantly working to
ensure our students receive the best education possible
in addition to ensuring the patient care provided in our
clinics is nothing less than excellent. While it’s extremely important to be
aware of the current events, it’s imperative for you to focus on our patients,
clients and the education that will enable you to help others well into the
future.
The one thing that you all can do is to vote –
no matter what your political affiliation is, that’s the one way we have, as
Americans, to clearly express our opinion and desires as to how our government
works. Tuesday, November 6 is election day. Mark it on your calendars and
ensure that you either have an absentee ballet if you’re not going to be around
or get to a polling place. Every vote counts, so please ensure you plan your
time to exercise your constitutional right to choose who represents us.
On that note, I’ll close wishing everyone a safe and restful
weekend. It looks like we’re going to have a nor’easter starting tonight, so
please be careful if you’re going out and about.
Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment