Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,
Good morning from a blustery Elkins Park campus where most of our students begin finals. Wishing our students and faculty an successful end to a very full semester! Even as the final exam cycle of the semester commences, many other activities have been occurring on and off campus:
BLVS ADMISSIONS: In our latest podcast, we talk with Candida Mulligan, admissions officer in the University's Office of Admissions. She talks about the Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS) program, and tips and tricks for applications. Listen to it here.
STAFF SPOTLIGHTS: Two new Staff Spotlights feature Stella Lee, who works in our Finance department, and Andrew Rohe, a security officer at Salus. Get to know more about Stella here as well as Andrew and his work beyond Salus as a performance coach here.
MEET THE CAST OF THE COLLEGE TOUR: In our next profile on the cast of The College Tour, meet Sonja Makitan ‘23OD. For the on-campus programs at Salus, a large percentage of the student body hail straight from undergraduate institutions with the average age being 23-years-old. But for Sonja, this is not the case. Although she is a traditional Doctor of Optometry student, she took a non-traditional route to the University’s Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO). Read more about Sonja here.
FACULTY AND STAFF GIFTS: Last year, Academic Affairs and Human Resources purchased Salus hoodie sweatshirts for all faculty and staff around Nov/Dec. Unfortunately, they took so long to come in, we decided to give them out this winter. This year, Human Resources purchased large Salus umbrellas for all (regular FT/PT) faculty and staff. Hoodies and umbrellas for faculty will be distributed by Academic Affairs sometime in the upcoming weeks. Hoodies and umbrellas for staff will be distributed by Human Resources around the same time. Be on the lookout for emails regarding distribution/pick up.
OT HOLIDAY FUNDRAISER: Pi Theta Epsilon, the Occupational Therapy honor society, is participating in the St. Catherine Challenge to raise money for OT research. The goal is to reach $1,000 with a holiday fundraiser through Gertrude Hawk Chocolates. To order your chocolates, place your order here. The fundraiser is underway now and runs through Dec 12.
A DAY IN THE LIFE: Check out “A Day In the Life” featuring second-year Physician Assistant (PA) student Lauren Wychowski. She is currently in her third rotation, which is pediatrics. Read more about a typical day for Lauren here.
SLI SUPPORT GROUP: Join Robert Serianni, MS, CCC-SLP, FNAP, the chair and program director of the Speech-Language Pathology department, as he moderates a podcast that focuses on the Traumatic Brain Injury Group at the Speech-Language Institute (SLI). He is joined by one of its members as well as the supervisor and two students who have had the pleasure of working within the group. Click here to listen.
COCHLEAR IMPLANT WORKSHOP: Thahira Kallumurikkal ‘22AUD was an audiologist in India for 14 years, but decided she wanted to upgrade her skills. That’s why she decided to enter the MSc in Clinical Audiology program in Salus University’s Osborne College of Audiology (OCA) where she had the opportunity to attend the College’s Cochlear Implant Workshop from Nov. 2-5. Read how beneficial the program was according to Kallumurikkal and other OCA students here.
HOLIDAY TRADITION: For those who stayed local this holiday, the University provided a complimentary “Turkey Gobbler” dinner — prepared by the University Cafe’s Metz Culinary. Salus also continued its longtime Thanksgiving tradition of delivering meals to Jenkintown and Cheltenham police departments on Thanksgiving Day as well as AstraZeneca Hope Lodge in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania. Read more about the festive to-go feasts here.
AUDIOLOGY GRAND ROUNDS: The next Audiology Grand Rounds will be today, Dec. 3 at 12:15 p.m. Julie Jimenez and Renee Kochinski will present on “Seesaw Nystagmus.” Click here to join the meeting.
TOY DRIVE: From Nov. 29 to Dec. 13, NPASS is hosting a Marine Toys for Tots Drive to support children in our community. They are seeking new, unwrapped toys to donate to local children. The drop-off location is a large white Toys for Tots bin outside the cafeteria at the Elkins Park campus. Monetary donations can also be made via a QR code that's available on the collection box as well. For more information, please visit https://www.toysfortots.org/Default.aspx and consider making the holiday brighter for less fortunate children in our community.
FINAL THOUGHTS: If you’ve been to our Learning Resource Center and in most of our larger classrooms, you’ve seen some large, white devices placed around the rooms making a very soft swishing noise (see below). These custom-built air filters are the work of Mr. Rick Echevarria and our exceptional facilities team. The design for the filters was developed by the dean of Engineering at the University of California, Richard Corsi. Tested by several labs, they have been proven more effective than more expensive HEPA-based portable air cleaners on the market. These devices give us an additional level of protection against the spread of the virus.
While taking the extra step to filter out the virus from our environment is helpful, the most important things we can do to prevent spread remain the same: get vaccinated, wear a face mask, wash hands frequently and social distance. As studies are ongoing, most public health and infectious disease experts agree that getting a booster/3rd dose enhances our protection from the newly identified Omicron variant. If you haven’t gotten your booster, make a point to get one now, especially as you prepare to head home for the holidays. It’s only a matter of time when the third shot will be considered “fully vaccinated.” I’d like everyone to be ahead of that. Additionally, if you’re not feeling well, please stay home and get tested to ensure no one is bringing the virus to campus or our clinics.
I know how frustrating this is. Just as we thought things were getting better, along comes a new variant. This is the nature of pandemics, especially when such a large portion of the world’s population remains unvaccinated. Things will get better. We need to continue holding our course. Thank you for all that you’re doing to help us stay the course.
Please take some time to relax during your study breaks. Get outside, if you can and just enjoy the fresh air! Continue to look out for one another and be safe. You are SALUS STRONG!
Mike
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