Remembering Queen Elizabeth: Week of September 9, 2022

 

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

Greetings on a beautiful Friday morning from our Elkins Park campus. While it was a short week due to the Labor Day weekend, it’s been a busy one! Both in-person and hybrid classes have been ongoing as have been our labs and clinics. Additionally, teams have been meeting to finalize our plans for the renovation of the 1st floor of the South building which will be an exciting improvement to our campus. 

Here are some other items that may be of interest to you:

PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL WINNER: The Salus University Presidential Award is an accomplishment that Neil Draisin, OD ‘71, FCOVD, is excited and honored to add to his long list of achievements throughout his career in optometry. Read more about Dr. Draisin here. 

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT DAY: Faculty members met recently in the Hafter Student Community Center for an in-person reception recognizing new members of the University faculty, those who were promoted and those who officially received tenure while mingling and enjoying much needed refreshments. Read more here about our University Faculty Development Day.

WORKING ON A DREAM: How many faculty members across the country can boast that they have opened for Bruce Springsteen? Well, the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) department at Salus University can. Nora Whittaker Jones, MA, CCC-SLP, an SLP adjunct professor since 2017, was a professional singer before transitioning into academia. Read more about her here.

NEW RESIDENT: While attending Ursinus College as a biology major, Samuel Kim, OD ‘22, Resident ‘23, interned with a small optometric practice. He enjoyed working there and it sparked his interest in the profession. Read more here about Dr. Kim, one of our 2022-2023 residents.

APPROVED COVID BOOSTER AND MONKEYPOX AWARENESS: As I mentioned last week, the FDA and CDC have approved the lasted COVID booster, specifically targeting the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants in addition to the original COVID strains. I want to strongly encourage all of us to receive this vaccine to get it as soon as you are eligible (at least 2 months after your last booster or 90 days after testing positive for COVID). The CDC defines being “fully vaccinated” as having the initial 2 doses of the COVID vaccine and “up-to-date” as having the most recent booster shot. As healthcare providers who interact with the general public, we have a professional responsibility to remain up-to-date on these vaccines both to protect our patients and clients but also to protect ourselves and our families. I am relying on your commitment to maintaining a high standard of professionalism to keep up to date. Additionally, Monkey Pox still presents a threat to many in our general population. Please continue to be vigilant when seeing patients and clients as well as in your personal interactions and follow CDC guidelines if you suspect you’ve been exposed or you have a patient or client who might have the virus.

FINAL THOUGHTS: History gained another marker yesterday with the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. And while the United States has not been under British rule since 1783, many Americans still claim the Royal Family as our own, with Queen Elizabeth as their symbolic matriarch. In reality, she was the monarch of the United Kingdom and 14 commonwealth realms. Her Majesty took the throne in 1952, at the young age of 26 years old, during a period in global history when much of the world had difficulty seeing a woman at the pinnacle of leadership. While the world may have been confounded by her gender, she quickly earned the respect of many through her embodiment of grace, courage, integrity, steadfastness and decency. Queen Elizabeth displayed immense courage throughout significant political and personal changes in the monarchy and the family.

Integrity was her posture during the personal scandals of the Royal Family over the last few decades. And Her Majesty was the epitome of steadfastness, often lauded as an unwillingness to change, as she held closely for much of her reign, many longstanding traditions of the monarchy. The world has lost a leader who epitomized decency and respect. As you begin this beautiful weekend, please take some time to reflect on Queen Elizabeth’s legacy and how we can emulate some of her leadership qualities in our professional lives. Be safe, look out for one another, continue to follow CDC masking guidelines when out and about and remain SALUS STRONG!

-Mike