Dear Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,
Good morning from Seven Springs, Pennsylvania where Dr. Trego and I are attending the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Optometric Association. It’s cool and crisp here with the leaves already starting to change! While I travel, clinics, labs and classes all are going strong. We’ve also been preparing for next week’s commencement festivities, where we will celebrate the accomplishments of the Physician Assistant Studies Class of 2022, as well as graduates from OCA and OT, Biomedicine and BLVS.
Here are some things that I hope are of interest to you:
COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER: We are excited to welcome Rear Admiral Thomas R. Cullison, who will be our commencement speaker for the University’s 125th ceremony at 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. RADM Cullison will also receive the Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters. A mentor to me for many years, RADM Cullison will motivate and educate all of us! I look forward to introducing him to all of you! To read more, click here.
GIVING WEEK: Join us for the annual Salus Giving Week, ending October 8, by supporting student scholarships, capital improvements, and community outreach. Your donation enables us to prepare emerging health professionals and to serve communities in the Philadelphia region. For more information, click here.
CENTER STAGE: When Kim Edmonds, MS, CCC-SLP, is not busy working with the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) and Post-baccalaureate in SLP programs at Salus University, she and her husband Ryan Edmonds, OD ‘10, spend their free time at the Forge Theatre. Recently, the pair was involved in a production of Xanadu, based on the Universal Pictures cult classic movie. Read more about it here.
GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR GRADS: Carleen Dumas, MS ‘18, co-owner and director of My Child’s Therapy, not only likes hiring Salus graduates for her business, but she has been a valued partner to our SLP department and now provides externship opportunities for current master’s SLP students. Click here to read more.
A BIG FIRST: When Luz Figueroa, AuD ‘22, graduated from the Salus University Osborne College of Audiology (OCA) in the fall, she became OCA’s first and only MSc in Clinical Audiology graduate to date from Ecuador. Read more about her here.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This past week I was in Detroit as part of the Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange (GPLEX). The group, sponsored by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, is designed to have civic leaders visit another city, in this case Detroit, to learn what they have done to make their city a better place to live.
In 2013, Detroit was the only major city in the United States to declare bankruptcy. Since that time, Detroit has emerged as a stronger, more resilient city by building partnerships and leveraging philanthropy through trust and hard work. One of the key themes that emerged from our meeting was that crisis, in this case bankruptcy, was the forcing function to propel Detroit in the right direction.
As we considered the parallels in Philadelphia, we recognized that we, too, have a crisis we should be rallying behind – not bankruptcy, but gun violence. By August, over 322 people have been killed and over 1400 injured due to gun violence in Philadelphia. Most recently, a 14-year-old boy was killed in Roxborough and 4 others wounded in gun-related violence. This is a public health crisis of remarkable magnitude. It is a call to action for our city leaders, local industry, healthcare and academic institutions.
While there are no simple solutions to the issue, the first step is recognizing it as a major crisis. Many of the social determinants of health -- including food insecurity, inaccessible healthcare, poor housing, crime, poverty, unemployment, contribute to the epidemic, in addition to social unrest and systemic racial discrimination. The pandemic likely contributed to this most recent uptick in gun violence, but make no mistake about it, this has been a long-standing problem that has not been adequately addressed over time. Exacerbating this has been the opioid epidemic, a long-standing challenge impacting many of Philadelphia’s most vulnerable populations.
As healthcare providers, we need to be acutely aware of and to take steps to make a difference through the direct service we provide to our patients, civic and professional advocacy, and voting for leaders who will prioritize violence prevention and safety net supports for vulnerable populations. Until key decision makers and others in our community are willing to address this issue head-on, much like Detroit has addressed many of its issues following their bankruptcy, we are not going to see much progress.
As you begin your weekend, please think about how we can help address the gun violence epidemic Philadelphia is currently experiencing. In addition to greater advocacy at state and local levels for increased access to quality healthcare, helping to fight food insecurity in our region, what else might we do individually and collectively to impact this issue? I look forward to hearing from you.
As you ponder this question, please remain safe, continue to follow CDC masking guidelines when out and about, look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!
-Mike
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