Dear Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,
Good morning from our Elkins Park campus as we get ready to celebrate the end of the semester. It’s been a busy few days as students have been completing finals and faculty have been getting grades ready for submission.
Here are some other items of interest:
WHY BLVS?: Check out this question-and-answer session with one of our young alumni, Katelyn Maffei, MEd ‘21, TVI, and learn why she wanted to pursue a career in Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS) at Salus. Click here for more.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: While studying for an undergraduate degree in Rehabilitation and Human Services at Penn State, Emily Jollota’s, MS ‘17, OTR/L, little sister suffered a concussion playing high school sports for which she received occupational therapy (OT). While witnessing that experience firsthand, something clicked for Jollota. Click here to find out how that led her to our Occupational therapy program.
GIFTED LENSES: A select group of New Jersey students were gifted an inscribed Volk lens from the New Jersey Academy of Ophthalmology (NJAO). Special thanks to NJAO president Michael Chocky and Dennis Lyons, OD '73, for facilitating.
TEXAS IPE CONSORTIUM: Earlier this year Salus joined the Texas IPE Consortium (which despite its name, includes academic institutions from all over the country). We did this as part of our commitment to Interprofessional Practice and Education (IPE). Skilled facilitators are essential for quality IPE, and Consortium membership gives us access to an IPE Facilitator Certificate Course that was held virtually on November 10, 2023. I am very pleased to announce that 15 faculty and professional staff now hold IPE Facilitator Certificates! Congratulations to Rachel Brackley, Brianna Brim, Anna Grasso, Lynn Greenspan, Jacalyn Harris, Ryan Hollister, James Kelly, Erin Kenny, Jamie Maffit, Bre Myers, Maria Parisi, Julie McCulley Quinlan, Anne Marie Ruckdeschel, Robert Serianni, and Luis Trujillo.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Life is too short. I was reminded of this earlier this week with the passing of Vice Admiral Mike Cowan, 34th Surgeon General of the United States Navy. Many in our Salus community may remember his inspiring remarks at the White Coat ceremony for our 2019 entering class.
Our nation has lost a true pioneer, innovator, and visionary leader – a one of a kind individual who knew how to motivate others, redefine the norm, clearly articulate an issue and get things done. VADM Michael Cowan was a tremendous friend, mentor and advisor whom I will miss dearly.
I first met Mike Cowan when I was stationed at Cherry Point, North Carolina, my first duty station, and he had taken his newly minted Military Training Network on the road to teach providers Advanced Cardiac Life Support. Fortunately for me, he decided to make me one of his “projects” and ultimately an instructor. Over the course of several years, I traveled with Mike and his team throughout Europe as one of his instructors. I remember jogging through the woods in Germany, drinking a good bit of beer and listening to hundreds of his stories about his Military Medicine adventures around the world. Little did I know that he was starting the arduous process of molding me into the leader I am today. Just last month, some 40 years later, I was still seeking his advice. One of the best pieces of advice Mike ever gave me was to be gentle with people. That’s a lesson we could all stand to learn, especially in today’s very contentious and polarized world.
VADM Cowan was never satisfied with the status quo, nor was he one to shy away from debate, especially when it came to providing optimum healthcare to our forces. A prolific writer and researcher, he reminded everyone who would listen about the importance of prevention, preparedness and continued advocacy. He described the importance of Force Health Protection in a way that truly made a difference in the way people responded. He wrote the book, literally, in The National Disaster Medical System: How the Nation Will Care For 50,000 Casualties in One Place, on how our nation should approach disasters. He pushed hard to rally all around him to embrace its cutting-edge ideas. He thought this was essential for the nation, as well as for Military Medicine.
VADM Cowan made everyone around him better thinkers, innovators, activists, and military health care professionals. His influence on military medicine has left an enduring mark on the entire military health system. We all owe Mike Cowan a great debt of gratitude, as his creativity, intellect and vision laid the groundwork for Military Medicine to be as successful it has been in both preventing and responding to medical contingencies around the world.
As I write this, I believe VADM Cowan would not want us to mourn him, but rather, to pick up the torch. There is much work to be done in healthcare nationally and in Military Medicine.
We will miss his quick wit, unparalleled intelligence and uncanny ability to distill a problem into its most solvable parts. I will miss him.
Our Salus family was privileged to have honored VADM Cowan, first in 2019 and most recently with an honorary degree. VADM Cowan recorded a message to our graduating class of 2023 that I will share here.
May he rest in peace. Please join me in keeping the Cowan family in your thoughts and prayers.
Have a restful weekend and great winter break. If you’re traveling, please be careful as we want everyone back here in January 2024 SALUS STRONG!
-Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment