Preparing to Celebrate Our Graduates: Week of May 17, 2024

 

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

Good morning from Elkins Park where we are preparing for next week’s commencement ceremony and also welcoming students back to campus as our Summer Semester begins. Here are some other items I hope you will find of interest:

128TH COMMENCEMENT: John Fry, President of Drexel University, will deliver the keynote address at Salus University's 128th commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 23, 2024, at the Kimmel Cultural Center in Philadelphia. Read more here.

SLP POST-BACC ADVANTAGES: The Post-baccalaureate Program in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) was designed to prepare students to excel academically and professionally by establishing a foundation necessary for their success in the field of SLP. And there are several advantages of being a part of the Post-bacc SLP program at Salus. For details, click here.

FROM DREXEL TO SALUS: Hearing about the upcoming merger between Salus and Drexel University seemed like an ironic coincidence for two second-year Physician Assistant (PA) Studies students, Emily Damico ‘24PA and Momina Khan '24PA. Although both will have graduated from Salus before the two institutions academic programs merge in the summer of 2025, they see a tremendous benefit for current and prospective students when it comes to the partnership. Read more here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Alicia Reiser, MS, OTR/L, OTD ‘18, ADHD-RSP, was looking for the “missing piece” in her career. And, she found it in the Salus University Post-professional Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD) program’s Remedial Vision Rehabilitation: Pediatrics and Acquired Brain Injury track. Click here to read more about her journey.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Next week is all about our students! The launch of our newest graduates presents an opportunity to thank our talented faculty and staff for preparing these young professionals to take on the challenges that today’s complex world presents to them. I have no doubt that our graduates have all the tools they need to excel in their given professions.

In order to effectively address a changing environment, it will be incumbent upon our new graduates, as you begin your new careers, to commit to life-long learning and a life of service as you navigate through these changes. I know I speak for the entire Salus community when I wish them the very best as they spread their wings and leave our nest.

If you’re preparing to graduate on Thursday, I hope you, your families and significant others take some time to enjoy the Greater Philadelphia area. Be safe, continue to look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!

- Mike

Remembering Mother's Day This Sunday: Week of May 10, 2024

 

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

Good morning from our Elkins Park campus where students are finishing up final exams today and preparing for commencement, clinical rotations or graduation. Here are some things I hope you will find of interest:

INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION: The Hafter Student Community Center on the Elkins Park, Pennsylvania campus was a hub of collaboration recently as Physical Therapy (PT) students from Arcadia University joined first-year students from the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) and Occupational Therapy (OT) programs at Salus to learn how to work together for the benefit of their patients. Read more here.

BEP SIGNING DAY: Darryl Glover, OD ‘11, co-founder, Essence Johnson, OD ‘10, chief visionary officer, and Jacobi Cleaver, OD ‘11, chief program officer of the Black Eyecare Perspective (BEP) recently hosted a signing day for the organization’s Pre-Optometry Club members who have gained acceptance into a school or college of optometry, as well as recognize any student who will be entering optometry school the following academic year. Click here for details.

ACCEPTED STUDENT DAYS: Salus hosted three Accepted Student Days this year, which attracted more than 110 accepted students and about 200 guests from across all programs. To find out more, click here.

INVEST PHILLY PANELIST: Thomas Beeman, PhD, LHD, MBA, USN (ret.), a member of the Board of Trustees at Salus University, served as a panelist on one of three panels at the recent “Invest: Philadelphia 2024” conference. Among the topics Dr. Beeman discussed was “Action plan: Initiatives underway in Philadelphia’s eds and meds sector to create positive outcomes for students and patients.” Click here to read more.

ARTICULATION AGREEMENTS WITH DeSALES: Yesterday morning several of us ventured up to DeSales University in Center Valley, PA where we toured their beautiful campus and signed articulation agreements establishing a pipeline from their excellent science programs into PCO and our Orthotics and Prosthetics program. We’re excited to welcome DeSales students into our programs. Special thanks to Dr’s O’Sullivan and Caldwell and Monica Scirrotto for taking the lead on this.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day. This very special day, with a connection to Philadelphia, was first conceived by Anne Reeve Jarvis prior to the Civil War who created “Mother’s Day Work Clubs” to help teach young mothers how to care for their children. It wasn’t until 1908, through the efforts of her daughter, Anna Jarvis, that led to Mother’s Day being named an official holiday by President Wilson in 1914. Ms. Jarvis worked with John Wanamaker (of Wanamaker Department Stores fame) to obtain funding to have a Mother’s Day celebration at a church in Grafton, West Virginia. At the same time, thousands of people attended a Mother’s Day event at Wanamaker’s in Philadelphia. As they say, the rest is history, which you can read more about here.

As we prepare to celebrate Mother’s Day this year, I’d like to recognize the wonderful contributions that all our Salus moms have made to Salus, your professions and those you all serve. Thank you for what you do every day to provide a world-class education to our students and the best care available to our patients and clients.

To every member of our Salus community – have a safe, fun and relaxing Mother’s Day! Even Salus's Mother Goose (seen below) is preparing to celebrate with her new goslings! To all preparing to enjoy some well-deserved time off, clinical rotations or walking across the stage at the Kimmel Center, take some time to reflect on all the wonderful lessons our mothers have taught us over the years. Be safe, look out for one another and come back next week SALUS STRONG!

- Mike

Leveraging AI Thoughtfully: Week of May 3, 2024

 

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

Greetings from our Elkins Park campus where we have welcomed a new family of goslings on campus (short video attached). Our students have been busy completing final exams and practicals, as faculty prepare grades. Only a couple of weeks until Spring Commencement! Here are some other items I hope you will find of interest:

COMMUNITY COLLABORATION: The Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University has continued a long-standing collaboration with Head Start programs in the Philadelphia area for more than 35 years. Head Start is a primarily federally funded program that provides education, health and social services to families with children aged three, four and five. For PCO/Salus, this has meant contributing to a variety of services, including primary eye care exams at Head Start centers and schools in the Philadelphia area. Click here to read more.

MERITORIOUS HONORS FOR SLP: The University’s Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) students really raised the bar when it came to their capstone projects this year. Out of the seven meritorious posters chosen to be featured at the annual Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association (PSHA) convention April 10-13 in Pittsburgh, two of those were from research conducted by Salus SLP students. For details, click here.

O&P KENYA TRIP: During a humanitarian trip to Kenya, Victoria “Tori” Page ‘25O&P had a young patient who hadn’t walked since her leg amputation the previous year. Tori spent a long time working on a prosthesis trying to make her patient as comfortable as possible. At the end of her appointment, Tori asked the patient how her new leg felt. “She looked at me with a big smile and said, ‘I’m walking!’” Read more here about the O&P humanitarian trip to Kenya.

A SPECIAL PA OLYMPICS: This year’s PA Olympics took on a little more significance for students in the Physician Assistant Studies (PA) program at Salus because it honored one of the University’s former faculty members, Adam Moore, MHS, PA-C, ATC. Adam was an assistant professor for the Salus PA program from 2016 to 2022 and at Thomas Jefferson University until his passing in September 2023. During his time at Salus, Moore had served as a faculty advisor for the PA Olympics. Click here for additional details on the event.

DREXEL DEI RECOGNITION: Drexel Alumni is the recipient of the 2024 Alumni Association Inclusive Excellence Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education. In its inaugural year, this award recognizes Drexel Alumni for its programs, culture, and initiatives that encourage and support diversity, inclusion, and a sense of belonging for all alumni, across racial and ethnic backgrounds, sexual and gender identities, religions, socio-economic statuses and more. Read more here.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I have spent the last two days in DC this week attending the Special Medical Advisory Group for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs where I am the designated representative for optometry. Every time I attend these meetings, I am extremely impressed with all that the VA is doing to improve health care for our Veteran population. Administering the nation’s largest integrated health system, the VA is leading the way in digital health integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital solutions responsibly and effectively into VA care. It’s a daunting task when you consider there are over 9-million veterans enrolled in the system.

One process the VA has been using to select the right industry partner to help them integrate AI into their patient care processes is called “AI Sprint.” AI Sprints are three-month competitive engagements that foster collaboration among industry, academia and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Sprints are staged with specific challenges introduced into the process every 3 weeks to determine how teams might mitigate them. I see great value in academia adopting similar processes to devise solutions to some of the novel challenges we face in our higher ed/healthcare ecosystem. As we attempt to leverage AI and related technologies, we need to embrace best practices ensuring cybersecurity, patient, and student safety as well as accuracy and reliability. Our partnership with Drexel will help operationalize some of these processes

It looks like the weekend is going to be a bit cooler than it has been, so try and get out and enjoy the beautiful Spring weather while it still lasts. As you get to the last weeks of the semester, keep your eye on the ball concerning your studies and continue to look out for one another to remain SALUS STRONG!

- Mike