Gun Violence is a Public Health Emergency: Week of March 26th, 2021

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

Good morning from our nation’s capital where I am here to attend the bi-annual meeting of the Department of Veteran Affair’s Special Medical Advisory Group meeting, of which I am a member. One nice advantage of being down in DC for the meeting is I get to jog along the National Mall and around many of the monuments, which was a nice treat this morning. The cherry blossoms are even starting to bloom! While I’m down here, there is much happening around campus:

DEI FORUM ADDRESSING PERSPECTIVES ON RACISM & HATE FOR ASIAN AMERICANS: I want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Mosley-Williams for organizing a very informative and timely panel discussion that focused on the most recent violence against the Asian American population in our country. Very special thanks to forum panelists Salus Board member Joyce Koh, JD; Salus partner, Ken Wong; and Chestnut Hill College professor and psychologist, Bindu Methikalam, PhD for your very personal insights and thoughts. For those who did not have a chance to see this, please click here and insert the following password: mFUZkbp5 to access the recording of the session.

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP: An historic number of women at Salus University have taken on top leadership positions. They sit on the President’s Council and the Board of Trustees. They all have come ready to help lead Salus and its clinical facilities. In honor of Women’s History Month, meet a few of the University’s women in leadership. Click here to read more. 

LIGHTHOUSE AWARD WINNER: This year’s recipient of the Looking Out for Kids 2021 “Lighthouse Award” is TD Bank. We are thrilled to honor the bank with this award. Our relationship is more than just one of a business association, as the bank has genuinely become partners with us on many fronts. To read more about the bank’s commitment to Salus and its communities, go here. The University’s 14th annual LOFK fundraiser, held virtually this year, will be at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 1. To purchase virtual tickets or VIP reception boxes online, visit our website here.

LENA START GRANT: Salus University’s Department of Speech-Language Pathology has been awarded a one-time grant from the LENA Foundation to Launch LENA Start, a parent program that uses regular feedback from LENA's "talk pedometer" technology to help increase interactive communication in order to close the early-talk gap, improve school readiness, and build stronger families. Read more here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s Where Are They Now features Emily Swavely, MS ’17, who now works as a speech therapist at an elementary school in the Owen J. Roberts School District in the Pottstown, Pennsylvania, area. To read more, go here.

FINAL THOUGHTS: As I read the paper, listened to the news and walked around Washington last evening, I could not get the thoughts of the most recent gun violence out of my mind. While, unfortunately, this is nothing new in our country, it is something that must be addressed. While there are myriad causes for this epidemic that include mental health conditions, poverty, and many of the social determinants of health, there are some things that can and should be done to make it more difficult for those who shouldn’t have firearms to get one. In our country, just this year alone, there were 107 mass shootings (defined as 4 or more victims), 122 people killed, 325 injured, for a total of 447 total victims, including the shooters in some instances.

According to a recent New York Times article, guns account for over 40,000 deaths annually in the U.S. This includes homicides, suicides and accidents. While gun violence, such as mass shootings and other homicides tend to get all the press attention, the fact remains that over 50% of these deaths are from suicide. No matter how you look at it, deaths attributed to guns represent a public health emergency.

If you compare the U.S. to other developed countries (see chart), you will find, not surprisingly, that the number of guns that are civilian-owned directly relate to the number of gun deaths. What stands out is just how many more guns are owned in the U.S. compared to other developed countries. If we are to begin to curb this very disturbing trend, we need a multi-pronged approach that includes funding for mental health initiatives, enhanced suicide prevention initiatives, enacting effective gun control laws such as universal background checks, barring people with a history of mental illness and domestic violence from purchasing guns and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines for starters. I raise this issue not to make a political statement, but rather to raise your awareness as healthcare professionals. Gun violence is a public health emergency. We all have a responsibility to recognize it as such and to do what we can to influence public policy to help turn this around.

As you think about all this, I hope you can get out and enjoy some of the good weather we’re having. Please stay safe, continue to wear your double face mask when around others, socially distance and wash your hands frequently.

You are SALUS STRONG because of your commitment to helping others improve their lives.

Mike

Looking Forward to Spring: Week of March 5th, 2021

Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board members and Friends,

Good morning from a sunny but cold and windy Elkins Park campus. While all the snow provided a very pretty picture, it’s nice to see most of it gone – at least for now! It’s been another busy week with more students on campus for in-person, socially distanced classes and multiple labs. Our clinics have remained as busy as possible under the current occupancy restrictions.

SLP PODCAST SERIES: In part seven of our ongoing podcast series about the Speech-Language Pathology program at Salus, department chair and program director Bob Serianni, MS, CCC-SLP, FNAP, speaks with Bridget Turnbach, MS ‘17, who is an Speech-Language Pathologist at The Therapy Spot, a pediatric multidisciplinary clinic in Baltimore, Maryland, about how Salus prepared her to to practice her profession. Click here to listen to that conversation.

GORDON FAMILY LEGACY: The Gordon family has a robust legacy at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO). Patriarch Mark Gordon, OD ‘71, built a successful practice in Maryland and was followed into the family practice by daughter Shoshana (Gordon) Cohen, OD ‘96, and son Joshua Gordon, OD ‘99. Read more about the family at salus.edu/GordonFamily.

INTERPROFESSIONAL RESEARCH PAPER PUBLISHED: A research paper entitled “Efficacy of an Intervention to Teach Zippering,” by a group of interdisciplinary faculty members from Salus that includes Fern Silverman, EdD, OTR/L, Carrie Knight, PhD, CCC-SLP, and Anna Grasso, MS, OTR/L, CAPS, has been published in the March/April 2021 issue of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy that supports the use of a modified zippering vest with added visual and language clues to teach zippering skills to preschool children. Congratulations to all on this important research project.

SLP AWARDED GRANT: The Salus University Department of Speech-Language Pathology was awarded a one-time grant from the LENA Foundation to Launch LENA Start, a parent program that uses regular feedback from LENA's "talk pedometer" technology to help increase interactive talk in order to close the early talk gap, improve school readiness, and build stronger families. This grant will enable the faculty and students of the SLP Department to work with 100 families over the next two years to help parents and caregivers learn about the importance of interactive talk along with ways to incorporate more conversation into their daily routines. 

ATTENTION FIRST YEAR STUDENTS: The Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) and the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) has teamed up to launch SocialConnections20, a program designed to connect you with your peers. We understand that you are missing connecting with both your cohort members and the student body at large. Although we can't provide those opportunities right now, CPPD and OSA have created a program to connect you with peers who share your interests. A sign up link was sent to your salus.edu email from compatibility-mentor@compatibilitymentor.com to create a Compatibility profile and complete the survey to match you with fellow first year students. Once the 'pods' or groups are established, the SocialConnections20 team will be in touch with next steps on how to connect with your group. If you have any questions about the program or need to have the survey link sent again, please contact them at connections20@salus.edu.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out the details on three virtual events we’ve recently had that addressed vaccine hesitancy, building resilience and unconscious bias hosted by our Black Student Union (BSU), Bennett Career Services Center (BCSC) and Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) and Dr. Juliana Mosley-Williams, our assistant to the president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Go to salus.edu/VirtualEvents.

FINAL THOUGHTS: As we march towards the anniversary of one full year since the global pandemic brought life to a screeching halt, I thought it might be nice to share a bit of good news with everyone. On Thursday, I was informed that the University received the assets left to us from the Dr. Robert Henry trust, which totaled $418,000. Based on instructions in the Trust, that money is restricted for scholarships for the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. Since its inception thirteen years ago, the Trust has been providing scholarship funds for PCO students. We estimate the total value of this gift surpasses $530,000, to include the scholarship money received in prior years, which makes it one of the most generous gifts the institution has received.

Dr. Henry was a 1935 graduate of the Pennsylvania State College of Optometry and he served in the U.S. Navy for twenty-six years, serving as the Head of Optometry for part of his tour. He spent most of his time Navy time in Pensacola, Florida.

Establishing a trust with the University or any of our colleges as the primary beneficiary is an example of how planned giving can have a significant impact later on. Dr. Henry’s original gift, which started out as a fraction of what we see today, will have a significant impact on those students who are lucky enough to receive the scholarship that is in his name. This philanthropic example is something we all should consider as we look to keep Salus moving forward well into the future.

As we look to the weekend, it’s going to another cold one but the weather wizards are promising some 60-degree days next week, and that’s something to look forward to! Please try to bundle up and get outside to enjoy the sunshine, even with the colder temperatures. Remember to continue to double mask, socially distance and wash your hands frequently. Even as more of us get vaccinated, it’s important to remain vigilant. 

So stay safe, take some time to recharge and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike