Remembering Black History Month: Week of February 9, 2024

 

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

Greetings on this beautiful February morning from our Elkins Park campus. It’s been another busy week -- welcoming our Drexel colleagues to our beautiful facilities to show them our programs and to mix, mingle and talk about our combined future. Special thanks to our deans and program directors, admissions, student life and student ambassadors, Kristen Dittrich and Jennifer Brown in Academic Affairs, TLS, LRC, facilities, security, housekeeping, and dining services staff for organizing and supporting this event. Here are some other items that I hope you will find interest in:

ALL THINGS SLP: In our latest podcast, we discuss all things clinical for the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program at Salus University with Taylor Evans, office manager for the Speech-Language Institute, Robert Serianni, MS, CCC-SLP, chair and program director of the SLP department, and Kara Maharay, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, director of clinical education for the SLP department. Click here for details.

YOUNG AUD ALUMNI: Make sure to check out this interesting and informative question and answer session with one of our young alumni from the Doctor of Audiology program, Payton Burke, AuD ‘21. For more, click here.

STUDENT ADVISORY BOARD: Raman Badh ‘26OD, a second-year student at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University, is one of 18 current optometry students from across the country named to the Women in Optometry student advisory board. She has been enthusiastic about immersing herself in clinical experiences this semester to further develop her skills in delivering quality eye care. Women In Optometry (WO) is an online publication that targets the fast-growing female OD segment. It caters to women ODs’ professional informational needs with one key distinction: articles are written from the uniquely female perspective.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Since 1976, February has been designated Black History Month, providing an opportunity to learn, reflect and acknowledge the accomplishments of Black Americans. While there is much rich history to explore, I am always drawn to the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen. This group of highly talented and motivated Black pilots, who trained at several, segregated, Black only, Tuskegee, Alabama airfields, was assigned to multiple escort and bomber squadrons throughout World War II. Eventually, they combined into a single squadron, the 332nd Fighter Group in Europe. Their primary mission was to escort bombing missions over Germany and other occupied territory in Europe and Africa. They earned the reputation of being among the best fighter pilots the Army Air Corps (predecessor to the U.S. Air Force) had with multiple commendation awards along the way.

It wasn’t until 1947, under President Truman, that the Army Air Corps and later the entire U.S. military was integrated. We’ve come a long way since then. In 1940 Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr, a former Tuskegee Airman, became the first Black American general officer in the U.S. Army and later served in the U.S. Air Force. Since then, there have been many others. Colin Powell became the first Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989 and Secretary of State for President George W. Bush in 2001. General Lloyd Austin became the first Black Secretary of Defense in 2021. Vice Admiral Samuel Gravely was selected as the first Black Navy Admiral in 1971. He retired as a Vice-Admiral several years later. In 2022, Gen. Michael E. Langley became the first Black four-star in Marine history. Most are unaware that the Tuskegee Airmen have a presence in Philadelphia, with an office at Enon Tabernacle East (2800 Cheltenham Ave.). You may visit this link to find out more about the local chapter and visiting the office.

As you prepare for the weekend, please take time to reflect on the contributions and accomplishments of Black soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines throughout history. They all have played a role in preserving the freedoms we all enjoy today. Be safe, continue to look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!

- Mike

Greetings from Atlanta: Week of March 6th, 2020

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

Greetings from Atlanta, where it’s been raining since Monday and I have ordered wood from Home Depot to begin building an ark! I saw a peek of the sun before sunset last night which was very encouraging! Hopefully, today will be much nicer. Many of us are here for the annual meeting of the Southern Educational Congress of Optometry (SECO), which has been a great meeting, so far! Several of our faculty are lecturing which, of course, raises the quality of the meeting logarithmically! Before you ask, we’re all routinely washing our hands, using hand sanitizer and not getting too close to one another. 

Last Saturday I was honored to commission one of our students, Payton Burke ’21AUD, into the Army in a special ceremony that was attended by her family, friends, classmates and administrators. Payton has been a fantastic student leader and the Army is getting a real winner. I think any of the Services offer our students a very unique opportunity not only to serve our country, but also to really learn how to practice their professions. I encourage as many as are interested to look at this as an option. It’s a great way to serve and learn.

Many of you have heard that Salus has partnered with National Vision to advance optometric education by developing a pilot program focused on training students on conducting remote eye exams utilizing high-tech equipment and real-time secure HD video conferencing. The technology enables optometrists to see patients remotely in locations that do not have a doctor or when the doctor is not available. What makes this relatively easy is that we’re leveraging a very robust system that has been in use for a while up and down the east coast. While we realize that this may be considered somewhat controversial by some, we feel strongly that we have the responsibility to expose our students to the most up-to-date practice models available and telemedicine is already making inroads across many locations across the country. Just think how this technology can be leveraged for populations in the inner cities or rural areas that don’t have routine access to high quality eye care.  Our goal is to ultimately place some of these remote-care modules in Federally Qualified Health Centers and even busy rural practices across Pennsylvania. 

We will be hosting our annual Scholarship Reception from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 12, at the Hafter Student Community Center. Please join us as we recognize the generosity of our scholarship donors and celebrate the achievements of the recipients.  

Please mark your calendars to attend the Salus University Leadership Forum from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, April 3, in Room S305A on the Elkins Park campus. The event will feature a panel of Pennsylvania legislators and members of the Salus Community. The program will include a question and answer format on several topics, including leadership skills; mentorship experiences; career path choices; gender-specific challenges; achieving goals; and community service and support.  For more information and to register please go to our website here. 

If you’re attending the Southern Educational Congress of Optometry (SECO) meeting this week, please join us for our Alumni and Friends reception from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. today, March 6, at the Omni Atlanta Hotel, Ballroom 1. 

This week’s Mental Health Minute discusses how to handle the stress surrounding the proliferation of the COVID-19 virus. The linked article, “How to Manage Your Anxiety about Coronavirus”, was sent to me by one of our faculty members who was helping her son complete a current events assignment for school. I thought it should be shared with everyone. 

As we continue to monitor the COVID-19 virus, up-to-date guidance will be maintained on our website here. As a reminder, please continue to: 

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing. Then wash your hands immediately.
• Routinely wash your hands with soap and water often for at least 20 seconds. You can use an alcohol-based (60% or greater) hand sanitizer if you cannot access soap and water, but you need to use copious amounts and still rub your hands for 20 seconds.
• Stay home if you’re sick and do not travel so you do not spread germs to coworkers, patients or others.
• Take flu antivirals, if prescribed by your doctor. 

I hope you all have a great weekend. Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour Saturday night as we begin Daylight Savings Time this weekend! Stay safe, try to check our website or the local news periodically for any updates on COVID-19 and look out for one another.

Mike