Sharing Information on Integration: Week of September 8, 2023

 

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

Happy Friday from our Elkins Park campus on what is starting out as a much more comfortable day than days past. It’s been another busy week on campus with our post-bac students starting their exciting program and new first year students getting in the swing of things around their busy schedules. In addition to this, here are some other items of interest:

FACULTY SALUTE: Salus University welcomed new faculty members and presented tenure and promotions to other faculty members at a recognition ceremony on Aug. 24, 2023, as part of our recent University Development Day. Click here to read more about the event.

MAKING THE TRANSITION: Also, as part of University Development Day, Walter Kimbrough, PhD, presented “Continuing to Work the Mission in a Time of Transition” to our Salus community at The Eye Institute. To read more about Dr. Kimbrough and the message he brought to Salus, click here.

CRISTO REY STUDENTS RETURN: We welcomed our second cohort of four Cristo Rey High School work study students last week with a site visit and breakfast event. The students had an opportunity to meet their department supervisors, receive their Salus badges and take a look around the Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, campus. We look forward to providing our Cristo Rey interns with a full and complete Salus experience. If you see any of the Cristo Rey students on campus, introduce yourself and welcome them aboard.

FALL COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER: Vice Admiral Michael Cowan, former Navy surgeon general, will visit on Thursday, 21 September 2023 with faculty, staff and students ahead of our Fall Commencement in October. Our 2019 white coat ceremony speaker, Admiral Cowan was specifically requested by students to come back. We are thrilled and excited to welcome him!

FINAL THOUGHTS: During our first town-hall meeting of the new semester this week, I noted that the key to the success of our merger with Drexel is sharing information so that there are no surprises once it is finalized.

The questions we’ve been receiving so far mostly fall into several categories: questions asking for more details about the integration process; questions about compensation and benefits; and what I would call process questions, chiefly about timeline and how the integration of our two institutions will roll out. While we don’t yet have answers to some of the specific questions about potential changes in compensation, benefit levels or changes in individual benefits, working with our partners at Drexel we will work hard to get these for you.

I want to reiterate my promise to you that I will continue to share what we know when we know it. As the Integration Council prepares to kick off on 20 September, I want to thank President’s Council members who will serve in leadership roles and others who will serve in ad hoc positions to help make our transition as seamless as possible.

Small group meetings will begin again in the coming weeks so that I can hear from you and respond to your questions more directly. If you have questions in the meantime, feel free to reach out to your director, dean, vice president or to me directly. We are eager to hear from you. I’ve asked all deans, directors and vice presidents for their help with this to ensure we’re reaching every member of our Salus community in this important effort.

As you prepare for the weekend, please remember that Covid cases are still on the increase in our region so you could be taking appropriate precautions, especially if you’re going to be around large groups of people. As much as we hate going back to masking, there may be situations where it’s again warranted. Please remember that what you do off campus affects all of us on campus. If you’re feel ill, please stay home and test if symptoms warrant it. If you do test positive, follow CDC guidelines concerning quarantine to help minimize any potential spread.

I attached a photo of our beautiful campus as it shows off the colors of late summer. Be safe, continue to look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!

-Mike

Celebrating Labor Day: Week of September 1, 2023

 

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

Greetings on this Friday before Labor Day! It’s been another busy week on campus as our construction project takes shape (pictures below). Our classes, labs and clinics have been humming -- you can feel the excitement and buzz!

In other news around our Salus community:

LOOKING OUT FOR KIDS TICKETS: Tickets are available for the 2023 Looking Out for Kids (LOFK) event at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at The Switch House at The Battery in Philadelphia. We are excited to honor Susan Oleszewski, OD ‘76, Resident ‘78, FAAO — founder of LOFK — with the Lighthouse Award recognizing beacons of light and strength in the community in which they live, work and serve above and beyond their occupations. Click here to order your tickets.

UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT DAY: Thank you to Karen Hanson, Jim Caldwell, Dr. J, Maura Keenan, Jennifer Brown and Kristen Dittrich for their expert coordination of our University Development Day, which featured Walter Kimbrough, PhD, in the morning session. Dr. Kimbrough is President Emeritus of Dillard University, and his topic was, "Continuing to Work the Mission in the Time of Transition." The afternoon session featured Christine Arenson, MD, director of the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education. Dr. Arenson's topic was "NexusIPE: Achieving Health and Learning Outcomes that Matter.”

ORIENTATION WEEK IMPRESSIONS: From August 14-18, 2023, Salus University welcomed our largest entering class. Read what they thought about their Orientation Week experiences here.

WHITE COAT CEREMONIES: This year’s ceremony marked the 20th year in which Salus has celebrated the White Coat, with three separate ceremonies throughout the day on Aug. 18, all held in the Hafter Student Community Center on the University’s Elkins Park campus. The white coat signifies not only a change in attire, but a significant step forward in students becoming compassionate, skilled, and dedicated healthcare providers. Click here to read about the day’s activities.

FINAL THOUGHTS: As we approach Labor Day weekend, I like to remind everyone why we celebrate this holiday celebrating the greatest workers in the world – American workers. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883. By 1894, 23 more states adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday. I hope everyone enjoys their three-day weekend honoring American workers.

As we end the week, we are keeping everyone affected by Hurricane Idalia in our thoughts and prayers as recovery efforts continue from this terrible natural disaster. In addition to faculty and staff members with friends and families in affected areas, we have several students enrolled at Salus and in clinical rotations from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, states in the path of Hurricane Idalia. Please know we are here for you during this difficult and challenging time. If you experience difficulty concentrating on your studies and rotations, don’t hesitate to reach out to our Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) for support.

Finally, as I noted last week, as Covid cases are on the rise in our region, please remember to socially distance, wear a face mask when around others, wash your hands frequently and please remember that what you do off campus directly affects all of us on campus.

Have a great weekend! Be safe, be responsible, look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!

-Mike

Photos of the South Building Construction Progress:

Remembering Queen Elizabeth: Week of September 9, 2022

 

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

Greetings on a beautiful Friday morning from our Elkins Park campus. While it was a short week due to the Labor Day weekend, it’s been a busy one! Both in-person and hybrid classes have been ongoing as have been our labs and clinics. Additionally, teams have been meeting to finalize our plans for the renovation of the 1st floor of the South building which will be an exciting improvement to our campus. 

Here are some other items that may be of interest to you:

PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL WINNER: The Salus University Presidential Award is an accomplishment that Neil Draisin, OD ‘71, FCOVD, is excited and honored to add to his long list of achievements throughout his career in optometry. Read more about Dr. Draisin here. 

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT DAY: Faculty members met recently in the Hafter Student Community Center for an in-person reception recognizing new members of the University faculty, those who were promoted and those who officially received tenure while mingling and enjoying much needed refreshments. Read more here about our University Faculty Development Day.

WORKING ON A DREAM: How many faculty members across the country can boast that they have opened for Bruce Springsteen? Well, the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) department at Salus University can. Nora Whittaker Jones, MA, CCC-SLP, an SLP adjunct professor since 2017, was a professional singer before transitioning into academia. Read more about her here.

NEW RESIDENT: While attending Ursinus College as a biology major, Samuel Kim, OD ‘22, Resident ‘23, interned with a small optometric practice. He enjoyed working there and it sparked his interest in the profession. Read more here about Dr. Kim, one of our 2022-2023 residents.

APPROVED COVID BOOSTER AND MONKEYPOX AWARENESS: As I mentioned last week, the FDA and CDC have approved the lasted COVID booster, specifically targeting the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants in addition to the original COVID strains. I want to strongly encourage all of us to receive this vaccine to get it as soon as you are eligible (at least 2 months after your last booster or 90 days after testing positive for COVID). The CDC defines being “fully vaccinated” as having the initial 2 doses of the COVID vaccine and “up-to-date” as having the most recent booster shot. As healthcare providers who interact with the general public, we have a professional responsibility to remain up-to-date on these vaccines both to protect our patients and clients but also to protect ourselves and our families. I am relying on your commitment to maintaining a high standard of professionalism to keep up to date. Additionally, Monkey Pox still presents a threat to many in our general population. Please continue to be vigilant when seeing patients and clients as well as in your personal interactions and follow CDC guidelines if you suspect you’ve been exposed or you have a patient or client who might have the virus.

FINAL THOUGHTS: History gained another marker yesterday with the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. And while the United States has not been under British rule since 1783, many Americans still claim the Royal Family as our own, with Queen Elizabeth as their symbolic matriarch. In reality, she was the monarch of the United Kingdom and 14 commonwealth realms. Her Majesty took the throne in 1952, at the young age of 26 years old, during a period in global history when much of the world had difficulty seeing a woman at the pinnacle of leadership. While the world may have been confounded by her gender, she quickly earned the respect of many through her embodiment of grace, courage, integrity, steadfastness and decency. Queen Elizabeth displayed immense courage throughout significant political and personal changes in the monarchy and the family.

Integrity was her posture during the personal scandals of the Royal Family over the last few decades. And Her Majesty was the epitome of steadfastness, often lauded as an unwillingness to change, as she held closely for much of her reign, many longstanding traditions of the monarchy. The world has lost a leader who epitomized decency and respect. As you begin this beautiful weekend, please take some time to reflect on Queen Elizabeth’s legacy and how we can emulate some of her leadership qualities in our professional lives. Be safe, look out for one another, continue to follow CDC masking guidelines when out and about and remain SALUS STRONG!

-Mike