Keeping a Positive Attitude: Week of September 23, 2022

 

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

Greetings on a beautiful Fall morning from our Elkins Park campus. The storms have all moved on, leaving us some fantastic weather for the weekend! It’s been another busy week on campus with students and faculty very engaged in classes, labs and clinics. We also learned that Salus has been named a “2022 Great College to Work For,” which puts the University in elite company. The results, released in a special insert of The Chronicle of Higher Education, are based on a survey of 212 colleges and universities. In all, 68 institutions achieved “Great College to Work For” recognition for specific best practices and policies. To read more about our achievement, click here. 

 In addition to this great news and happenings on campus, here are a few items of interest:

RECOGNITION RECEPTION: Earlier this week, we were excited to honor our 2022 Alumni Association Award and Presidential Medal of Honor winners. This special event recognizes talented and dedicated people who are changing the world in their respective professions. To read more about the honorees and the festivities, click here.

NEW ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT: Robert Owens, OD ‘80, FAAO, Diplomate American Board of Optometry, has been named the new Salus University Alumni Association president, effective this past July 2022. I've known Bob for a long time, since our days together at PCO, and we’re fortunate and thankful to have him leading our alumni initiatives. Click here to read more about Dr. Owens and his goals for the Association.

JEWISH NEW YEAR: Wishing our Jewish friends and colleagues a happy and healthy New Year. The Jewish New Year holiday, Rosh Hashanah. begins Sunday evening.

D’ARRIGO GALLERY EXHIBIT: A new exhibit, titled “Shine On,” will be on display through Oct. 19, 2022, at the D’Arrigo Family Art Gallery outside the Bennet Lounge at the Hafter Student Community Center. The exhibit, by artists Anne Leith and Kathleen Spicer, is the third leg of a traveling exhibit making the stop at Salus in Montgomery County. Click here for more information.

FINAL THOUGHTS: The floods in Pakistan, fires out west, war in Ukraine, global warming, earthquakes in Taiwan and the Middle East and political upheaval everywhere, could be viewed as terribly depressing. Yet there are also many reasons to feel optimistic, as was the case on Monday evening, when we celebrated the accomplishments of many of our distinguished alumni. They each have positively touched the lives of thousands. Their many accomplishments are awe-inspiring.

The professions our students are embracing all have positive effects on people’s lives. With everything happening around the world, keep focused on your potential for positive impact: every encounter is an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. If you are a faculty member, you're already impacting our students through your teaching and mentoring. If you’re a student, the care and presence you give to each of your patients and clients directly impacts the quality of their health outcomes.

While it can feel difficult to maintain a positive attitude, your optimism and energy are contagious. Both greatly benefit your mental health. Everyone here has good reason to remain optimistic and positive – because you are changing the world through the professions you’ve chosen to practice. Keep thought!

Have a great weekend – get out and enjoy the refreshing Fall weather! If you haven’t gotten your COVID booster yet, try to get that on your calendars within the next few weeks, certainly before traveling or going home for large family events.

Stay safe, continue to follow CDC masking guidelines and remain SALUS STRONG!

-Mike

Busy Summer Semester: Week of July 17th, 2020

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

Good morning. It’s been a relatively busy Summer Semester week at Salus. 

Donna Agnew, PA director, was interviewed by KYW News Radio about our new standardized patient/simulation lab we expect to open in October. The lab gives our students the opportunity to examine simulated patients in a realistic healthcare setting. To hear the interview,  please click here.

The Speech-Language Institute recently marked its fifth anniversary. Read more about it, and get some insight and reflections from chair and program director Robert Serianni, MS, CCC-SLP, FNAP at SalusUhealth.com/SLI-Fifth-Anniversary.

This month, our Alumni Association transitioned from outgoing president David Friess, OD ‘02, FAAO, to incoming president Amanda Marchegiani, AuD ‘10. I want to thank Dr. Friess for his outstanding contributions to our Alumni Association efforts during his tenure. Dr. Marchegiani has hit the ground running and her zeal for the University will build on the past leadership of the Association. Look for a story about Dr. Marchegiani’s goals for the Association on our website in the coming weeks.

Our BLVS department is working on a virtual Orientation and Mobility (O&M) training project for patients at the Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center. The project serves two purposes: Providing direct experience for O&M interns whose internships (and graduations) were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic; and also, continuity of service to patients already engaged in O&M prior to the shutdown, as well as offering the service to new patients. 

Many of you who are in the area have probably read about Governor Wolf’s most recent mandate addressing the increase in COVID-19 cases in the Commonwealth and around the country. While Pennsylvania’s cases are not increasing at a rate close to Florida, Arizona or Texas, the Secretary of Health, Dr. Rachel Levine, is trying to take a more proactive approach to the changing conditions of the pandemic than other states have done. None of the new mandates will affect the protocols already in place at Salus.  What they will do, though, is more stringently regulate bars, restaurants and indoor gatherings that are not directly associated with education. 

The new restrictions include:

• All indoor dining: Reduced to 25% capacity

• Bars: Open for sit-down meals at tables only, bar service prohibited

• Telework: Mandated (if possible)

• Gatherings: Less than 25 people indoors, and less than 250 people outdoors

There are no changes to gyms and fitness facilities, but they are directed to prioritize outdoor physical fitness activities. As I already mentioned, these new guidelines don’t directly affect operations at Salus, but as you go about your business off campus, you need to ensure you’re following them. While we are doing everything possible to keep everyone safe at Salus, we can’t control what people do when they’re off campus. That’s why it’s so very important that people follow CDC and Commonwealth guidelines at all times, because what you do off campus can have a direct effect on campus. So, please, always wear your face mask when you cannot socially distance when outdoors and always when indoors in public spaces, continue to wash your hands frequently and practice social distancing at all times. You don’t want to be the one who is responsible for spreading the virus. 

On Monday, I’m going to share our updated Salus Safety Strategy with all of you. The State Department of Education requires us to post this on our website which will also occur next week. You won’t find any significant changes from our current protocols other than the name. The protocols are all integrated into the Safety Strategy. You can always find the most up-to-date info on our website.

It looks like it’s going to be a nice, albeit hot, weekend. Please continue to practice all those new, good habits you’ve integrated into your daily routines such as wearing your face mask when around others, both indoors and outside, social distancing and frequent hand washing. Please be safe, be smart and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Recognizing Achievements: Week of June 12th, 2020

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

Good morning! It’s going to be a beautiful day around here today! We’re starting to see some more folks around campus, as some programs begin limited clinical lab training, although the majority of programs won’t return to labs and clinics until the last week in June. 

While we’re very disappointed about having to cancel the Salus Awards Gala (SAG) this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re still recognizing the achievements of this year’s recipients. You can read more about our faculty and staff making who have been honored here.

   

Congratulations to Brandi Burns, MMS ’16, PA-C, who has been named the Physician Assistant Alumna of the Year by our Alumni Association. Read more about Brandi’s numerous accomplishments here.

Sheri Hoffert ‘20O&M, a student in the Blindness and Low Vision Studies program, has shown that she can be quick on her feet during the pandemic. Read more about how Sheri had gone above and beyond for her visually impaired students here.  

Congratulations to Salus alum Caroline Pate, OD ‘04, FAAO, for being named the American Optometric Association (AOA) 2020 “Educator of the Year.” Read more about Dr. Pate here.

A reminder that today’s Grand Rounds lecture, entitled “Personal Equipment in the Clinical Setting” starts at 8 a.m. For more information about the program, click here.

“The Ins and Outs of Strabismus Management in a Primary Care Optometric Practice” will be offered as a synchronous interactive distance learning program from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 18. For more information about the program, click here. 

Congratulations to Dr. Janet Scharre, our former Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, for receiving the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry’s Lifetime Achievement Award. This recognition is so well deserved!

The funeral of George Floyd was held in Houston, Texas earlier this week. His death has amplified the frustration, pain and constant fear so many of our fellow Black Americans live with every day; day in and day out. As an institution, Salus University stands in solidarity with the Black community and all communities of color. We are committed to being diligent to actively listen to, learn from, and support each other. As healthcare providers, we are committed to actively addressing disparities in access to quality healthcare that are based on race, gender or sexual orientation.

The Salus Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Committee is actively working with students, faculty and staff to help build awareness, by providing resources for all of us to learn. You can access these resources online here.

Finally, it looks like it’s going to be a nice weekend. Please don’t forget we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic.  While I encourage you to get outside and enjoy the fresh air and get some exercise, please continue to practice your social distancing, frequent hand washing and wearing a face mask when you are inside any building or around people outside. 

Be safe, respect one another and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Yellow Phase Operations: Week of May 29th, 2020

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

Greetings from a muggy Horsham, PA!

Today I wanted to bring everyone up-to-date on our plans as Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties prepare to enter the Yellow Phase of the Process to Reopen Pennsylvania, on June 5th.

On Monday, June 8th, we’re planning to reopen our Elkins Park campus on a limited basis and expand our clinical operations beyond emergency services.

During this phase, faculty and staff that can perform the essential functions of their jobs from home are encouraged to do so. We need to continue to minimize the number of people on campus. To that end, only those whose essential functions require them to be on site will return to campus and our clinical facilities. For our faculty and staff, your supervisor will be in touch with you to discuss if you are expected to return to our facilities. If due to health reasons, you are concerned about returning to campus or our clinical facilities, your supervisor and Human Resources will work with you to determine if an accommodation can be made or if a leave of absence (sick days, vacation, FMLA) is appropriate.

For our students, each program has developed plans for limited on-site laboratory and clinical instruction which they will share with you. As we’ve previously discussed, your didactic classes will remain online for the balance of the summer semester.

As we continue to all work through this, the health and safety of the entire Salus community, remains our utmost concern. We have adopted multiple operating protocols in accordance with CDC and state guidelines. When you do come to campus, you will notice significant changes to our facilities. Everyone will be subject to a daily screening including a temperature check. While in common areas or working with others, you will be required to wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth. This includes the parking lots. If you do not have your own mask, we will provide you with one. Clinical providers will be provided with PPE for patient care. Our hallways are marked for one-way traffic, as are our stairways. Conference rooms and elevators have reduced capacities. And, of course, we have enhanced cleaning and disinfecting procedures.

Our protocols are designed to reduce the risk of exposure, but due to the contagious nature of COVID-19 we cannot eliminate all risk of infection. Everyone must also do their part by practicing physical distancing of at least 6 feet, frequently washing your hands, not touching your nose, mouth or eyes, and most importantly staying home if you are sick.

We appreciate all you have done by working remotely to keep Salus moving forward. As we enter the Yellow Phase, we are excited, but remain cautious about resuming added physical operations. Additional information, including our protocols and procedures can be found on our updated COVID-19 webpage. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Chief of Staff, Brian Zuckerman, who I have appointed as our Pandemic Safety Officer.

In addition to working to reopen our campus, lots of other good things have also been going on virtually.

First, I want to congratulate, once again our graduates and thanks to all of those who made our first-ever virtual commencement the best it could be. Here are two stories from that day: the first on the ceremony itself, the preparation that went into to, and some reaction from the graduates; and another on the honorary degree presented to Dr. Anthony Di Stefano, whose reflections on legacy, public health and political action and his plea for everyone to remember to vote resonated with everyone.

Wrapping up Better Speech and Hearing Month in May, here are more Faculty Focus feature stories on three of our great clinical educators at the Speech-Language Institute: Laura Evak; Jackie Pittam; and Joanne Vesay.

Congratulations to Alta Fried, MSOT ’14, who was named the 2020 Occupational Therapy Alumna of the Year by our Alumni Association. You can read more about Alta and her accomplishments at salus.edu/AltaFried.

Don’t forget to sign up for the “Double Down on Double Vision” Continuing Education lecture scheduled from 4 to 5 p.m. Friday, June 5. For more info, visit salus.edu/events.

Finally, as the weather gets nicer, there will be more people out and about. While I strongly encourage you to enjoy the outdoors, please ensure you continue to practice physical distancing and your good hygiene habits of washing your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds. Don’t let down your guard just because it’s nice outside. We’re winning this battle because we’re doing all the right things.

Stay safe, stay healthy, stay SALUS STRONG!
Mike