The Importance of Being Proactive: Week of February 3, 2022

 

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

Good morning on a brisk Friday from our Elkins Park campus where all of our students, faculty and staff have been busy with classes, labs and clinics. Special thanks to our volunteer Board of Trustee members for their insights and participation at our Board meeting earlier this week. We deeply value their expertise and guidance. In addition, here are some other items of interest:

NEW SAFE ZONE LOGO: We are excited to introduce our new LGBTQ+ Safe Zone logo (see attached). Salus employees who complete one of the upcoming, two-hour "Safe Zone" trainings may wish to display the emblem in their office space to signify completion. Trainings are available virtually Feb. 24 and April 18. Registration information will be emailed in the coming weeks.

PA AND OT PANEL DISCUSSION: The Physician Assistant (PA) Studies program faculty, along with PA and Occupational Therapy (OT) students, will present a panel discussion titled "Learning the Challenges of Healthcare Access through a Medical Service Lens: Salus PA & OT Student Experiences in Guatemala,” at noon today, Feb. 3, in Room S-300. Go to cerbgistration@salus.edu to register.

COMMUNICATION TIPS: Please join CPPD's doctoral student trainees Andrew Jaskot and Janeyshka Ortiz-Flores for a communication “tips and tricks” tabling event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, outside the café. Students are encouraged to stop by to chat with the counselors, receive more information about communication styles in relationships, grab some treats, and receive more information about the 

CPPD. BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Wednesday marked the beginning of Black History Month commemorating and celebrating the history, accomplishments, leadership, and lives of Black Americans. Dr. Mosley-Williams sent out this week a powerful reflection that I encourage you all to read.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This week a friend reminded me of a quote attributed to President John F. Kennedy: “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.”

Good leaders, and those of us in healthcare, always need to be proactive. The way we do this at Salus is through scenario planning, a modeling exercise that systematically explores alternative futures in healthcare and higher education, in order to formulate strategies to address potential developments.

For example, while we could never have predicted a global pandemic, our scenario planning enabled us to respond effectively. One of our scenarios identified the need to expand hybrid education. As part of our strategic plan, we invested heavily in the necessary infrastructure to facilitate this. This investment allowed us to pivot to on-line teaching and learning over the course of a weekend when the pandemic hit.

As we emerged from the pandemic, we embarked on another round of scenario planning. While this evolution validated many of the findings from our last round, it also pointed to the importance of developing sustainable partnerships and affiliations with other institutions. Given the current landscape in higher education, we are proactively nurturing collaborative relationships with many schools, and in particular our consortium partners, to develop well-defined pathways from community colleges to our programs.

As healthcare providers, we develop differential diagnosis lists to provide the best possible care for patients as conditions and symptoms evolve. This is a form of scenario planning – exploring a range of potential treatment courses so that we are better prepared for the unexpected. As students, you also need to be thinking proactively about managing your time to effectively study for national board exams. When I was a student, we “budgeted” several hours a week just to stay on top of things – something I highly recommend. 

As we get ready for the weekend, please think about the importance of being proactive in all that you do. By planning ahead, you’ll be able to prioritize what’s important to you personally and professionally, because you will spend less time reacting.

Have a great weekend – Stay warm as it’s supposed to be extremely cold. Be safe, remain COVID vigilant, continue to watch out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!

- Mike

Starting Our Strategic Planning Refresh: Week of February 18th, 2022

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

Good morning on a cool, windy morning in Elkins Park. It’s been another busy week on campus with many of our students preparing for practicals and other tests and changing clinical rotations. All of the moves from last week are now complete with renovations beginning in earnest in the West building, paving the way for the construction of our new Orthotics and Prosthetics and Activities of Daily Living labs. It will be great to have all of our academic programs situated centrally. Our COVID positivity numbers remain extremely low with zero cases reported over the past couple of weeks. Thank you for all you’ve done to help keep us healthy and safe!

Here are some other items of interest:

TOP JOBS: We are extremely proud that several of the professions in which Salus University trains are once again among the top 100 jobs in the nation for 2022 as ranked by U.S. News and World Report. Check out the rankings here. 

DEI SPEAKS!: Our next DEI Speaks! event will be from noon to 1 p.m. today featuring David X. Marquez, PhD, Professor of Kinesiology and Nutrition and Director of the Exercise Psychology Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Marquez's talk, “Importance of Culture in Addressing the Health of Latino/a/XS,” will provide perspective and relevance, given the current national conversation on how social determinants of health impact Brown and Black communities. The Office of DEI and White Coats for Black Lives (WC4BL), student organization, are co-sponsoring the event.

EATING DISORDER AWARENESS: Did you know that eating disorders affect at least 9 percent of the population? Within this general population, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), gay men, people with larger bodies, and transgender individuals are less likely to be identified as and treated for eating disorders. Please tune in to CPPD's social media accounts (IG: CPPD Salus; FB: Center for Personal and Professional Development at Salus University) for more information pertaining to disordered eating during National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, Feb. 21-27. CPPD's Dr. Tami April-Davis will be handing out psychoeducational information (and treats) outside the cafe from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23. CPPD is also using Black History Month as an opportunity to highlight black mental health accounts on IG. Check out CPPD's weekday IG stories for these highlights. 

STUDENT NETWORKING SERIES: Registration began this week for the second session of the Student Networking Series scheduled from 7 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 27, where we will explore the Pennsylvania Occupation Therapy Association (POTA) scholarship application process. The session will be led by Dr. Lauren Sponseller, PhD, OTD, MSOTR/L, MEd, chair of the Occupational Therapy department at Salus University, and facilitated by our student liaison, Ashley Boyd. Dr. Sponseller has served as a member of the POTA Student Scholarship Committee and as a reviewer of Student Scholarship Applications in 2021. The session is free for POTA members and $10 for non-members. Use this link to register. 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s Where Are They Now features Kristin Kaplewicz, MSOT ‘20. Check out how Kristin incorporates her therapy dog, Syrah, into her work as an occupational therapist. Read more here.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Thanks to all of those who attended our Salus Community Update meeting yesterday to discuss the next steps in updating our Strategic Plan. I’m looking forward to getting our focus groups together to hear your thoughts and help move our university forward. I also wanted to take the opportunity to once again thank all those who completed the Town Hall survey in advance of yesterday’s session. As I noted yesterday, I read every response you send, and I take each one to heart. Here are some of the themes that emerged from the survey that I wanted to share with those who may not have been able to attend yesterday’s meeting:

Staff turnover and employee retention. We have experienced very real staff turnover in TLS and at TEI, and we are taking this seriously. We are conducting a series of meetings across TLS staff and we'll be scheduling focus groups at TEI to learn more from you about what you're seeing, what's working and what's not. We’ve already made changes to our weekly hours for TEI staff and will be monitoring that closely. Please be in touch with me or my Chief of Staff or Human Resources if you'd like to share any concerns or suggestions. We know we can always do more to improve and welcome your constructive suggestions.

The recent move of administrative and academic offices to 8380. This move was required to make space for our new Orthotic and Prosthetics program as well as expand our Activities of Daily Living lab. In doing so, we thought it best to consolidate our teaching and learning spaces together to make it easier for students and faculty. Thanks, in part to a generous grant from the Commonwealth, we were able to accomplish this. Anyone with a Salus ID can easily access the administrative offices in the North building.

DEI. Establishing the office of DEI is an active recognition of the impact we and our emerging educators and healthcare practitioners have on the health and well-being of the thousands we serve. I encourage you to reach out to my special assistant, Dr J., if you have questions, suggestions or concerns.

Data on how students are doing. This is something we're all extremely interested in learning and tracking. Our Academic Assessment Committee is preparing a student survey to gather data on student performance, engagement and impacts of the pandemic. They'll share the results as soon as available.

For those issues we did not address, I encourage you to please reach out to me directly or to my Chief of Staff or Human Resources. We sincerely welcome your thoughts, comments and suggestions.

As you prepare for the weekend, while the COVID numbers are decreasing in our region, please continue to remain vigilant in your preventive measures by wearing a face mask when around others, socially distance when you can and wash your hands frequently. Also, please remember what you do off campus directly affects all of us on campus.

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

Mike

Black History Month - A Call to Action: Week of February 4th, 2022

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

Good morning from a rainy, rather warm Elkins Park campus. This weather reminds me more of late March than early February! It’s been another busy week on campus with more classes being held in-person with COVID numbers in the local area coming down. It’s great to see our campus community coming back! Our overall positivity rate remains low (0.4%) with random screenings showing 1.5% (1 positive) positivity rate this last week.

Here are other items of interest:

O&P LAUNCH PROGRESS: As work behind the scenes to launch our new Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P) program continues, program director J. Chad Duncan, PhD, CRC, CPO, talks about what prospective students can expect when the program launches this fall. Read an interview with Dr. Duncan here.

CAREER OPPORTUNTY: The career path of Chrystyna Colón, ‘23OT, has taken another step forward as she was recently accepted by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) into its Summer Institute of Future Scientists in Occupational Therapy, scheduled in April 2022. Read more about Chrystyna’s opportunity here. 

ACCELERATED SCHOLARS: Before the first Doctor of Optometry Accelerated Scholars Program cohort began in July 2014, a small pilot group of traditional program students were given the opportunity to accelerate their clinical skills and enter The Eye Institute. That was seven years ago and since then, the program has progressed. Read more here.

SLP OPEN HOUSE: Open houses help prospective students get a sense of what a program is actually like. What better way to learn about a Salus University program than firsthand from one of its current students? Read more about the Speech-Language Pathology program’s recent virtual open house here.

FINAL THOUGHTS: As many of you know, Black History month began Tuesday. In an email that went out earlier this week, Dr. Mosley-Williams eloquently described her experiences with this when she was younger but also pointed out the many accomplishments Black Americans have made over the years. She also noted the great disparities that still exist in our country and right in our own back yard in access to quality health care. The pandemic has exposed significant differences in the outcomes Black, Latino/a/x, and Indigenous people have experienced. People of color make up just under 40 percent of the U.S. population but account for approximately 52 percent of all the “excess deaths” above normal through July of 2020.* These data reveal gross inequities in healthcare that need to be aggressively addressed. As healthcare providers and as a university community, we have an obligation to recognize the issue, explore the root causes and do everything in our power to help mitigate these inequities. This is tough stuff and won’t be easy nor will it occur quickly. But until organizations such as ours actively and holistically challenge the status quo, nothing will happen. The first step is acknowledging the issue. The next steps require a commitment to address social injustice and health inequities actively and consistently. I know our Salus community is up to that task.

As you prepare for the weekend, please keep in mind that the temperatures are forecast to plummet potentially creating icy roads and walkways. Please continue to wear your facemasks when out and about around others, social distance and wash your hands frequently. Be safe, look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG! 

Mike

*Flagg, A., Sharma, D., Fenn, L. and Stobbe, M. (2020). Covid-19’s Toll on People of Color is Worse Than We Knew. The Marshall Project, Analysis: 8.21.2020. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/08/21/covid-19-s-toll-on-people-of-color-is-worse-than-we-knew

Addressing Health Inequities: Week of February 12th, 2021

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

Good morning from a rather chilly and snow-covered Elkins Park campus. We continue to have busy weeks with our students and faculty engaged in mask-to-mask, in-person classes, clinical labs (with some practical exams this week) and virtual classwork, in addition to direct care, clinical training here at Elkins Park as well as East Oak Lane and Chestnut Hill.

MORE THAN JUST OPTOMETRY: It wasn’t all academics all the time for Arieneh Tahmasian, OD ’17 and James Komornik, OD ’17 when they were students at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University. Check out our website Sunday for a special Valentine’s Day love story about how Drs. Tahmasian and Komornik met at Salus, fell in love, got married and are now pursuing successful careers as optometrists.

UNCONSCIOUS BIAS AND MICRO-AGGRESSION PRESENTATION: I’m looking forward to a Zoom presentation from 7 to 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, called “Unconscious Bias & Microaggression in the Healthcare Setting” by Dr. Juliana Mosley-Williams, PhD, our Special Assistant to the President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Dr. Mosley-Williams will talk about those topics as they relate to both clinicians and patients in the healthcare environment.

TOP JOBS: We found out recently that four of the professions that Salus trains its students to enter rank among the “100 Best Jobs of 2021” according to U.S. News and World Report — Physician Assistant (PA) at No. 1, Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) at No. 7, Occupational Therapist (OT) at No. 19 and Optometrist at No. 48. Read more about how and why those professions were among the best at salus.edu/TopJobs. 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s “Where Are They Now” features Sara Reuss, MS ‘17, CLVT, an Orientation and Mobility specialist at the Nebraska Center for the Education of Children Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired, a school in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Read more about how Sara’s career is progressing at salus.edu/SaraReuss.

FINAL THOUGHTS: We have all been going through many of ups and downs over the past 11 months since the pandemic entered our world. It’s been an unsettling time between frequent discouraging and conflicting news about the pandemic, a vaccine finally being available but inconsistent in distribution, the racial and social unrest that shook the country during the summer, the presidential campaign, insurrection on the Capitol, and now a second impeachment trial for our former president. I think most folks will look back, and with the exception of possibly the Civil War and World Wars I & II, and describe these last 11 months as some of the most turbulent in our history.

These hard times affect us nationally and locally, especially regarding COVID-19 and the Black community. The highest COVID-19 rates of infections, hospitalizations and deaths have been in the Black population of Philadelphia, followed closely by Latinos (Philadelphia Dept of Public Health, 2020). Now as vaccines begin to be distributed across the region, of those vaccinated at Philadelphia health facilities, 43% were white, 12% were Black, 10% were Asian American and 10% reported their race as “other” (Philadelphia Dept of Pubic Health, 2021). That’s pretty disheartening when you know that 44% of Philadelphia’s population is Black, 34% white, 15% Hispanic and 8% Asian American. As I noted last week, some of the challenges with getting people to take the vaccine are related to the high degree of mistrust in the government and vaccine approval process.

As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, it’s incumbent upon us to familiarize ourselves with these data, as difficult as that might be, and determine how we can all work together to help improve these health inequities that stem from hundreds of years of racial discrimination and injustices, systemic poverty, as well as a societal blind spot that must be unmasked. As healthcare professionals, while we cannot directly address many of the contributing systemic social determinants of health, we certainly can work to address those health inequities that have resulted in limited access to quality healthcare that has resulted in increased morbidities and mortalities over the years.

At Salus we have a responsibility to the communities we serve. Helping everyone to receive high quality and compassionate care within our clinical facilities as well as in others is a core tenet of our Credo. I ask that we all spend some time this weekend thinking about our Salus community can help to positively impact those systemic issues others have lived with for generations. We have so much to give through our educational and clinical outreach.

Stay safe, continue to social distance, wear your face mask (two are better than one) and wash your hands frequently. We are SALUS STRONG and this is our time to help make other lives better!

Mike

Black History Month: Week of January 7th, 2020

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

Greetings from Elkins Park where we’re not exactly sure if it’s winter or spring here! The good news is that we’ve not had any snow days and the power has remained on (hopefully, I didn’t just jinx us!)

Last week I started my update with a short discussion about mental health. I intend to keep that conversation at the forefront with some "Mental Health Minutes." This week I’d like to share some advice I found from the National Institute of Health addressing some strategies for getting enough sleep.  We all know that getting enough sleep is essential to not only our physical health, but also our mental health. Click here to learn a bit more about the importance of sleep and how to improve some of your sleep habits. 

February is Black History Month. We use this month to celebrate the achievements by African Americans and as well as recognize the central role African Americans played in U.S. history. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating black history. To learn more about Black History Month, check out the History Channel’s site. 

The Campus Activities Committee has announced that nominations for the annual Salus Awards Gala are now open. If you know some exemplary students, faculty, and staff, this is a chance to nominate them for their accomplishments and contributions to our community. You can find the links below for both students/student organization nominations, and faculty/staff awards nominations. Nomination forms can be obtained at either of these two sites: Students and Student Organization Nominations or Faculty and Staff Nominations.

You’re invited to join the Pennsylvania Ear Institute’s (PEI) "Hear the Love" event from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, in Room W111 at the Elkins Park campus. The educational talk will focus on hearing loss and how it can impact patients’ lives and relationships. Learn about hearing aid styles and technologies currently available. Complimentary hearing screenings will be offered 30 minutes before and after the event.

Yesterday we celebrated the opening of the "Community Expressions" art exhibit at the D’Arrigo Family Gallery in the Hafter Student Center. I would encourage all of you to check it out as all of the art work has been done by staff or family members of our staff. Special thanks the Elynne Rosenfeld, our volunteer "Resident Artist" for putting this, and all our other art displays together.

In today’s politically charged and polarized environment it’s growing increasing more important to be respectful and tolerant of those who might have differing opinions than us. To help us address some of these issues, our students have been invited to attend three events hosted at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to providing an opportunity to meet other students in the city, the events will help to provide suggestions on how to hold difficult conversations on campus, online or with your families and friends. If you’re interested, you can register for the events here.

Finally, Dr. Robert Carroll will present a program on "Drugs, Delivery and Durability: The Present and Future of Wet AMD Treatment" from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 14, at The Eye Institute.

Hoping you all have a great weekend – for those of you getting ready to take boards, study hard and good luck!

Mike