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

Summer Semester Comes to a Close: Week of August 7th, 2020

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

Greetings from a rather warm and humid Elkins Park. We weathered Tropical Storm Isaias unscathed without even losing power, so that was good. Unfortunately, many around the greater Philadelphia region as well as others as far as North Carolina and New York lost power and suffered a good deal of damage from the storm. Our thoughts are with those who were adversely affected. 

LABS, CONSTRUCTION, AND RECONFIGURATION: It’s been a busy week on campus, even with the storm. Our optometry, occupational therapy, physician assistant and blindness and low vision studies students have been busy in labs as well as joining their audiology and speech-language pathology colleagues in respective online classes. We’re also in the midst of construction of our Standardized Patient Simulation Lab, several new classrooms and have completed the reconfiguration our cafeteria, LRC, Hafter Center and other spaces so they’re ready for Fall semester. We’re even getting a large tent which will be located right outside the cafeteria so people can eat outside.

VIRTUAL ORIENTATION AND WHITE COAT CEREMONY: As the Summer Semester comes to a close, we are preparing to welcome our newest students to Salus in the coming weeks. Our online orientation program went “live” yesterday for all incoming students. The synchronous portion of the program, where Dr Eckert, myself and others will have guest appearances, will be on 18 August, followed by a non-traditional, virtual White Coat Ceremony on 20 August. While students won’t be receiving their white coats on the 20^th, each program is planning a separate ceremony where they will have the opportunity to distribute them to students. 

FALL COMMENCEMENT: I’ve made the very difficult decision that our Fall 2020 commencement will be held virtually. While this wasn’t what we had originally envisioned in the Spring, current conditions dictate that this is the only responsible course of action we can take. It’s important to note that no venue is accepting large groups into the foreseeable future and there still is a restrictive limit to the number of people who can congregate in one location. Also, many students who would graduate in the Fall would have to travel long distances to get here for the ceremony. That’s a risk we can’t ask people to take. The virtual format will allow all of our graduates to be honored and to celebrate their achievements with their families and friends, no matter their location or the then current state of the pandemic. As we did for the Spring commencement, we will include a student address, a keynote speaker, my message to graduating students, the reading of each graduate’s name and the oath of professionalism presented by Dr. Eckert. Commencement will be pre-recorded, to be premiered on October 13th, at 2:00PM. Graduates and their families and friends will have the opportunity to interact live with each other during the premiere using YouTube. Each graduate will receive their regalia, diploma and commencement programs through the mail. More details will follow as the date approaches. Once the pandemic is behind us, we plan to hold an in person event to honor all of our graduates who graduated virtually. That’s the very least we can do to celebrate your achievements and successes.

DYNAMIC DUOS CE: Don’t forget to register for “Dynamic Duos,” delivered via Blackboard Collaborate as a synchronous live-streamed event Aug. 9. The program is COPE approved for eight CE credits. For more information, go to cvent.me/Xk9Lqz.

LEGACY GRADS:  For graduates like Priyanka Patel, OD ‘20, and Roheena Malik, OD ‘20, legacy family members are much younger pioneers among the same generation, offering a solid support system as they worked toward their degrees. PCO has even been the place where graduates like Stephanie Reitter, OD ‘20, met their matches – finding a shared vision of their futures in the optometry profession. Read more about some of our most recent grads in part three of our Legacy Student Series at salus.edu/LegacySeries3.

LOOKING OUT FOR KIDS:  Dr. Brandy Scombordi and several optometric staff have taken the Salus vision van out in Philadelphia several times in the past few weeks, most recently Aug. 6 to the Sayre Morris Hub, conducting vision exams in the various neighborhoods. Working with the Greater Philadelphia YMCA and the city, each week they block off a few city blocks for a “kids block party” and the team provides care for a few hours for children who have signed consent forms. Great job connecting Salus PCO and TEI with the community, Dr. Scombordi!

FACULTY FOCUS:  This week’s Faculty Focus features Jenny Rajan, AuD ‘09, who wears a number of hats in OCA — assistant professor, clinical preceptor at PEI and faculty advisor for the Student Academy of Audiology (SAA). Read more about Dr. Rajan at salus.edu/JennyRajan. If you are interested in being featured in our “Faculty Focus” series, please fill out this form.

HAFTER CENTER UPDATE:  Over the past few weeks, the Hafter Student Community Center has been preparing to reopen to our students, faculty and staff members. Be aware there will be many new rules and regulations as well as operational  changes put in place for your safety. Staff will be sending out an email with the updated information along with the official reopening date closer to the beginning of the fall semester, so keep your eye out. 

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP:  A few weeks ago I mentioned we had a new Alumni Association president. Amanda Marchegiani, AuD ‘10 took over in July for David Friess, OD ‘02, FAAO who did a wonderful job for us during his two-year term. To read more about Dr. Marchegiani’s goals for the Alumni Association, visit salus.edu/AmandaMarchegiani.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS:  I know it’s very frustrating to all of us that we’ve not made more progress with the pandemic. That said, we have a shared responsibility to ensure we’re all making adjustments in everything we do to remain safe and healthy.   Practicing social distancing and wearing a face mask that covers both our mouth and nose, in addition to frequent hand washing are essential tools for all of us to leverage to help prevent further spread of the virus. If you see others around campus that are not doing this, please politely remind them to. As I will continually remind all of you, what you do off campus directly affects all of us on campus, so please be mindful of that. Stay away from large groups and practice the same preventive measures when you’re not on campus – it protects all of us! While this discussion can be discouraging, we need to be mindful that this will eventually end. I know that if we continue to look out for one another and practice good prevention measure, we’ll all be fine. We are SALUS STRONG – and working together we are even stronger!  As a reminder, if you feel like you’d like to speak with a counselor about all this, I encourage you to make an appointment here.

 

Have a great weekend – Try to get out and enjoy the fresh air – of course socially distanced and with a face mask when around others!

Mike

Another Productive Week on Campus: Week of July 31st, 2020

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

Greetings from a soggy, warm and steamy Elkins Park. Pretty typical summer weather for around here! It’s been another productive week on campus and in our clinics as students and faculty continue to converge to meet their educational missions. Our Physician Assistant, Optometry and Blindness and Low Vision Studies students and faculty have been busy conducting important lab work, preparation for National Boards and clinics in addition to the online training many students and faculty are engaged in now. In addition to these on campus activities, many of our students are scattered around the country finishing up their external clinical rotations. While it may seem quiet at times, it’s really a busy time for everyone.

While all this is happening, our third-year optometry students have either taken or are getting ready to take Part I of their National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) exam and our fourth year students are preparing to head down to Charlotte, NC to take Part III of the NBEO in the very near future. I want to wish everyone taking these exams the best of luck (although you won’t need it, because of how well prepared you are) and safe travels back and forth from Charlotte.

Walking around the clinics it’s nice to see everyone taking all the necessary precautions to keep themselves and their patients safe. I think the scrubs you’re all wearing look professional and will help to serve the purpose of minimizing the risk of infections. Since wearing scrubs regularly is new to most of you, I just want to remind everyone that best practice is that scrubs are only worn at work and they are changed out after every shift. Otherwise, there’s little justification for them. I suspect you already know all this and you’re washing them daily, so thank you for that!

Yesterday, Congressman John Lewis was placed to rest in Atlanta, Georgia. Three U.S. Presidents, in addition to a myriad of civil rights and other leaders, attended the funeral to honor the sacrifices and achievements of this great man. Please take a moment today to reflect on what Congressman Lewis did for our country and how his work, which must continue, helped shine a light on the inequities Black Americans have faced in America for hundreds of years.

Cristina Rosano, OD ’20, who graduated from Salus PCO in May, not only landed a job as an optometrist in Philadelphia, but she also found out that she may be busy in her off time as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleading squad. Dr. Rosano was one of 576 candidates from 23 states as well as Canada, Mexico and Japan that secured one of eight open spots on the 38-member team. Read more about how she fulfilled her dreams of being an optometrist and a National Football League cheerleader at salus.edu/CristinaRosano.

The second part of our three-part series titled “All in the Family: Legacy Students” features my daughter, Emily Mittelman, MSOT ‘20 and Jonathan Fabriziani, OD ‘20. I’m very proud of Emily for continuing the family legacy at Salus University and her passion for caring for others. In Jonathan’s case, the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree as he has followed in his mother’s footsteps, our very own Maria Parisi, OD ‘85, Resident ‘86, associate dean of PCO’s Optometric Clinical Affairs. I know how proud Maria is of Jon who graduated this year, as well as his brother, Josh, who will graduate from PCO in 2021. Read more about our legacy students at salus.edu/LegacySeries2.

Provost Barry Eckert, PhD, will be one of the featured panelists from 1 to 2 p.m. today for a webinar titled “COVID-19 and Re-Opening Plans for Health Professions Education This Fall” by the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professionals (ASAHP). Dr. Eckert will share our plans for reopening this fall and the challenges these plans have on healthcare educators and institutions.

There is a two-part webinar next week, on Monday, Aug. 3 and Wednesday, Aug. 5, from noon to 1:15 p.m. each day titled “Addressing Racism in CSD Education.” Among the topics to be addressed include teaching multicultural counseling; support systems for underrepresented students; cross-cultural peer mentoring; multicultural and anti-racist curriculum; mentoring underrepresented doctoral students; cultural humility; implicit bias in CSD education; and inclusivity in CSD learning environments. For more information about the program, click here.

Ruth Shoge, OD ’06, Resident ’07, FAAO, assistant professor at Salus PCO and chair-elect of the ASCO Diversity and Cultural Competency Committee, was on the panel for a webinar earlier this week titled “Part 2 - Seeking Solutions - Race in Optometry: An Honest Conversation on Optometric Education” hosted by SUNY’s College of Optometry. It’s so important to keep having this candid and often difficult conversations and I appreciate Dr. Shoge both representing Salus at the SUNY event and taking on the Chair function of the ASCO Diversity and Cultural Competency Committee.

I want to wrap up today’s update with a bit of Naval history that offers a good lesson for all of us. On July 30, 1945, just three minutes after midnight, the heavy cruiser USS INDIANAPOLIS (CA 35) was struck by two Japanese torpedoes in the dark of night while conducting a solo transit of the Philippine Sea. Despite their best efforts, the ship went down in 12 short minutes. While around 900 of the 1,195-member crew escaped the ship that night, tragically only 316 were rescued. There’s a great deal written about the crew’s harrowing days in the shark-infested Pacific waiting to be found with few lifeboats, exposure to the elements, and almost no food or water. The one thing that became evident was that those unbelievably brave Sailors and Marines who survived while enduring almost impossible hardships, did so by working and staying together. Today, we must do the same as we confront the challenges of the global pandemic, social and political unrest in our country and around the world and the daily stressors we must deal with on a daily basis.

The pandemic will end in good time. We will get through this much more graciously and effectively if we continue to show respect for one another by wearing face masks and acting courteously and professionally towards each other. Our Salus strength is based on our desire to make the world a better place and I can think of no better way of doing that now than by setting our standards high and following those examples that Congressman Lewis and those Sailors and Marines who came before him all embraced. We are SALUS STRONG and we will get through this together!

As you think about and remember Congressman Lewis and the brave Sailors and Marines of INDIANAPOLIS, also please remember their courage, sacrifices and devotion to each other in the face of the most severe adversity. We can honor their memories and should draw strength from their legacies as we confront our own challenges. Have a great weekend. It’s going to start out a bit soggy but then be nice and sunny. Be safe, wear your face masks, wash your hands frequently, maintain social distancing and remember that what you do off campus directly affects us all on campus.

Mike

Serving as an Example for Others: Week of July 24th, 2020

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

Greetings from a hot and steamy Elkins Park. It seems every week I see more students and faculty on campus, which I’ve enjoyed. The Eye and Ear Institutes have been at about 50% capacity, but given the conditions we’ve had to work under, it’s appears to be a nice way to break into our new clinical routines. I greatly appreciate how our faculty, students and staff have fully embraced this next normal we’ve had to adopt to in order to teach and see our patients safely. I’ve also observed how much our patients have appreciated having access to a safe and familiar clinical environment where they can receive their necessary care.

For many legacy students and their families, attending Salus University feels preordained. Although each student has a unique reason for choosing the University, lucky for us, they share a common pride in making a Salus education part of their family tradition. Check out our “All in the Family: Legacy Students Series” at salus.edu/LegacySeries.

Of course, many things are not quite the same thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS) program has made it as close to business as usual for its students, primarily by utilizing existing technology to its fullest potential. Find out how our summer residency students are successfully making the adjustment at salus.edu/BLVSsummer.

Being quarantined didn’t stop research from continuing at the University. Our researchers recently completed a large study that has been accepted for publication by the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The study identified two clusters of surface-exposed amino acid residues that enable high-affinity binding of retinal degeneration-3 (RD3) protein to retinal guanylyl cyclase. Retinal degeneration causes various forms of congenital blindness. You can read more about the work being done by Dr. Alexander Dizhoor, PhD, and Dr. Igor Peshenko, PhD, at salus.edu/NewResearch.

Don’t forget about Clinical Grand Rounds later this morning. Dr. Ashley Maglione, Assistant Professor, and Dr. Tina Zeng, Second Year Neuro-Ophthalmic Disease Resident, will be presenting, Double Down on Double Vision. This should be a very interesting lecture.

Salus' Department of International and Continuing Education is providing administrative support for a continuing education program on July 29. Salus' very own Robert Serianni and Patricia Mayro will be speaking to a group of faculty members at Penn Medicine on the topic of “Advancing Clinical Supervision Knowledge and Skills for Practitioners. For more information about the program, click here.

As Congress prepares to debate the next COVID-19 aid bill, we have been writing to our Senators and Representatives to ensure they understand the importance continuing to support higher education in the bill. We’ve also asked that they treat graduate-only institutions, such as ours, equally to our undergraduate counterparts. In past aid bills, those schools with Pell-eligible students received about two-thirds more aid than those who don’t have Pell-eligible students. These funds could be used to off-set additional costs incurred due to the pandemic, as well as directly to students to offset some of their additional expenses. While we have not been successful in the past when lobbying for this, we’re hoping to gain some traction as it moves forward. Keeping fingers crossed!

I wanted to give a shout out to Dr. Rachel Levine, the Pennsylvania Secretary of Health and a Salus honorary degree recipient. Dr. Levine has been effectively leading the charge to ensure we all remain safe in the face of the pandemic. Most recently, Dr. Levine, a transgender woman, has been targeted by critics of the state’s shutdowns and health mandates, not because of her official position, but because of her gender choice. I find this totally reprehensible. We all need to speak out against transphobia, especially in light of the conversations we’re having about social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion. Dr. Levine is a consummate professional who is successfully executing our state’s very effective pandemic mitigation strategies under extremely difficult conditions. She deserves a great deal of thanks and respect, not derogatory and hateful comments.

Unbelievably, there still is a debate about the efficacy of wearing face masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in our country. The science behind the effectiveness of wearing face masks is unequivocal, which makes this discussion even crazier than it should be. Check out this article posted on NPR’s website. People have taken the stance that having to wear a face mask is a violation of their rights. I would argue that those not wearing a face mask are violating my rights and everyone else’s who might be exposed to them. It is our policy that anyone coming to campus will wear a face mask indoors, at all times, unless they are alone in their office. This, along with social distancing and frequent hand washing are currently the only tools we have to prevent the spread of COVID-19. While this pandemic will end, because people have not been following the current guidelines across the nation, it will take longer than it should. We need to serve as examples for others, as health care providers and members of the Salus community. That will help keep us all safe and hopefully those around you. Remember, what you do off campus directly affects us all on campus.

Have a great weekend. It looks like the temperatures might moderate a bit, so try to get outside, wearing a face mask if unable to socially distance from others, and enjoy yourselves. I plan on going for a long bike ride (with a face mask, if needed). Be safe, be smart, stay hydrated and remain Salus Strong.

Mike