Addressing Supreme Court's Ruling On Affirmative Action: Week of June 30, 2023

 

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

Good morning on another hazy day in our region. It’s been an eventful week as we prepared to bid farewell and safe travels to our Thai optometry students and a belated welcome to our SLP and audiology students from Taiwan. I’d also like to welcome all our new PCO residents and ODS students to Salus.

In addition, here are some other items of interest:

AOA CONFERENCE: Last week I attended the 2023 American Optometric Association conference, referred to as "Optometry's Meeting” in Washington, D.C. PCO/Salus was well represented at the conference, and it was great to catch up with our alumni and friends. Read more about the conference here.

SALUS AWARDS GALA RETURNS: After a few years off due to the pandemic, the Salus Awards Gala made a triumphant return. Hosted by our Campus Activities Committee, the Salus Awards Gala honored various Salus faculty, students and staff who have made an impact throughout the year. Click here to see who was honored.

ADAPTIVE RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES DAY: The second annual Adaptive Recreational Activities Day, sponsored by Hanger Clinic and Alps®, was held last Saturday at the Hafter Center. The event celebrated individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities, including limb loss, brain injury, blindness and low vision or mobility challenges, and was supported by healthcare and rehabilitation professionals and those with experience and expertise in adaptive sports and recreation. Read more about it here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 2019 with a degree in Communication Science and Disorders and learning about the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program at Salus University, Gabrielle Verrillo, MS ’21, decided to check it out. She was sold immediately. Read more here about how our SLP program prepared her well for her current career.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Many of you may have read the email that Dr. Mosley Williams distributed Tuesday in advance of yesterday’s decision by the Supreme Court that Harvard and UNC’s use of race in their admissions process violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. I wanted to share my thoughts, as well. I respectfully disagree with the findings of the Court. Salus and the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, prior to us becoming a university, have always deeply valued the importance of cultural and racial diversity, as evidenced by our 40-year commitment to our Summer Enrichment Program and our recruitment efforts across all our programs.

As the pandemic clearly taught us, huge disparities persist in the quality, level of access and trust in the American healthcare system. It is imperative that we not only recognize this, but continue to actively address this through our recruitment of underserved populations into all our programs.

In a New York Times article on a study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, the difference in newborn mortality rates among socioeconomic and racial cohorts of women is striking. For every 100,000 births, 173 babies born to wealthy white women die prior to their first birthday; 350 babies born to poor white women die; 437 babies born to wealthy black women die; and 653 babies born to poor black women die prior to their first birthday.

In maternal health, the situation is equally stark: “The CDC estimates that, in 2021, the maternal mortality rate among Black women was nearly 70 deaths for every 100,000 live births. That is 2.6 times the rate for white women, regardless of income or education (PBS Newshour, 6/28/23).” To say that race is not a factor in health outcomes is to ignore the evidence.

Dr. Jay Feldstein, the president of Pennsylvania College of Osteopathic Medicine recently published an editorial in Fortune Magazine that outlines this and other disparities that are clearly apparent in our healthcare system. One of the only ways that our society will be able to help to curtail this and other disparities for other underserved populations is to ensure that we continue to recruit and train healthcare providers that reflect the cultures and racial composition of those populations we serve. The importance of recognizing cultural humility in healthcare and actively addressing health inequities has never been as important as it is now. 

Salus will continue to actively recruit the most diverse student body that we can. We will not be deterred in working toward the best outcomes for our students and our patients. Our current admissions process, which does not consider race, recognizes all the factors, including the lived experiences, backgrounds and perspectives of students, that shape and contribute to their professional formation.

There will be a great deal of press following the Supreme Court’s decision on this topic in the coming weeks, espousing various perspectives. I want you to know that we will continue to maintain our steadfast commitment to recruit and train a student population that reflects diversity, inclusion, and cultural humility. 

Be safe, continue to look out for one another, stay hydrated and remain SALUS STRONG!

-Mike

Greeting's From Optometry's Meeting: Week of June 25th, 2021

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

Greetings from Denver, CO, where several of us are attending “Optometry’s Meeting”, the annual meeting of the American Optometric Association. It’s the first major meeting any of us have attended since the beginning of the pandemic. Several of our faculty members are lecturing and Dr. Satya Verma and I are being inducted into the National Optometry Hall of Fame later today. Other than the 97-degree temperatures the other day, it’s been a great meeting. While we’ve been in Denver, lots of other things have been happening around campus:

DR. MULLIGAN LOOKING BACK: We recently bid farewell to Margaret Mulligan, MD, who retired after 10 years as an associate professor in the University’s Physician Assistant (PA) program. Dr. Mulligan discusses her time at Salus and what she plans to do in retirement. To read more, go to salus.edu/MulliganRetires.

FOCUS ON NEW FACULTY: The Faculty Focus this week is on James Kelly, MMS, PA-C, one of our newest assistant professors in the Physician Assistant (PA) program. Find out why Jim wanted to get into academia and what attracted him to Salus. Read more at salus.edu/JamesKelly.

NAVIGATING FINANCIAL AID — PART TWO: Check out part two of “How to Navigate Financial Aid as a Grad Student” a podcast Q&A featuring Jaime Schulang, MA, director of Student Financial Affairs. Jaime talks about the different loans, scholarships and financial aid that are available for students when they come to Salus University. To listen and read more, click here.

APHASIA SUPPORT GROUP: In the latest Speech-Language Pathology department podcast, program chair and director Robert Serianni, MS, CCC-SLP, FNAP, talks to students and faculty about the Aphasia Support Group. Click here to listen and read more about it.

MIDDLE STATES ACCREDITATION: This week, we highlight Standard V - Educational Effectiveness Assessment. Our working group is led by Gregory Benjamin, PhD, MPH, Director, Institutional Research & Assessment, who is joined by Rachel Brackley, OD, Assistant Professor, Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Rachel Ditoro, MSPAS, PA-C, Associate Professor, director of Educational Competency and Strategic Innovation, Physician Assistant Studies Program, College of Health Sciences, Jonette Owen, AuD, AuD, FNAP, CH-AP, Assistant Professor, Assistant Dean; Practice and Assessment of Audiologic Medicine; Coordinator, External Clinical Education, Osborne College of Audiology, Caitlyn Foy, DOT, MOTR/L, Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy Program; Director, Occupational Therapy Doctoral Program, College of Education and Rehabilitation, Jamie Maffit, MS, COMS, CLVT, Assistant Professor, Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies, College of Education and Rehabilitation, Beth E. Davidoff, PhD, CCC-SLP, Assistant Professor, Speech-Language Pathology Program, College of Education and Rehabilitation, and James F. Konopack, PhD, Dean and Associate Professor, College of Health Sciences, Education and Rehabilitation. Together they are documenting the continuous assessment of our academic offerings and how we use data-driven decision making to develop and implement curricula that prepare graduates for successful practice, influential participation and leadership positions within the current and future healthcare and education environments. All members of the Salus community are invited to review and provide feedback on the University's draft self-study report. 

FINAL THOUGHTS: Last week we announced we will be requiring all students, faculty, and staff to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by August 13th. As you’ve heard me say before, as healthcare providers and those preparing to work in an industry responsible for the health and wellness of others, it is incumbent upon all of us to not only set the example but also ensure we are doing everything in our power to keep our patients, colleagues, and all those around us healthy and safe. I applaud each one of you who have already gotten vaccinated. To those few of you who are still on the fence, I ask that you talk to those who have gotten the vaccine to help you feel more comfortable in getting the jab. All data strongly supports how safe and effective these vaccines are. Let’s start this next semester with 100% of us protected from this deadly disease helping to ensure we remain SALUS STRONG! Have a great weekend. Please stay safe, look out for one another and if you’re not vaccinated, remember to wear your mask when around others.

Mike

Greetings from Denver: Week of June 22nd

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

Greetings from sunny Denver, Colorado where we are attending Optometry’s Meeting this week. It’s been a great week with our students, faculty and alumni making a splash here. Several of our alumni and faculty members are lecturing and volunteering to provide various services throughout the week. We have a Salus table in the Exhibit Hall and will be hosting an Alumni and Friends reception this evening at the Hyatt Regency at the Convention Center in Centennial Ballroom F from 5:00 - 6:30, where we will be honoring Dr. David McPhillips OD ’85 with the Albert Fitch Memorial Alumnus of the Year Award. We hope everyone from Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) that’s here in Denver can join us for this celebration.  

During the annual Essilor Optometric Student Bowl, Celeste Gomez ‘19OD represented Salus/PCO exquisitely - making it all the way to the final round, making us all proud!  It was great to see so many of our faculty and staff on-hand to watch this great event.  

On campus, the Speech-Languague Institute (SLI) is launching Autism Support Group for children and their families. The meetings will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at SLI on June 28, July 5, July 12, and July 19. Summer classes and clinics continue as we prepare for August when we’ll be ready to welcome our new incoming classes.

Have a great weekend.  Be safe, have fun and look out for each other.

Mike

Optometry's Meeting: Week of June 23rd

Students, Faculty, Staff, Residents, Alumni, Board of Trustees, and Friends,

Greetings from a nice and sunny Elkins Park! Last week kind of got away from me as I was down in Washington DC attending “Optometry’s Meeting” along with many of our faculty and students.

While in DC, I had the opportunity to participate in a round table discussion addressing optometric services at the VA. The roundtable, which was held at the Capital building, was hosted by Senator John Boozman from Arkansas, who also happens to be an optometris. It was also attended by Congresswoman Julia Brownley from California; Dr. Chris Quinn, president of the American Optometric Association; Dr. Chris Wroten, from the American Optometric Association’s Federal Relations Committee; representatives from the Blinded Veteran’s Association (VA) as well as other Veteran Services Organizations (VSOs) that have very much appreciated and supported optometric services the VA has offered over the years.

During the course of the discussion, I had the opportunity to point out there are over 900 optometrists currently working within the VA medical system, noting that the VA is the largest clinical training ground from optometrists. There are approximately 1,500 optometric interns rotating in VA facilities annually and over 170 post-graduate VA optometry resident positions available for clinical training. I also stated there are three VA Optometric Research Fellowship Program sites that are training the next generation of optometric eye and vision care researchers. Most participants didn’t realize that of the 900 clinically privileged optometrists in the Veterans Health Administration, about 60 percent have faculty appointments at a school or college of optometry and are actively involved in the clinical training and education of future eye doctors.  Senator Pat Roberts from Kansas was in the room and commented on the importance that the VA brings to optometric clinical training. He also cited the need to have highly trained ODs in his rural districts.  It proved to be a very informative and worthwhile session, which garnered a great deal of support from both legislators who participated as well as from the VSO’s in the room.

A high point of this year’s Alumni and Friends Reception was honoring our 2017 Pennsylvania College of Optometry Albert Fitch Alumnus of the Year, Dr. Chris Quinn.  Dr. Dennis Lyons, the chair of our Alumni Board of Directors eloquently described Dr. Quinn’s many contributions to New Jersey optometry and the profession as a whole.  You can read more about Dr. Quinn’s numerous accomplishments here. Congratulations Chris on this award and being installed in as this year’s AOA president!  You’ve made us all very proud!  We also had the opportunity to celebrate five-year reunions for classes graduating in the “2s” and "7s”.  It really was a fun event!

In our College of Education and Rehabilitation, the Blindness and Low Vision Studies program received a $75,000 grant from the Northeast Pennsylvania Lions Service Foundation to help further assist those in need of low vision and blinds services. Congratulations to Dr. Fabiana Perla and her team for making this happen!

For those of you headed over to The Eye Institute, you will see progress on the new parking lot as well as progress on the outside of the building with new windows installed along the wall nearest the Community College. Work should be finishing up within the next week or so with a “grand opening” for the new CityLife primary care clinic just a few weeks away.  

As you begin your week, enjoy the nice weather as I understand it’s going to get hot in a few days!

Mike