Understanding How Each of Us Are "Wired": Week of March 15, 2024

 

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

Good morning on another spring-like day in our region! It’s been a busy week on campus, hosting consultants who are helping us prepare for an upcoming Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association accreditation visit next month. Special thanks to Bob Serianni and his staff for their wonderful preparation for this visit. We were also delighted to welcome Don Mueller, CEO of St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children; and our third year PCO students completed final preparations for Part 1 of their national boards.

In addition to all of this, here are some other things I hope you find of interest:

BOT RETIREMENT: Keith Ignotz has been a member of the Salus Board of Trustees for 32 years. In that time, he has seen PCO develop new programs and establish Salus University, an institution with multiple colleges and programs, continued growth and financial stability. Now Keith, along with Jo Surpin and Derrick Artis, OD ‘89, MBA, have retired from the board. Read more about Keith’s tenure here, and look for a future story about the contributions of Jo and Derrick.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Alyson McFadden, MSOT ‘22, was a competitive swimmer as an undergraduate student at California University of Pennsylvania who experienced a significant shoulder injury. The mother of a teammate was an occupational therapist who worked with McFadden and helped her to the point where she was able to continue to swim for the duration of her college career. That was the impetus that inspired McFadden to pursue a career in Occupational Therapy (OT) at Salus University. Click here to read more.

FASHION FRIDAY, AUDIOLOGY: A dog, hearing aid, drag queen, love sign, and CrossFit. Although topics seemingly unrelated, these items make up Rebecca Blaha’s, AuD, interest and personality. These items are incorporated into her attire as pins on her Salus University lanyard, which she wears daily while providing patient care at the Pennsylvania Ear Institute (PEI). Click here to read more about the latest installment of Fashion Friday, Audiology faculty edition.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This week, Salus University Vice President of Human Resources Maura Keenan and Human Resources Coordinator Kathleen McMullen kicked off another round of small group sessions to help faculty and staff review Drexel’s benefit options ahead of selection later this semester. Additional sessions are forthcoming, and you can also reach out directly to Maura and Kathleen to meet one-on-one if you have specific questions.

Feedback from our first two sessions suggests that many are finding the review process very helpful. And it is prompting additional questions, which is understandable. For many, this is the first time our transition to Drexel is “hitting home,” as we consider firsthand what choices to make among Drexel’s benefits. Each of us is “wired” a bit differently, and we each address change differently as well.

I’ve been discussing our transition with a friend who recommended I read a book by Thomas Erikson on the DiSC behavioral model. The book describes four types of human behaviors—dominance, influence, steadiness and compliance, broken down by colors – red, yellow, green and blue. It details how they interact with each other, as well as their communication and coping traits. The author points out that, “communication happens on the listener’s terms.” People hear what they want to or expect to hear, no matter who or what is being said, because the message is ”filtered through whatever their frame of reference might be.”

As we discuss our upcoming merger with Drexel, I see various DiSC profiles among the range of perspectives we are encountering. Some of us are wired for change – and embrace it – while others, primarily tend to prefer the status quo. One is not better than the other, but it does present some challenges when communicating change.

While, instinctively, we might all be aware of this, it’s a nice reminder that we are all a little different and will respond to change differently. That’s okay as long as we respectfully recognize those differences, and work to try and understand each other’s points of view. That said, change is coming and it’s exciting. To those in our group who may be having a difficult time with the change, we will do everything we can to make the transition to Drexel as seamless and comfortable as possible, understanding that some might have to adapt more than others.

Next week, several of our senior staff, deans and program directors will participate in a DiSC leadership training to learn how different behavior profiles navigate change, as we work to support our collective transition to Drexel. If you have taken a DiSC assessment, what have you learned about how you approach change? I would love to hear from you.

As you prepare for this weekend, please try to get out and enjoy the nice weather. Next week, although it may be a bit cooler than this week was, we’ll celebrate Spring, and prepare for our Spring Break, right around the corner. If you are so inclined, try to learn a bit more about DiSC analysis – I found it very enlightening.

On a much lighter note, check out the picture of the unusual looking vehicle we encountered when walking around the Drexel campus earlier this week. I thought it looked like a lime-green shoe!

Have a great weekend – best of luck to our PCO students taking boards. Be safe, continue to look out for one another and come back SALUS STRONG!

-Mike

Passover, Easter and Ramadan: Week of April 10th, 2020

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

Good morning from home where I, like most of you, have been working over the past several weeks. I hope that this week’s update finds everyone healthy and safe during these very uncertain and unsettling times.

April is Occupational Therapy month and we would like to take this opportunity to thank and celebrate all those OTs who are currently on the front lines, several who are working with COVID patients, fighting this pandemic, along with many of our other colleagues. 

We recently signed an articulation agreement with Immaculata creating a pathway for undergraduate students to enroll in several advanced degree programs to include audiology, optometry, occupational therapy, and physician assistant. To learn more about this, please click here.

We’ve continued our advocacy for additional assistance from the Federal government by writing to our local Congressional delegation to ensure they understood the very unique requirements our students. We are strongly advocating that graduate students be treated the same as undergraduates, making low interest federal student loans available to them and asking for low interest Perkins loans be re-instituted for graduate students.

Last week I announced that the Pennsylvania Ear Institute would begin to see emergency patients only. This week we saw our first couple of patients; one adult whose issue was handled "curbside" so that they didn't need to physically come into the clinic and the other, a two-year-old who needed earmold impressions so that he could get new earmolds ordered for his hearing aids. Needless to say, both were very grateful we could provide these services. The staff is strictly following CDC guidelines for any of these interactions. 

As I mentioned on Monday, Passover, Easter and Ramadan remind us that our life here on earth and our work at Salus takes on a special meaning during this health crisis. Being able to care for and give unto others while sheltering in place and wondering when all this will end is in our blood at Salus.   Your positive attitudes and professional demeanor will help get you through this. As I’ve said many times, this will all end eventually and we will all have learned a great deal about ourselves and others. We will be more resilient and wiser.  We are SALUS STRONG, which give us an edge no one else has. 

Finally, many of you may have seen the announcement from Governor Wolf closing all K- 12 schools until the end of the academic year. That specific mandate does not directly apply to us. We are not permitted to resume in-person instruction or reopen our campus until the closure of non-life sustaining businesses is lifted by the Governor. I wish I could tell you when that will happen, but as I’m certain you realize, it will be dependent upon the trajectory of the pandemic. I’m hopeful it will be sooner rather than later. I can assure you, as soon as we get the green light from the state, we will start moving forward with our plans to incrementally open the campus. We will continue to monitor this with the hope that we’ll be able to return to face to face training soon. Right now, I know faculty is planning on programs continuing with online training through the summer semester. 

Tanis and I wish you and your loved ones a peaceful and hopeful holiday weekend. Try to get out and enjoy some of the sunshine, of course, wearing your masks and practicing social distancing at all times! Be safe and stay healthy!

Mike

Sacrifice, Discipline, Miracles and Traditions: Week of April 6th, 2020

All,

Today marks the beginning of our 4^th week of online training, social distancing, hand washing reminders and sheltering in place. Again, thank you to our faculty, students and staff for adjusting to this new model. Yesterday, Holy Week began in preparation for the Easter holiday next Sunday and on Wednesday evening Passover begins. Ramadan starts a few weeks later. Without getting into a religious discussion, these holidays teach us about sacrifice, discipline, miracles and traditions. It doesn’t matter what your religious beliefs are, if you are familiar with either holiday, you’ll find people were faced with what seemed like insurmountable challenges and no clear solutions. That’s pretty pertinent when you compare them to today’s pandemic.    

If you’ve been watching the news, you know that this coming week the country is expecting to see very high death rates, especially in New York, which has become the global epicenter for the pandemic. The importance of staying at home and social distancing may be a huge sacrifice for many of you, but it is a sacrifice that can save lives – perhaps the lives of members of your own family. Please - continue to take this seriously. Don’t go out unless you absolutely have to, even to the grocery store or pharmacy. 

The sacrifices we’ve made up to now and continue to make in the next few weeks will pay off in fewer cases and hopefully, fewer deaths. We likely won’t begin to emerge from this for 4 – 6, or more weeks - but, there will be an end to this. We’ll look back and the entire experience will be a blip in time that hopefully, we will have learned a great deal from and can apply that knowledge to better prepare for when something like this happens again.  

While you may not feel like you’re doing much by sitting and watching movies and playing games, you are really saving lives. Nothing happening while you’re sitting at home is a good thing! Dr. Emily Landon, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Chicago reminds all of us that, “Without taking drastic measures, the healthy and optimistic among us will doom the vulnerable.”    

As I’ve mentioned in my previous messages to you, it’s important to understand that things will get worse before they get better, but they will get better. This is tough stuff because we’ve never been through anything like this before in our lifetimes. It’s okay to be scared or feel vulnerable; those are normal and natural feelings, given the current circumstances. Just don’t let those feelings overwhelm you and cloud your thinking. As I keep reminding you, our counselors are there to listen to your concerns and act as a sounding board for your feelings – take advantage of them if you need to. You can make an appointment here.  

I strongly encourage all of you to keep your fitness schedules going to the best of your ability, get outside often (if around other people, wear a mask) and keep yourself busy by working on your academic goals and also trying learning something new. Think about learning more about American History or even trying to start learning a new language. Our fitness experts at Hafter Center have been providing great YouTube indoor video workouts and just the other day sent out a workout schedule for the month that looks like lots of fun.

Finally, the staff of the Pennsylvania Ear Institute have stepped up to provide emergency services, in line with the state and CDC guidelines, to their patients with hearing aids who might need some assistance during this crisis. While they will only be providing services a couple of days a week, they’re fulfilling their responsibility to those they care for. That’s central to what we are all about at Salus and I applaud their actions.

As you begin this week, I want to thank you for the sacrifices you’re making to keep yourself, your families and many others safe. Please keep the correspondence coming.  

Be safe, be smart, wash your hands frequently, practice social distancing and wear a face mask if you go out, but stay home unless it’s absolutely necessary to go out! 

WE ARE SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Valentine's Day: Week of February 14th, 2020

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

Greetings and Happy Valentine’s Day from Elkins Park! Since today is Valentine’s Day – a day that’s supposed to be dedicated to love and relationships, I thought I’d do a deeper dive into the history of this Hallmark and Hershey holiday. As it turns out the history of St. Valentine’s Day is somewhat dubious according to historical documents, because it includes a gory story involving the decapitation of a third century martyr. According to Smithsonian Magazine, there were several St. Valentines who died on Feb. 14. Two of them were executed during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus in 269-270 A.D., at a time when persecution of Christians was common. It wasn’t until Geoffrey Chaucer, the famous author of “The Canterbury Tales” declared the February feast of St. Valentinus to the mating of birds, that Valentine’s Day took on a more romantic meaning. Smithsonian notes that in Chaucer’s day, English birds paired off to produce eggs in February. Soon, nature-minded European nobility began sending love notes during bird-mating season. As the story goes, the French Duke of Orléans, who spent some years as a prisoner in the Tower of London, wrote to his wife in February 1415 that he was “already sick of love” (by which he meant lovesick.) and he called her his “very gentle Valentine.” (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018) The rest is history, as they say. If you would like to read a bit more detail about this history of St. Valentine’s Day, go to the Smithsonian Magazine website here.

Related to Valentine’s Day, love was in the air this week at Salus as students, faculty and staff could stop by the Learning Resource Center (LRC) and design a handmade valentine for their significant others.

The Pennsylvania Ear Institute (PEI) “Hear the Love” event attracted a large crowd that came to hear an educational talk that focused on hearing loss and how it can impact patients’ lives and relationships. Complimentary hearing screenings were also offered for those who attended.

This week’s Mental Health Minute discusses the positive effects of regular exercise. There have been many scientific articles that speak to how exercise helps to reduce stress and anxiety as well as increase self-esteem and self-confidence. Most of you already know that increasing your heart rate can actually stimulate the production of neurohormones like norepinephrine, which not only improve cognition and mood but can improve thinking that might be influenced by stressful events. Endorphins, when produced during even moderate exercise give us a natural high that can produce feelings of happiness and euphoria. Just developing a simple exercise regimen that could be as simple as regular walks, to some regimented gym time, will have a positive effect on your mental health. 45 minutes, three times a week is generally recommended, so think about how you’re going to work this into your schedules. I’ve done it for years and have made it a priority. Try to see if you can do that as well. If you’d like to learn a bit more about all this, check out an article from the American Psychological Association here that goes into much greater detail about all this.

As healthcare providers and students preparing to enter healthcare fields, many of our patients, family members and friends will expect us to know something about the coronavirus pandemic, so it’s probably a good idea to keep up with the latest news about it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in humans and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Officially designated as COVID-2019 earlier this week, the virus is most often spread from person-to-person during close exposure to a person infected with the virus. While serious, the risk to most people outside China remains very low. According to the CDC there are at least 15 cases that have tested positive for the virus in the U.S., with a little over 400 people being observed. Generally speaking, to avoid any viral illness, be it COVID-2019 or the flu, the CDC advises getting the flu shot, washing your hands frequently and avoiding your office, school or clinic when you’re sick. To keep up with the latest reliable news about the coronavirus, I suggest you check the CDC website periodically as it’s updated frequently. 

Last Friday afternoon, many of us enjoyed seeing all the creativeness of our students, faculty, staff and friends on display at the opening reception for this year’s “Community Expressions 2020” exhibit in the D’Arrigo Family Gallery at the Hafter Student Community Center. Elynne Rosenfeld, curator and director of the gallery, has once again done a great job of gathering and displaying the work of our talented Salus community members. The exhibit runs through March 13, so stop over when you get a chance and check it out. 

Celebrating our heritage and remembering our history is always important. Take a look at the fascinating story on our website about an historic piece of PCO history that almost ended up being scrapped. But thanks to Dr. John J. Crozier and Dr. James Caldwell, the original desk that our founder Dr. Albert Fitch used was saved, restored and is still in use at the Elkins Park campus. 

Dr. Lindsay Bondurant, director of the Pennsylvania Ear Institute at Salus, will discuss “Aging Gracefully: How Addressing Hearing Loss Can Improve Your Quality of Life” at the next Lunch & Learn from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, at the Willow Grove YMCA, 3300 Davisville Road, Hatboro, Pa., 19040. Dr. Bondurant will discuss the signs and symptoms of hearing loss and the impact untreated hearing loss can have on health, happiness and relationships. She will also provide an overview of current management options for hearing loss, including hearing aids, cochlear implants and communications strategies. There are probably many of us here than can benefit from this talk!

Finally, winter has returned to Philadelphia this weekend, so if you’re headed out to enjoy the sunny weather, dress accordingly! Have fun, try to take some time to relax and evaluate how you’re going to fit some exercise into your daily routines, if you don’t already do that. Be safe and look out for one another!

Mike