Moving to the Green Phase: Week of June 22, 2020

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

On Friday, Governor Wolf announced that Montgomery County will move from the “Yellow Phase” to the “Green Phase” of the Process to Reopen Pennsylvania on Friday, June 26^th. Philadelphia County will follow in about a week. You can see the difference between the phases here.   

It’s important to remember that the “Green Phase” of the Process to Reopen Pennsylvania does not mean that things go back to normal – they do not. While most businesses will open in some way, shape or form, we still need to remember that the COVID-19 pandemic is still very much a part of our lives. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the increase in several states across the country. Luckily, because our county and state public health experts have done a good job in helping to contain the virus here, our numbers are still decreasing. Clearly, we don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that. That’s why it remains imperative to practice social and physical distancing, frequent hand washing and wearing a face mask when around others.

At Salus, we are maintaining our approach of putting the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff first and foremost in everything we do. As you will recall, we received relief from several restrictions while in the Yellow Phase because we educate healthcare professionals. Consequently, we won’t see any changes in our operation this summer, to include no academic or social gatherings. We will continue with our current screening, social/physical distance and cleaning protocols and continue to encourage people who can work from home to do so. You will see more changes as we begin our Fall semester in August. Applying those same principles, our labs and classrooms have been reconfigured to accommodate appropriate physical distancing guidelines and we are working hard to have our LRC and Hafter Center, to include the fitness center, ready for the Fall semester. Please reference our COVID-19 webpage for more details.  

It is our intention for everyone coming to our campus and clinics to not only remain healthy and safe but also to feel comfortable in doing so. As I’ve noted many times since this pandemic began, we will get through this just fine. We already have become smarter and more adaptable. I’m certain that there are many things that still don’t feel quite comfortable to many of you. I know wearing a mask while going to the grocery store or riding my bike around others still doesn’t feel natural to me, but I also know I’m protecting others, so as the folks at Nike suggest, “I just do it”. When on campus, please respect others and wear your face mask. Please continue to social and physical distance – both on and off campus. Wash your hands frequently and wear your mask, covering your nose and mouth. I look forward to seeing more of you on campus in the upcoming weeks. 

We are Salus Strong and that, along with acting professionally and courteously towards others, will get us through this.

Mike

Plans for the Fall Semester: Week of June 15th, 2020

Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff and Board Members, 

Having resumed limited University operations and clinical instruction during the Yellow Phase of the Process to Reopen Pennsylvania, I wanted to confirm our plans for the fall semester. Consistent with the guidelines promulgated by the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Education, after a great deal of planning and preparation, we are planning to resume the majority of our on campus operations on August 24th.

Instruction

Laboratory and clinical instruction will be conducted face-to-face either on campus, at our clinical facilities or at externship sites. Didactic classroom instruction will be conducted in alternative formats with individual programs and their students selecting from a variety of modalities including, face-to-face, remote (synchronous and asynchronous) and blended offerings. We are adopting a block scheduling system to allow for enhanced cleaning and disinfecting of spaces and to reduce congestion in common areas. If for any reason, the public health situation dictates otherwise, we are well prepared to pivot and provide remote instruction.

Student Services

The Learning Resource Center (LRC), Café and Student Affairs Office will be open for your use. We are also developing plans to reopen the Hafter Student Community Center.

Operating Protocols 

The health and safety of the Salus community remains our utmost concern. The operating protocols that we have adopted for the Yellow Phase will evolve in accordance with CDC and state guidelines. Daily screenings and temperature checks will continue as will the requirement to wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth. For your own convenience, please remember to complete the Salus Sign On. Students and faculty engaged in laboratory and clinical instruction will continue to be provided with personal protective equipment (PPE).

One way traffic in our hallways and staircases will also continue. Laboratories, classrooms, the LRC and the Café will all have reduced capacities to allow for physical distancing. Plexiglass shields are being added to laboratory and clinical equipment and in additional locations as customer service barriers.

To allow for contact tracing, all individuals entering and leaving our facilities will be recorded. Class schedules and assigned seating will provide additional information. 

All faculty and staff who can perform the essential functions of their jobs from home will still be encouraged to do so. Those whose essential functions require them to be on site will return to campus and our clinical facilities.   

Our protocols are designed to reduce the risk of exposure, but the contagious nature of COVID-19 means we cannot eliminate all risk of infection. Everyone must also do their part by practicing physical distancing, frequently washing their hands, not touching their nose, mouth or eyes, and most importantly staying home if they are sick. Once again, this is where the Salus Sign On comes into play. We have adopted more liberal excused absence policies to accommodate those who stay home because they are or may be sick.

Orientation

Building upon the success of our series of Entering Student Webinars, our new students will be able to conduct their Salus University orientation online and at their own pace beginning in early August. In addition, each individual program will conduct small group orientation sessions virtually and/or in person the week of August 17th.

  

As we work tirelessly to prepare for the fall semester, additional and updated information, including our protocols and procedures can be found on our updated COVID-19 webpage – salus.edu/COVID-19.

I cannot tell you how excited we all are to welcome you back to campus. You’re returning to campus during an exciting, yet challenging time that presents us with great opportunities to innovate and help to define the next normal that has been necessitated by the pandemic. 

We are SALUS STRONG, working together as a singular University team. I can’t wait to see you in person.

Mike

Equality, Decency and Freedom: Week of June 5th, 2020

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

Good morning from Horsham. Summer is upon us with hot and muggy weather, compounded with strong thunder storms. I hope, as you’re reading this, if you’ve lost power, it has been restored. If not, I hope it will be on soon! It’s been quite the week. Let me start by filling you in on what’s been happening on campus and then I’d like close in sharing my thoughts on external events, but not unrelated to us at Salus. 

This week’s Faculty Focus is on Dr. Tracy Offerdahl-McGowan and her role as both a pharmacist and a “farmacist.” She’s got some great stories you can read more about here. 

The inaugural Post-baccalaureate in Health Sciences class certainly left its mark on the University. I want to congratulate all of those students who finished the program and thank Drs. Darryl Horn and Brooke Kruemmling for taking the lead on this program, as well as the rest of our Rock Star faculty who helped to make it a success. Check out the virtual celebration to commemorate the accomplishments of the inaugural class here.

Congratulations to Faye Miller, O&M ’14, who was named the Blindness and Low Vision Studies Alumna of the Year by the Alumni Association. You can read more about Faye’s numerous accomplishments and contributions to her field here. 

Best of luck to our Osborne College of Audiology externs who are about to begin their clinical rotations. Thanks for including me in your celebration last night. I know you all will just hit it out of the park!

A reminder that the next Continuing Education Grand Rounds lecture is titled “Personal Equipment in the Clinical Setting” from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Friday, June 12. This is a mandatory session for PCO students, but I’d also highly recommend as many people as possible try to listen in as the use of PPE has become an integral part of everyone’s clinical lives. For more information about the program, click here. 

While I have historically tried to remain apolitical in writing these posts, the events of the last couple of weeks have pushed me to the point where I can no longer stay quiet and keep my opinions to myself. 

I want to comment on a couple events that have offended, disgusted and appalled me this week. The first was watching peaceful demonstrators being forcibly and violently removed from Lafayette Square in Washington, DC, so Donald Trump could have a “photo opportunity” holding up a bible in front of St. John’s Church on the square. This abhorrent abuse of power highlighted his disregard for the rights of those conducting a peaceful protest, voicing their indignation with racism, white supremacy and police brutality. Threatening the use of military intervention and force against protesters, as Trump has, is something a dictator would do and is not consistent with our Constitutional First Amendment right of peaceful assembly to be heard. I do not condone any of the violence and looting that went on, but that was a small minority, distracting us from the principal message we all need to hear – the injustice Black and other people of color have suffered over two centuries. 

The second event was the unbelievably racist, incendiary and offensive press release from Joseph Gale, a Montgomery County Commissioner. I’ve already responded to his comments very publicly. We need to expect and demand more from our elected officials, especially one that lacks a sense of decency, compassion and respect. Dr. Di Stefano reminded us of the importance of voting during his commencement speech – this takes on an even more important role for all of us given the strife our nation is feeling right as a result of incompetent, immature and failing leadership at several levels. Our country and our democracy are at an inflection point today, and, while it will not be easy, we have an obligation to get us back on track to the ideals we were founded upon – equality, decency and freedom for all.

Even with all of that going on, I was uplifted and educated earlier in the week by the candidness and professionalism of our students, faculty and staff as we began to openly address the issues of race inequality and police brutality in our society.  

Salus University stands in solidarity with the Black community and all communities of color. We must be diligent and actively listen to, learn from, and support each other. As healthcare providers we must actively address disparities in access to quality healthcare that are based on race, gender or sexual orientation. We must commit to making this moment in history a turning point for positive change rather than a blip in time. Let the actions of all of those working for a more just society further demonstrate that Black lives matter, and let us all commit to working together as one to build a better future. I would encourage all of you move out of your comfort zones and speak out and take action against these social injustices. 

I hope you have a chance to reflect on this over the weekend. Today, Montgomery and surrounding counties move into the Yellow Phase of The Process to Reopen PA, so next week there might be several more people on campus. If you have to be on campus, please ensure you follow all social distance guidelines, continue aggressive hygiene routines, to include frequent hand washing and cleaning flat surfaces and wearing a face mask that covers your nose and mouth while on campus or in clinic.  You can review our Yellow Phase guidelines here.

Stay safe, stay healthy, be respectful of one another - stay SALUS STRONG!

Mike