Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy: Week of April 30th, 2021

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

Greetings from a very pollen covered Elkins Park Campus. It’s been another busy week with practical exams, in-person classes and labs and bustling clinics. Here are some additional pieces of information that I wanted you to have: 

MIDDLE STATES ACCREDITATION: This fall we will virtually host a team of peer reviewers on behalf of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) as part of the University's ongoing two-year self-study review process. This process focuses on the University's commitment to continuous improvement and the ability to meet the required standards for re-accreditation. While a group of faculty and staff volunteers have been collaborating on this essential process, we all have a role to play by raising our awareness of their efforts. Over the coming months, in my weekly updates, I will provide some background on the subject matter of each of the seven MSCHE standards and introduce you to those in the Salus community that are doing this important work. More information can be found on our website. Up first, Standard I - Mission and Goals.

BIG RED BUS UPGRADE: In honor of her family’s more than 100 years of combined service to the optometric profession, to patient care and professional education, and after seeing first-hand the benefits of providing early vision care to students at their schools, Cathie Muhr has donated $100,000 toward replacing our aging vision van, so the “Looking Out for Kids” program may continue in a more suitable environment. Cathie is the third generation of her family to work in optometry. She joined the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) family as a technician more than 40 years ago. We cannot thank Cathie enough for generosity and dedication to our LOFK mission. Read more about Cathie’s generous gift here. And don’t forget the annual LOFK charity fundraiser is Saturday, May 1. For information, click here.

DEI COMMITTEE APPLICATIONS: There has been a good response to the call for applications for the DEI Committee, however there is still a need for more student participation. So, Dr. Juliana Mosley-Williams has extended the deadline for applications through the end of today, April 30. Contact Dr. Mosley-Williams at JMWilliams@salus.edu for an application. 

NEW ORGANIZATIONS FOR STUDENTS: White Coats for Black Lives, Salus Hearts in Motion, National Perinatal Association, and Salam Muslim Student Association are just a few of the new organizations on campus that further emphasize the wide variety of student involvement the University has to offer. Read more about ways to foster engagement for Salus students here.

BLACK EYECARE PERSPECTIVE: Salus University alumni are leading a dialogue asking for 13 percent Black representation in the optometry community through the Black EyeCare Perspective. Dr. Jacobi Cleaver, OD ‘11, shares his experiences and thoughts surrounding his PCO optometry journey, beginning in the PCO Summer Enrichment Program (SEP), which will relaunch in June as the Robert E. Horne SEP after a six-year hiatus. Read more about Dr. Cleaver here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s Where Are They Now features Casey Heffelfinger, MS ‘20, CCC-SLP, a speech-language pathologist in a skilled nursing facility in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Find out why she said Salus was the right place for her to further her professional aspirations at salus.edu/CaseyHeffelfinger.

OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITY: The parking lot area outside the South building lobby on the Elkins Park campus has been fenced in for dining, meeting, studying and general use. This area will hold up to 44 people, with the chairs and tables placed accordingly to ensure social distancing. There are sanitizing supplies to wipe down the area you used. Access and egress from this area must be done through the South building lobby. We ask that you do not enter or go through this area from outside the fenced area or from the parking lot. You must be screened at the main entrance prior to using it. This area can be reserved for student events/meetings and can be scheduled through the facilities department at facilities@salus.edu.

FALL 2021 COMMENCEMENT: Salus University’s fall commencement will be Tuesday, Oct. 12. More details will be announced as they become available.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I wanted to take some time to share my thoughts about vaccine hesitancy. If you’ve been reading my Weekly Updates you will know that I strongly believe in the importance of being vaccinated and how that remains our primary path out of the pandemic. You should have also picked up on the fact that I believe, as healthcare professionals, we need to set the example for everyone and get vaccinated. Frankly, it is our professional responsibility to get vaccinated to ensure the safety of our patients and those working with us. These vaccines are safe and effective and have already begun to help curtail the spread of the virus in places where they have been widely distributed. The sooner we can reach herd immunity the more lives can be spared. In addition to receiving the vaccine ourselves, we also should be playing a key role in acting as vaccine advocates and educators to those who might be hesitant to receive it. There are several independent, scientific resources that will help debunk inaccurate theories and help to educate those who might be reticent to be vaccinated. They include: The Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), WebMD, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, to name just a few. Additionally the Black Doctors Consortium has been extremely successful in decreasing vaccine hesitancy amongst the African American community in Philadelphia. You can learn more about their efforts here. I would encourage you to review some of these resources to help educate yourself and others about the safety and efficacy of these miraculous vaccines.

As you probably read last week, we have announced that beginning June 1st, we will authorize university-sponsored travel for those who are vaccinated. We’ll be adding more incentives within the coming weeks to include a requirement to be vaccinated to use the fitness center. External to us, most clinical externship and clerkship sites are requiring students to be vaccinated, and we are considering the same for TEI, PEI and SLI. Please don’t put your professional education in jeopardy by not getting vaccinated. If you haven’t already received the vaccine, I strongly advise you to take the initiative and get it done now! 

As you prepare for the weekend, try to get out and about and enjoy the spring weather. With the updated CDC guidelines addressing the use of face masks, remember, if you’re vaccinated, you still need to wear your mask if you attend a crowded, outdoor event. If you are not vaccinated, you should be wearing your masks when attending small outdoor gatherings, even with vaccinated people, when dining outdoors and attending crowded outdoor events. Just some more incentives to get vaccinated! Enjoy the weekend. Be safe, make arrangements to get vaccinated, if you haven’t already and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Processing, Healing, Progressing: Week of April 23rd, 2021

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

Once again, there’s lots going on around campus. Here are just some of the things that I’d like to highlight:

LOFK SUCCESS STORY: Unlike many of Philadelphia’s children, Colbie and Addyson Sparks were able to attend school this year in-person at Our Lady of Port Richmond (OLPR). With the help of The Eye Institute (TEI) of Salus University’s School Vision Program their school year was made a little easier. Read more about their experience at salus.edu/SchoolVision. And don’t forget to get your tickets to the University’s 14th annual “Looking Out for Kids” fundraiser, held virtually at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 1. To purchase virtual tickets or VIP reception boxes online, visit here. 

PROCESSING, HEALING, PROGRESSING: I hope you got a chance to tune into the DEI forum “Processing, Healing and Progressing After the Verdict” last evening via WebEx. It featured Lisa Croft, DO, who shared personal perspectives and how traumatic events impact our work in health care. A second speaker, Jaison Freeman, PhD, Chestnut Hill College assistant professor of psychology, also shared personal perspectives and how faculty can assist in facilitating difficult dialogue around these events in the classroom/clinical setting. We recognize these forums will not solve our societal ills, but they do provide an opportunity for members of our community to be together to dialogue, listen and support.

MATCH DAY 2021: Resident Match Day is when all residency programs and candidates who applied receive their results on where they ultimately are matched after a season of residency interviews that begins in October and closes the end of February every year. Read more about the excitement and anxiety surrounding this year’s Match Day at salus.edu/MatchDay2021.

PA OLYMPICS 2021: Salus students joined other PA students from Arcadia University, DeSales University, Drexel University, Jefferson University, the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) and Temple University to participate in “The Amazing Race,” April 10, 2021, in Philadelphia. Read more about how our PA students had some fun and raised money for a good cause by going to salus.edu/PAOlympics.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s Where Are They Now features Devin Williams, OD ‘17, who was attracted to PCO/Salus because we emphasized early clinical exposure and placed students in our clinical facility, The Eye Institute (TEI), earlier than most optometry schools. Find out how Dr. Williams’ career has progressed at salus.edu/DevinWilliams. 

ONGOING PODCAST SERIES: Join Robert Serianni, MS, CCC-SLP, FNAP, the chair and program director of the department of Speech-Language Pathology at Salus University as he speaks with a clinical educator and three current students about their collaboration with the members of the Breastfeeding Resource Center and their work in the population of infants, toddlers and families. Click here to listen. 

LUNCH AND LEARN: I hope you had a chance to attend, via Zoom, our latest Lunch and Learn event yesterday on “Environmental and Behavioral Factors Associated with Refractive Errors in Israeli Boys” presented by Ariela Gordon-Shaag, PhD, FAAO, chair of the Department of Optometry and Vision Science at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem, Israel. If you missed it, contact Dr. Melissa Vitek at mvitek@salus.edu for more information.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This past week many of us recorded our parts for the upcoming virtual commencement exercise. We’re extremely excited that Congresswoman Madeleine Dean is our Keynote speaker and former Dean of Students, Robert Horne will be receiving an Honorary Degree, the Doctor of Humane Letters Degree, for the work he did in establishing and growing the Summer Enrichment Program during his tenure at Salus. While all of us would have preferred to do this in person, the pandemic is continuing to throw us curves. I am happy that we’re able to do the in-person drive by ceremony next month but also realize it’s not what many of you (and me) would have preferred, but given the current situation, it is the responsible course of action to take at this time. As more people get vaccinated, hopefully, this will be the last time we’ll have to go down this road. In the meantime, I’m hoping all of you are either vaccinated or have appointments to get vaccinated as that is the only way we will contain this virus. We are working on having a vaccination event here on campus sometime next week for those who still need it – more details to follow on that. 

In the meantime, please continue to wear your face masks, socially distance and wash your hands frequently. Please be safe, look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG as you prepare for the weekend!

Mike

The Importance of Educating Those with Vaccine Hesitancy: Week of April 16th, 2021

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

It’s been another busy week at Salus. Our virtual and in-person classes have been continuing to meet regularly and our labs and clinics have all been very busy. It’s been exciting to watch our new LASER lab take shape with Dr. Coyne lecturing students on proper procedures. These state-of-the art teaching and learning opportunities help to differentiate Salus from the rest of our competition. Please take note of what else is happening around campus:

VACCINATION UPDATE: It’s extremely important for all of us to do our part to get beyond the pandemic and get vaccinated. Effective last Tuesday, every person over the age of sixteen is now eligible for the vaccine in Pennsylvania, with the exception of the City of Philadelphia, who will expand their eligibility on April 19th. Montgomery County has opened appointments for everyone who is now eligible. You can register here. There is also an opportunity for up to 150 members of the Salus community who are either classified as Phase 1A or 1B to get the vaccine today, April 16, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at ASPIRA Educational Campus, 6301 N. Second St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19126. Neither site will be administering the J&J vaccine at this time. If you fall within 1A or 1B, please check here to register for the event.

We are also working with a local pharmacy to try and arrange for a vaccination event on campus sometime within the next couple of weeks that would be open to everyone still needing one. We will keep you posted as we get more information. If you’ve already received your vaccine, please remember to fill out our Vaccine Status form here so we know how many of us are vaccinated. As always, updated vaccine information can be found on our website.

LOOKING OUT FOR KIDS: If you haven’t already gotten your tickets, Salus University’s 14th annual “Looking Out for Kids” fundraiser is right around the corner. It will be held virtually at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 1. To purchase virtual tickets or VIP reception boxes online, visit here. Rosemary Connors from NBC 10 recently did a very nice story about the LOFK program that was aired on Wednesday. Click here if you’d like to see it. 

VRT WEEK: This week, April 12 through April 16, is Vision Rehabilitation Therapist Appreciation Week. It is observed every year the week of April 14 to commemorate the birthdate of Anne Sullivan on April 14, 1866. Sullivan is one of the early pioneers of vision rehabilitation and is noted for her work with Helen Keller (1880-1968), American author, disability rights activist and lecturer. To read more, click here. 

DEI COMMITTEE RESTRUCTURING: A reminder from Dr. Juliana Mosley-Williams that anyone interested in serving on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee should complete their applications and send them to her by Thursday, April 22, at diversity@salus.edu. 

HERITAGE SOCIETY: Please take a few minutes to check out the story on our website about Gail and Edward Cordes, OD ‘77, who have recently decided to become part of our Heritage Society. Heritage Society members are those who have made provisions for Salus University as part of their estate planning in the form of a gift, annuity, trust agreement or life insurance. Through their foresight and generosity, these donors help preserve the heritage of the University and build a stronger future for Salus. Thank you, Dr. and Mrs. Cordes! To read more, go here.

RAMADAN CELEBRATION: As our Muslim colleagues and friends celebrate Ramadan, we wish you a Ramadan Mubarak or blessed Ramadan. May this Ramadan bring joy, peace, health and prosperity to you.

TRANSITION TO PRACTICE PODCAST: In Part Two of the “Transition to Practice” podcast Q&A, Ryan Hollister, associate director of Bennett Career Services Center, talks about the resources he provides to Salus students to help them find a career in their field and make it as smooth a transition as possible. Click here to listen.

FINAL THOUGHTS: By now, you all have seen the news that out of an “abundance of caution,” the FDA is advising doctors to pause the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while it investigates extremely rare blood clots, or thrombosis, in the cerebral venous sinus that drains blood from the brain. They investigated an initial six reports of blood clots in women ages 18 to 48. On Wednesday, two more cases were added to the list: a seventh woman who received the vaccine and a man who received it during a clinical trial. If there is indeed a risk of blood clots from the vaccine — which has yet to be determined — that risk is extremely low. It’s about 1 case per million. The risk of getting COVID-19 is much greater.

The good news is there is ample supply of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines now. The bad news is that I am afraid that those people with vaccine hesitancy will only be more hesitant to get vaccinated because of all of this. As healthcare providers, we play an important role in helping to educate those we care for and this current situation provides a great opportunity to practice that skill. While, I in no means want to minimize the severity of anyone who might be unlucky enough to contract a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, the odds of that happening are extremely rare. According to the CDC, the chance of getting struck by lightning in this country is about 1 in 500,000. That’s twice the incidence of possibly contracting blood clots from the vaccine. The risk of having a poor outcome from COVID is even higher, especially as one ages or if they have comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, COPD or other related diseases. According to the CDC, if you’re between the age of 40-49, the risk of dying from Covid-19 is 7,143 times higher than contracting a blood clot from the J&J vaccine. So, if you have the opportunity to speak to anyone who might be reticent to get the vaccine, especially now, please take the opportunity to explain that the vaccine approval process is working exactly as designed. A rare problem has been identified and it will be appropriately studied. Unless more cases present themselves, the vaccine should again be available with appropriate warning signs that recipients and physicians need to be aware of, in addition to descriptions of possible side-effects, much like most other vaccines and medications currently on the market.

The vaccines that are currently approved under Emergency Use Authorizations are safe, proven to be very effective and they prevent serious disease and death. To avoid getting the vaccine at this point puts everyone at risk and helps to prolong the pandemic, which no one wants.

As you prepare for the weekend, please think about taking some time for yourself to recharge and just relax. We all have been under a great deal of stress throughout the pandemic and taking the time to unwind is not only wise, but an essential tool to keep us all mentally healthy. As a reminder, if you do feel like you’d like to talk about any of the stressors that might be affecting you now, please don’t hesitate to make an appointment with any of our counselors in CPPD if you’re a student or Human Resources if you are faculty or staff.

Please stay safe, and remain SALUS STRONG by continuing to wear your facemask when around others, socially distance and wash your hands frequently. Have a great weekend!

Mike

The Importance of Getting Vaccinated: Week of April 9th, 2021

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

Greetings from our beautiful Elkin Park campus. While this has been another short week, it’s also been a busy week on campus between practical examinations, practice for national boards and all the labs, clinics and classes that have been going on. In addition to all that, here’s some more great information about some of our staff and activities happening around campus:

LOOKING OUT FOR KIDS: We’re closing in on the date for Salus University’s 14th annual “Looking Out for Kids” fundraiser, which will be held virtually at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 1. This year’s event will honor TD Bank as the “Lighthouse Award” winner. Once again, NBC10 News anchor Rosemary Connors will host the event. To purchase virtual tickets or VIP reception boxes online, visit here.

DEI COMMITTEE RESTRUCTURING: Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee is undergoing a restructuring. Dr. Juliana Mosley-Williams, the University’s special assistant to the president for DEI, is accepting applications from those who would like to serve on the committee. It will consist of 15 members from across the University to ensure diverse and inclusive representation. The three colleges will have a student and faculty representative (six members). Additionally, several areas have been suggested for possible member representation for the remaining seven members. Dr. Mosley-Williams will serve as chair and I will serve as an ex-officio member. All committee members will be expected to serve a two-year term, and may serve for one additional term. Please contact Dr. Mosley-Williams for details on how to apply.

FACULTY FOCUS: This week’s Faculty Focus is on Kenneth Newton, CCC-SLP. Ken is known affectionately in the Speech-Language Pathology department as “Zen Ken” because he likes to remind students to relax and breathe while they navigate the challenges of graduate school. Read more about Ken here.

SPRING COMMENCEMENT KEYNOTE SPEAKER: I am extremely happy to announce that Congresswoman Madeleine Dean has agreed to be the keynote speaker for our Spring Commencement ceremony. Congressman Dean has focused on decency and the common good throughout her years in public service. She has worked to address issues that affect all of us, including stopping gun violence and guaranteeing health care for all. I had the opportunity to talk with the Congresswoman last week and I’m certain that her message will resonate with all of us.

SALUS SUPERSTAR: We sadly bid farewell recently to a Salus superstar, Donna Agnew, MSPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA, director of the University’s Physician Assistant (PA) Studies program, who has taken on a new challenge at the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Donna’s leadership and expertise has resulted in this program becoming one of the leading PA programs in the country. Thank you for all you have done for Salus, Donna. We wish you all the success and will miss you. In Donna’s absence Mr. Dan Pavlik will serve as the interim director of the program. Read more about Donna’s farewell here.

SALUS SUPERSTAR, TAKE 2: We also recently said goodbye to Francine Pearlman-Storch, OD ‘79, Resident ‘80, who retired after more than 40 years in the Clinical Skills lab at Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University. Read more about her career and the farewell ceremony we had for Dr. Pearlman-Storch here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s Where Are They Now features Arieneh Tahmasian, OD ‘17. The training in pediatrics and traumatic brain injuries she received at PCO/Salus made her an appealing addition to a practice in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Read more about Dr. Tahmasian here.

FINAL THOUGHTS: While I was walking around campus this morning, watching all the activity, I was struck by what the campus looked like 13 months ago. We were about 2 weeks into the pandemic, not knowing what was to come next. I went back to look at the Weekly Update I wrote that week to get a sense of what we might have been thinking at that time. Governor Wolf had just closed all K-12 schools until the end of the academic year, we were beginning our plans to return to clinics and labs, if permitted, and continuing with virtual classes. What a difference 13 months makes.

We’ve been through what, hopefully, has been the worst of the pandemic. Thanks to the new, miraculous, careful development of highly safe and effective vaccines being deployed regionally and nationally, unless things change, we are anticipating a “normal” Fall semester opening. This means we’ll have in-person classes, labs and clinics for all programs. Since getting vaccinated is such an important part of getting back to normal, I strongly encourage all of you to get vaccinated. These vaccines have been developed with over 10 years of research and close scrutiny. They are safe and proving to be extremely effective. It’s truly amazing, that after a very slow start, almost half of our country has received at least one dose of the two dose vaccines and the deployment is accelerating over time (see chart below).

Even with all this good news, as I’ve reminded you before, now is not the time to let our guard down. There are still variants of the virus in our area that are more contagious and potentially more deadly. Please continue to wear your double face mask when around others, socially distance and wash your hands frequently. Once fully vaccinated (two weeks following your last vaccine dose), you can meet in small groups at home or other places with others who have also been fully vaccinated, without a mask. We are not relaxing our mask or social distance requirements on campus since not everyone is vaccinated.

I hope you all get out and enjoy some of this nice spring weather this weekend. It’s only going to get nicer as the weeks roll by. As you do get out and about, please continue to follow all of the CDC guidelines to stay safe, stay healthy and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Keeping COVID Victims in Our Thoughts: Week of April 2nd, 2021

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

It’s been a relatively short week. I know that students, faculty and staff have been busy preparing for board exams and clinical practicals, in addition to attending virtual and in-person classes and providing patient care in our clinics. Here’s some of what’s going on around our Salus Community:

HOLY DAYS: This time of year includes several cultural and holy days that are significant to many in our community: 

• Passover (March 28 - April 4) — The Jewish holiday observed for eight days (sundown to sundown) celebrates the Israelites being freed from slavery in Egypt.
• Holi (March 29) — An annual Hindu festival held in the spring to signify the triumph of good over evil, the end of winter, and the arrival of spring and the harvest.
• Holy Week (March 28 - April 4) — Holy Week is a Christian observance from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, as a time of devotion to the Passion of Jesus, who died on Good Friday and rose on Easter Sunday to give new life to all who believe.

SAVE THE DATE: Mark your calendars for this year’s Osborne College of Audiology (OCA) Externship Celebration. The virtual event will be held on April 27, 2021, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of the Class of 2022 as they journey into externship. This year's event will be interactive with trivia and a few other surprises. Please click here to RSVP to the event.

BEHIND THE SCENES: In the latest episode of “Behind the Scenes at TEI,” we get some insights from Jeffrey Nyman, OD, FAAO, director of emergency services at The Eye Institute (TEI), and its most senior staff member. The nature of emergency care can be unpredictable, but Dr. Nyman gives us an inside look at how his day unfolds. To read more, click here. 

FACULTY FOCUS: This week’s Faculty Focus is on Amy Lustig, PhD, MPH, CCC-SLP, assistant professor in the University’s Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program. Dr. Lustig plays guitar, piano, percussion and sings. For years she has had a particular interest in Afro-Cuban and Brazilian folkloric music. Find out more about Dr. Lustig here.

NEW CLASS OF RESIDENTS: Congratulations to the class of newly matched PCO optometry residents. They will be honing their skills in Primary Care/Ocular Disease, Pediatrics/Vision Therapy, Low Vision Rehabilitation, Cornea/Contact Lens and Neuro Ophthalmic Disease. We look forward to seeing you at The Eye Institute this summer!

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Check in on Alexandra Kistner, MS ‘17, and how her career has progressed since graduation in this week’s “Where Are They Now.” A member of the inaugural Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) class in 2015, she is now a speech therapist in the Central Bucks School District in Pennsylvania. To read more about Alexandra, go here.

VACCINE AVAILABILITY: Vaccine availability is becoming more ubiquitous in our region. It’s taken a while to get there but by the middle of this month, any person over the age of sixteen will be eligible. What has been incredible about these new vaccines is how effective (100%) they have been proven to be against severe COVID disease and hospitalizations. If you have not yet had the opportunity to receive either the Johnson & Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, here’s a link to the Commonwealth’s website that will explain the vaccine rollout timeline and help guide you to one of many pharmacies in the area where vaccines will be available. I strongly encourage all of you to get vaccinated as soon as you can. Once you are vaccinated, here is the CDC guidance that outlines what you should and should not do.

FINAL THOUGHTS: As we look forward to having 4-days off from class, clinic and work, I ask that you take a few moments to remember all those who have lost their lives to COVID. To date, over 552,000 Americans have died, with the global toll over 2.8 million people. While we are not yet out of the woods, your perseverance, resiliency, creativity and stamina have allowed all of us to weather this storm better than most. That said, now is NOT the time to let our guard down. We must continue to be vigilant in all we do, even if we’re vaccinated, to help stem the spread of the virus. To that end, please continue to wear your double face mask when around others who are not in your immediate circles and are unvaccinated, continue to socially distance and wash your hands frequently.

Over the course of these next four days, try to take some time for yourselves and get out and enjoy the nice weather. Fresh air and exercise are great for rejuvenating yourself both physically and mentally!

We wish everyone celebrating Passover, Easter or Holi peaceful and restful holidays.

Finally, we are SALUS STRONG because of your unyielding commitment to excellence in everything you do. I look forward to seeing you around campus and clinics next week. Stay safe, stay active and continue to look out for one another.

Mike

Gun Violence is a Public Health Emergency: Week of March 26th, 2021

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

Good morning from our nation’s capital where I am here to attend the bi-annual meeting of the Department of Veteran Affair’s Special Medical Advisory Group meeting, of which I am a member. One nice advantage of being down in DC for the meeting is I get to jog along the National Mall and around many of the monuments, which was a nice treat this morning. The cherry blossoms are even starting to bloom! While I’m down here, there is much happening around campus:

DEI FORUM ADDRESSING PERSPECTIVES ON RACISM & HATE FOR ASIAN AMERICANS: I want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Mosley-Williams for organizing a very informative and timely panel discussion that focused on the most recent violence against the Asian American population in our country. Very special thanks to forum panelists Salus Board member Joyce Koh, JD; Salus partner, Ken Wong; and Chestnut Hill College professor and psychologist, Bindu Methikalam, PhD for your very personal insights and thoughts. For those who did not have a chance to see this, please click here and insert the following password: mFUZkbp5 to access the recording of the session.

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP: An historic number of women at Salus University have taken on top leadership positions. They sit on the President’s Council and the Board of Trustees. They all have come ready to help lead Salus and its clinical facilities. In honor of Women’s History Month, meet a few of the University’s women in leadership. Click here to read more. 

LIGHTHOUSE AWARD WINNER: This year’s recipient of the Looking Out for Kids 2021 “Lighthouse Award” is TD Bank. We are thrilled to honor the bank with this award. Our relationship is more than just one of a business association, as the bank has genuinely become partners with us on many fronts. To read more about the bank’s commitment to Salus and its communities, go here. The University’s 14th annual LOFK fundraiser, held virtually this year, will be at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 1. To purchase virtual tickets or VIP reception boxes online, visit our website here.

LENA START GRANT: Salus University’s Department of Speech-Language Pathology has been 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 communication in order to close the early-talk gap, improve school readiness, and build stronger families. Read more here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s Where Are They Now features Emily Swavely, MS ’17, who now works as a speech therapist at an elementary school in the Owen J. Roberts School District in the Pottstown, Pennsylvania, area. To read more, go here.

FINAL THOUGHTS: As I read the paper, listened to the news and walked around Washington last evening, I could not get the thoughts of the most recent gun violence out of my mind. While, unfortunately, this is nothing new in our country, it is something that must be addressed. While there are myriad causes for this epidemic that include mental health conditions, poverty, and many of the social determinants of health, there are some things that can and should be done to make it more difficult for those who shouldn’t have firearms to get one. In our country, just this year alone, there were 107 mass shootings (defined as 4 or more victims), 122 people killed, 325 injured, for a total of 447 total victims, including the shooters in some instances.

According to a recent New York Times article, guns account for over 40,000 deaths annually in the U.S. This includes homicides, suicides and accidents. While gun violence, such as mass shootings and other homicides tend to get all the press attention, the fact remains that over 50% of these deaths are from suicide. No matter how you look at it, deaths attributed to guns represent a public health emergency.

If you compare the U.S. to other developed countries (see chart), you will find, not surprisingly, that the number of guns that are civilian-owned directly relate to the number of gun deaths. What stands out is just how many more guns are owned in the U.S. compared to other developed countries. If we are to begin to curb this very disturbing trend, we need a multi-pronged approach that includes funding for mental health initiatives, enhanced suicide prevention initiatives, enacting effective gun control laws such as universal background checks, barring people with a history of mental illness and domestic violence from purchasing guns and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines for starters. I raise this issue not to make a political statement, but rather to raise your awareness as healthcare professionals. Gun violence is a public health emergency. We all have a responsibility to recognize it as such and to do what we can to influence public policy to help turn this around.

As you think about all this, I hope you can get out and enjoy some of the good weather we’re having. Please stay safe, continue to wear your double face mask when around others, socially distance and wash your hands frequently.

You are SALUS STRONG because of your commitment to helping others improve their lives.

Mike

Condemning Racism and Hate: Week of March 19th, 2021

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

Good morning on a cold and sunny morning in Elkins Park. It’s also a sad day as we reflect on the killings that occurred in Atlanta last Tuesday and the increased violent attacks on people of Asian heritage around our country. As I stated yesterday, this is contrary to everything we believe at Salus as we condemn all acts of racism and hate on our campus and in society and we must continue to address the racial and social disparities we see in public health. With all that is going on around us, it’s helpful to spend some time on the positive things that our Salus community has been doing both on and off campus:

IMPACT HBCU: Black Eyecare Perspective, established by PCO/Salus alum Darryl Glover, OD ‘11, in partnership with Dr. Adam Ramsey, has worked toward the goal of obtaining 13 percent representation of Black ODs in the profession since its inception in 2019. To address the eyecare needs of Black Americans in an increasingly diverse society, Dr. Glover teamed up with fellow PCO/Salus alumni Jacobi Cleaver, OD ‘11, and Essence Johnson, OD ‘10 to create Impact HBCU, an initiative that links optometry school recruitment and admissions to students enrolled at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). To read Part 1 of this three-part series, click here.

FACULTY FOCUS: This week’s Faculty Focus features Kelly Salmon, SLPD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, CLT-LANA, NDC, an assistant professor in our Department of Speech-Language Pathology (SLP). Dr. Salmon has recently been involved in conducting admissions interviews with prospective SLP students, and one of the questions many of them ask are her impressions of the Salus program and what she believes makes the University unique. To find out what she tells them, just click here.

EXPANDING INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT: The Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS) welcomed its first international cohort of students from Canada in the Spring of 2019, who enrolled in the Vision Rehabilitation Therapy program at Salus. The affiliation between Salus and Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada – the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (VLRC-CNIB) - has proven to be a successful one. To read more, click here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Our next Where Are They Now profile features Amanda Kaufmann, MS ‘17, who pursued her dream of becoming a speech-language pathologist at Salus University and is now working with children at a private practice in Los Angeles, California.

AUDIOLOGY MENTOR PROGRAM: Session three of the Osborne College of Audiology (OCA) mentor program will be held from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, 2021. The program “Building Your Brand and Expanding Scope of Services” will feature a panel discussion and Q&A with leaders in Audiology on career mapping. For information, click here. 

TEI RESEARCH STUDY: The Eye Institute (TEI) is recruiting children ages 3 to 12 for a research study evaluating an investigational medication to help slow myopic progression (poor distance vision). Potential enrollees will receive a no-cost examination at The Eye Institute to determine eligibility. If the child meets the study requirements, they will attend up to 11 visits (about every six months) during the four-year study. If you or somebody you know is interested or if you have questions, please email Jasmine Campbell at jcampbell@salus.edu or call 215-276-6034.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Following the shootings in Arizona that claimed the lives of six people and almost claimed the life of Congresswomen Gabrielle Gifford, President Obama gave a speech in which he noted that, “at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized -– at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who happen to think differently than we do -– it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we’re talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds.” He went on to ask all Americans to "expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together." These words are just as pertinent today, maybe even more so. We are living in a world where the tolerance for people, ideas and ideologies different from ours has been deeply diminished. As healthcare providers, our “moral imaginations” should include our commitment to make it part of our mission to help bridge these differences, not through discourse, but through listening, respecting and exhibiting the empathy needed to effectively care for those who seek our help. Bridging these differences won’t be easy, especially now, when our country is so deeply divided. We have to start someplace and I can think of no better place than here, at Salus, where empathy, imagination and respect for others are bound together as we continue to provide quality and compassionate care for our patients and clients, wherever they may be.

As we approach this weekend, please take some time to reflect on the events of this week and remember those who were lost. Also, please take some time to recharge your own physical and mental batteries as you prepare for next week.

You are SALUS STRONG because of the high ideals and moral fortitude you personify and share with every patient and client interaction you have. Please continue to socially distance, wear your double mask and wash your hands frequently.

For those who would like more information about the challenges Asian Americans have been facing during the pandemic, here is a link from our Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:

Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum www.apiahf.org

Tessler, H., Choi, M., & Kao, G. (2020). The Anxiety of Being Asian American: Hate Crimes and Negative Biases During the COVID-19 Pandemic. American journal of criminal justice: AJCJ, 1–11. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09541-5