University News

Faculty and Staff News

Katherine Alstrin, EdD TVI, COMS, assistant professor, Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS)

Darrel Asbury, assistant director, Learning Technology

Jennifer Bergstrom, assistant professor, Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)

Maria Boka, MS, PA-C, assistant professor, Physician Assistant (PA) Studies

Anthony Boyd, OD, Resident ’22, instructor, Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO)

Kevin Cianfrani, MSOT ’15, lab manager, Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P)

Rachael Condon, MS, CCC-SLP, CDP, clinical educator, SLP

Mark D’Amore, associate director, Clinical Technology

Kristine Goldynia, SLPD, CCC-SLP, clinical educator, SLP

Emily Jett, MA, CCC-SLP, clinical educator, SLP

Stephanie Leburg, OD ’16, Resident ’17,

FAAO, primary care chief, PCO

Elizabeth Marunde, OD, Resident ’22, instructor, PCO

Virginia Muthard, CPO/L, FAAOP, instructor, O&P

Betsy O’Donnell, MS ’86, COMS, CLVT,

TVI, clinical educator, Orientation and Mobility (O&M)

Jennifer Pilchman, MS, PA-C, assistant professor, PA

Julie Quinlan, MPO, MS, CPO, ATC, instructor, O&P Caitlin Raymond, MS 17, CCC-SLP, clinical educator, SLP

Aaron Roman, AuD, CCC-A, FAAA, assistant professor, Osborne College of Audiology (OCA)

Anne Ruckdeschel, MA, CCC-SLP, CBIS, instructor, SLP

Kelly Snyder, MA, CCC-SLP, clinical educator, SLP

Lauren White, OD ’19, instructor, PCO

Deanna Yoder-Black, SLPD, CCC-SLP, assistant professor, SLP

Salus Professions Among Top Jobs in the U.S.

Several of the University’s professions were among the Top 100 jobs in the nation for 2022 as ranked by the U.S. News and World Report. physician assistant checked in as number three, followed by speech-language pathologist at number 10, occupational therapist at number 31, optometrist at number 37, audiologist at number 79 and the University’s newest program — orthotist and prosthetist — that launched this fall entered in at number 56.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/TOPJOBS2022

New Board of Trustees Member

Dana L. Mattingly, RN, executive director of clinical compliance in the Aetna/CVS healthcare business unit based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, joined the University’s Board of Trustees in January 2022.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/DANAMATTINGLYBOT

New Student Member on the Board of Trustees

Chase Sereno ’24AUD is the current student member on the Board of Trustees. He serves the board by providing student engagement reports and advocating for students’ needs, interests and concerns at Board meetings. Sean Lewis, ’23OD, will be stepping in as the next student member on the Board of Trustees.

Women’s Prison Partnership to Provide Eyeglasses to Underserved Children

Salus and The Eye Institute (TEI) entered into a new partnership with the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Cambridge Springs in Crawford County,

Pennsylvania to custom make eyeglasses for children served by the University’s Looking Out for Kids school vision programs.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SCIPARTNERSHIP

DEI Educates! Provides Important Training

In an effort to provide faculty and staff with a better understanding and to offer advice on how to be an effective ally to the LGBTQ+ community, Salus University’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee along with the Human Resources department hosted the inaugural DEI Educates! The virtual event featured Stan Kimer, president of Total Engagement Consulting, which specializes in diversity management and organizational effectiveness. DEI Educates will be returning in the spring as Stan Kimer hosts safe spaces training.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/DEISTANKIMER

Different Name, Same Concept: Springfest Brings Salus Community Together

The Dean’s Winterfest, which has been on hiatus since the pandemic started, was changed to the Dean’s Springfest for 2022 but accomplished the same goal as always: spending time together face-toface and bringing students and the Salus community together.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SPRINGFEST2022

Spring Commencement Gets Back to Faceto-Face

Spring commencement was once again back in person at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts in Philadelphia. The keynote speaker was Admiral Michelle J. Howard, the first African American woman to command a ship in the U.S. Navy. Graduate, Ivey Woodard, OD ’22, was the third person in per family, along with her brother Robert Woodard, OD ’16 and father Reid Woodard, OD ’96, to graduate from PCO/Salus.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/KIMMELCOMMENCEMENT2022

Adm. Thomas Cullison Keynote at Fall Commencement

The keynote speaker for the 125th commencement in October was Thomas R. Cullison, RADM, MC, USN (retired), senior associate at the Global Health Policy Center of the Center for Strategic and International Studies focusing on Department of Defense contributions to United States health security.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/FALL22COMMENCEMENT

International Students Make Their Way to Pennsylvania

The Department of International and Continuing Education (DICE), in collaboration with OCA and SLP, hosted a group of students from Chung Shan Medical University (CSMU) in Taichung, Taiwan, who spent most of July on the University’s Elkins Park, Pennsylvania campus, being introduced to health science programs.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/TAIWANSTUDENTS2022

Students of the University of Oulu, in Finland, spent two weeks on the University’s campus training in primary eye care. The Finnish optometrists are pursuing their master’s degrees at Oulu University and participating in this coursework helps them work toward that goal.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/FINNISHSTUDENTS2022

Salus Ukrainian Students Help Gather Supplies

In March, Ukrainian Salus students collaborated in an e ort to collect donations for their home country. Donations of non-perishable food, first-aid supplies, medicines and various hygiene products were collected on the University’s Elkins Park, Pennsylvania campus for the people of Ukraine. Donated items were taken to the Ukrainian Cultural Center in neighboring Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, which co-organized the e ort. Volunteers there were packing boxes and shipping them over to Poland via Meest, a Ukrainian shipping company. A team from Poland then coordinated transport to several regions in Ukraine.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/UKRSTUDENTSRAISEAWARENESS

Communications, Science Disorders Open Houses

OCA/SLP/Salus hosted open houses on July 11, 2022 and October 1, 2022 for prospective students wanting to study communication sciences and disorders — audiology and speech-language pathology respectively. The half-day event featured a campus tour, lab demonstrations, tips from the O ce of Admissions and a question-and-answer session with both SLP and OCA faculty members.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/COMMSCIENCESOPENHOUSE

Dr. Mittelman Speaks at Invest Philly

At the annual Invest Philly event, President Mittelman spoke on a panel entitled “Balancing Act: Aligning education with economic development and student demands” which discussed the steps higher education institutions will take and have been taking during one of the most transformative time periods for the industry.

Program Updates

PCO World Pennsylvania College of Optometry

DR. BRACKLEY NAMED NEW EXTERNSHIP DIRECTOR

For the past five years, Rachel Brackley, OD ’09, Resident ’10, FAAO, has been working as the externship liaison for PCO/Salus University’s Accelerated Doctor of Optometry Scholars program. So, when Satya Verma, OD ’75, FAAO, DPNAP, Diplomate, the longtime director of the externship program retired after 50 years, Dr. Brackley was ready to step into those big shoes.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/RBRACKLEYPROMOTED

PCO SCHOLARSHIPS

Benjamin Gustin ’23OD was awarded the CooperVision 2022 Best Practices Student Scholarship, o ered to outstanding third-year optometry students. He was honored as one of this year’s three Best Practices student recipients.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/BGUTSINSCHOLARSHIP

Nia Phillips ’23OD, was awarded the 2022 Rick Bay Foundation Scholarship, which is o ered to a PCO/Salus student based on qualities embodying Bay’s commitment to the profession including integrity, compassion, partnership and dedication to the greater good, in the amount of $5,000.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/NIAPHILLIPS

ACCEPTED STUDENTS DAY ’EYE-OPENING’

The first-ever Accepted Students Day gave Doctor of Optometry students who were accepted or matriculated into the Fall 2022 cohort a chance to come to the University’s Elkins Park, Pennsylvania campus.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/PCOFIRSTASD

PCO HONORS DR. VERMA

On April 14, 2022, family, friends and colleagues of

Satya Verma, OD ’75, FAAO, DPNAP

Diplomate, gathered to honor him — who joined the PCO faculty in 1971 — on his retirement at the end of 2021 after 50 years of service to the institution.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SVERMAPLAQUEDEDICATION

STUDENTS HONE SKILLS AT NJ SPECIAL OLYMPICS

A group of students from PCO/ Salus participated in the “Opening Eyes” program for athletes who competed in the New Jersey Special Olympics, held recently at The College of New Jersey. Over two days, 12 students and faculty screened 268 Special Olympians and provided glasses and sunglasses for 350 individuals.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/NJSPECIALOLYMPICS2022

PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS IMPRESSED BY OPTOMETRY LEARNING EXPERIENCE

The Optometry Learning Experience (OLE), created in 1979 by John J. Crozier, OD ’48, then director of Admissions, has allowed student groups to visit PCO/Salus for almost four decades in order to gain insight into the academic life of an optometry student. The signature program is designed to o er participants the opportunity to investigate the academic study associated with the Doctor of Optometry degree program at PCO/Salus, as well as the profession of optometry and the many career opportunities available.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/OLE2022

SUMMER ENRICHMENT PROGRAM CELEBRATED

PCO/Salus concluded its second annual Robert E. Horne Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) with a celebratory closing event. SEP provides underrepresented students of color within the Doctor of Optometry program a jump start into the academic year with the goal of improving matriculation, attrition and graduation rates while fostering a safety net of support and mentorship.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SEPCONCLUDES2022 SEESHORE FEST

SeeShore Fest held at The Starboard in Dewey Beach, Delaware, raised more than $24,000; $10,000 went toward the Foundation for Fighting Blindness and the remainder was awarded to the William Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center, which is housed at The Eye Institute (TEI), for its low vision services. The donation will go into the Friends of Feinbloom fund, which covers rehab services that insurance does not cover and/ or devices that patients cannot a ord.

SEE MORE AT TINYURL.COM/SEESHORE2022

PENNSYLVANIA STATE APPROPRIATION

A Pennsylvania State Appropriation will grant PCO/Salus entering students for August 2023, who are also Pennsylvania residents, with funding contributing towards their tuition expenses.

LOOKING OUT FOR KIDS

The 15th annual Looking Out for Kids charity fundraiser was hosted on November 12, 2022 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Salus honored Professor Kovin Naidoo, BSc, BOptom, MPH, OD ’95, PhD, DHL (Hon.), with our Lighthouse Award.

LEARN MORE AT SALUS.EDU/LOFK

THE PULSE College of Health Sciences, Education and Rehabilitation

Blindness and Low Vision Studies

LOW VISION PARTNERSHIP

The University’s BLVS department has partnered with the Northeast Pennsylvania Lions Service Foundation (NEPALSF) for a pilot program to bring quality services to northeast Pennsylvania. The program will provide up to five BLVS students with a stipend to pursue semester-long direct service internships in northeastern Pennsylvania, with the ultimate goal of attracting students to jobs in that area after graduation.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/BLVSLIONSPILOT

O&M STUDENT MAKING A BIG IMPACT

When Suha Almusa, MS ’22, graduated this fall from the University’s Orientation and Mobility (O&M) program, it is believed she had become the only female certified O&M specialist in her native country of Saudi Arabia. Her ultimate goal is to share her knowledge and establish an accredited O&M program there.

READER’S DIGEST GRANT FOR INTERNSHIPS

The University’s O&M program received a grant from the Reader’s Digest Partners for Sight Foundation to support their internship programs. The one-year grant is for $84,680. The program kicked off earlier this summer and is currently supporting six interns.

And, according to Jamie Maffit, MS, COMS, CLVT, RYT, director of the O&M program, there are a lot of “firsts” associated with the grant: it’s not only the first time the program has received this grant; but it’s the first time the program has had full-time O&M services at the William Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center, housed at The Eye Institute (TEI); and it’s the first time the program has supported full-time O&M interns at Salus.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/READERSDIGESTGRANT

Occupational Therapy (OT)

OT STUDENT ACCEPTED INTO AOTA

Chrystyna

Colón, ’23OT was recently accepted by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) into its Summer Institute of Future Scientists in Occupational Therapy.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/COLONAOTA

STUDENTS LEARN HOW TO HELP REFUGEE CHILDREN

To help ensure refugee children have a healthy start to their lives in the United States, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) shared information with the University’s OT students. The virtual event, held in January 2022, was sponsored by the University’s chapter of Pi Theta Epsilon (PTE) — the national honor society for OT students — and the Salus Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) chapter and featured Mary Fabio, MD, of the CHOP Refugee Program.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/CHOPPARTNERSHIP2022

Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)

OPEN HOUSE ATTRACTS PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

The SLP department hosted an open house to help prospective students get a sense of the program. Students participated in a question-and-answer session with SLP faculty, a presentation from Admissions and two panel discussions with faculty and current students.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SLPOPENHOUSE2022

DR. SALMON COLLABORATES ON WINNING POSTER

Kelly Salmon, SLPD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, CLT-LANA, NDC, assistant professor in the SLP department along with SLPs

Lauren Hermann, MS, CCC-SLP and Maggie Donaker, MS, CCC-SLP, and radiologist Benjamin Mervak, MD — presented a poster titled “Interprofessional Collaboration in the Fluoroscopy Suite: The Perceptions of Speech-Language Pathologists and Radiologists Surrounding Videofluoroscopic Swallow Studies Purposes and Procedures,” which was among the top three posters to win the Dysphagia Research Society People’s Choice Award at the group’s virtual conference in mid-March.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SALMONPOSTER

SLP RECEIVES TWO GRANTS

The SLP program received two grants that will be used to help students learn to care for individuals with Parkinson’s disease and acquired brain injuries. The first grant was from the Parkinson’s Voice Project and covers training students in techniques that help patients improve their speech intelligibility. Salus has received the award for four consecutive years, which is $20,000.

The second grant, for more than $2,500, is from the Council on Brain Injury (CoBI), which supports individuals who have acquired brain injuries through motor vehicle accidents, sporting accidents or strokes. This was also the fourth year Salus received this grant.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SLPGRANTS2022

Physician Assistant Studies (PA)

STUDENTS PROVIDE SERVICE AT MANNA

For several years, students in the University’s PA program, which emphasizes experiential service learning, volunteered at MANNA. The organization’s mission is to provide medically tailored meals to help improve health outcomes for those living with serious illness. This service learning experience affords PA students the opportunity to apply didactic content provided in the nutrition module of their Integrative Medicine course.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/PAMANNASERVICE2022

NEW DIRECTOR OF THE PA PROGRAM

As the new director of the PA program, Rachel Ditoro, MSPAS, PA-C, PhD, is committed to educating her students about more than the content on the board exam. “Not only will they be trained and competent enough to pass their board exams, but the medical education they’re getting at the University will allow them to be successful, compassionate clinicians,” she said. “The piece that we feel we want to continue to strengthen is around communication, building empathy, and trying to help students become providers patients will go to and feel good about.”

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/DITORODIRECTORPA ‘COVID CLASS’ GETS ITS LONG WHITE COATS

Forty-seven students in the Class of 2022 PA program received their Long White Coat in a ceremony in October. Known as the “COVID Class” because they had to complete much of their didactic work online from home during the pandemic, the students persevered and received their long white coats in person at the Hafter Center.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/LONGWHITECOATPA22

Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P)

FIRST ADAPTIVE SPORTS DAY A BIG SUCCESS

The University’s first Adaptive Sports Day welcomed community members with limb loss or orthotic bracing to participate in a variety of adaptive sports and activities. For the event, Salus’ newest program — Orthotics and Prosthetics — partnered with Hanger Clinic, a leading national provider of products and patient care services that assist in enhancing or restoring the physical capabilities of those with disabilities.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/ADAPTIVESPORTSDAY22

THE AURICLE Osborne College of Audiology

RETIRING AUDIOLOGIST ROBERT DISOGRA MADE HIS MARK

After 45 years of service to children and adults with hearing loss, it’s time for Dr. DiSogra, the first Osborne College of Audiology (OCA) advisory board chairman who planned and taught the pharmacology/ototoxicity course for the first five years after the Doctor of Audiology (AuD) program was initially inaugurated in 2000, to retire and reflect on his career.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/DISOGRARETIRES

AUDIOLOGY LEARNING EXPERIENCE

OCA hosted a one-day interactive online Audiology Learning Experience (ALE) on January 7, 2022 for undergraduate students who are interested in audiology as well as to those who may be undecided about their career direction. Students had the opportunity to interact with faculty, staff, and current students, as well as virtually tour the clinical skills lab and the Pennsylvania Ear Institute.

STUDENTS SENT OFF TO EXTERNSHIP IN STYLE

OCA staff hosted their annual reception — complete with a champagne toast — to see their Audiology students off to their externships. The Class of 2023 includes the first cohort of five students in the Accelerated Three-Year AuD program to go out on externships.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/AUDEXTERNSHIPS2022

‘DANGEROUS DECIBELS’ PROGRAM RESONATES

Jenny Rajan, AuD ’09, CCC-A, FAAA, with the help of four OCA students, delivered the “Dangerous Decibels” educational program to high schoolers in the Centennial School District on May 26, 2022. The high school students learned to recognize safe and dangerous sound levels and exposure time, created models of anatomical structures related to hearing, learned ways to protect their hearing from hazardous sounds and measured the output of their personal music listening devices. The AuD students also provided the high schoolers with hearing screenings and information about the audiology profession.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/DANGEROUSDECIBELS2022

AUDIOLOGY GRAD PREPARED TO DO BIG THINGS

Thahira Kallumurikkal, AuD

’22, has already had quite a career. And, by the time she walked across the stage at commencement on May 26, 2022, to receive her Doctor of Audiology degree from OCA, she was ready to head back to do even more great things in her home country of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/THAHIRABOOK FOND FAREWELLS

Linda Casser, OD, FAAO, FNAP, professor emerita, PCO

Cheryl Keslar, senior payroll coordinator

Marlene Hill, student financial affairs secretary

Pamela Hunter, patient service representative

Holly Myers, OD ’86, associate professor, PCO

Kenneth Newton, MS, CCC-SLP, assistant professor, SLP

Gale Orlansky, OD, MEd, assistant professor, PCO

Jane Tyson, administrative assistant

Virginia Scott, MSW, low vision coordinator

Karen Slavin, senior staff accountant

Claire Wyszynski, administrative assistant

Conference Updates

OPTOMETRY CONFERENCES

Melissa E. Trego, OD ’04, Resident

’09, PhD, dean of PCO/Salus, is the new president of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO), the academic leadership organization committed to advancing optometric education and research to enhance the health and well-being of the public. Dr. Trego assumed the duties of the ASCO president at the organization’s annual meeting in June 2022 at the American Optometric Association (AOA)

conference in Chicago and is only the fourth PCO/Salus educator to serve ASCO in this capacity.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/TREGOASCO

PCO/Salus was also front and center at the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) centennial celebration “Academy 2022” from October 25-31 in San Diego.

READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/AAO2022

PSHA CONFERENCE

In April, the SLP program attended the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association (PSHA) conference in Pittsburgh. Robert Serriani, MS, CCC-SLP, FNAP, chair of the SLP program, was the convention chair and several faculty and clinical educators contributed to developing and facilitating the convention content. The University Forum pulled together multiple universities across the Commonwealth of PA to discuss graduate education and share strategies to address challenges in higher education. Salus also hosted an information table in the Exhibit Hall where they were able to interact with potential students as well as externship sites and other vendors.

ASHA CONFERENCE

The SLP and Audiology programs attended the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) annual conference in New Orleans from November 17-19. Three OCA students,

Lilliana Geraldes, ’24AUD, Chase

Sereno, ’24AUD and Yeva Mishailov, ’23AUD, received an Audiology/Hearing Science Research Travel Award (ARTA) to attend the conference, the first time OCA students have received this award. Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) National Assembly in San Antonio from September 28 – October 1, and the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (AAOP) New Jersey chapter’s annual meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey from November 9-11. During the conferences, the department networked with exhibitors, attended workshops and patient demonstrations and heard from various speakers.

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (PAEA) EDUCATION FORUM

Dr. Ditoro and Cara Orr, PA-C, attended the 50th-anniversary PAEA Education Forum event, a national conference for PA educators, in San Diego. Dr. Ditoro presented her doctoral research on student self-assessment.

OT CONFERENCES

OT faculty interacted with potential students for their Post-Professional Doctorate in OT (OTD) program at the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association (POTA) expo in Lancaster, Pennsylvania from September 31 to October 1 and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Education Summit in Orlando, Florida from November 10-12.

O&P CONFERENCES

The O&P department attended two conferences this fall: the American

Special Thanks to our 2022 Sponsors for Looking Out for Kids

Platinum

National Vision, Inc.

Gold

EssilorLuxottica Lindy Comunities MyEyeDr.

Silver

Conicelli Toyota Coopervision

Bronze

Brass Lock & Key CliftonLarsonAllen LLP Crown Holdings, Inc. E.B. O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. Fox Rothschild, LLP General Vision Services Sharp’s Landscaping, Inc. The Stevens & Lee Companies TD Bank Warby Parker Webber Associates, LLC

In-Kind

Roni Lagin & Co. Cannon Graphics Crane Communications

Additional Sponsors

Alpine Solutions Group American Painting & Decorating Opt 4 Group LLC Wills Eye Physicians Patriot Construction