Founded in 1981 to advise governmental bodies on our health care system, NAP today promotes scholarly research and inquiry contributing  to excellence in the practice of the professions and promote the quality of interdisciplinary professional practice in the US among 10 health care disciplines: medicine; osteopathic medicine; dentistry; pharmacy; nursing; podiatric medicine; psychology; social work; veterinary medicine and optometry.

     Dr. Verma, whose clinical specialty is geriatric optometry, low vision and computer-related vision problems, is the second optometrist to become NAP president. He will be installed in April at the organization's meeting in Alexandria, VA. He has served previously as chairperson of the National Academy of Practice in Optometry (NAPO), one of the 10 academies that comprise the NAP.

       Dr. Verma's numerous awards include: the Geneva Mathiason Award from the National Council on Aging; Distinguished Service Awards from the Council of Indian Organizations and Prevent Blindness America; Carl C. Koch Jr. Medal award from the American Academy of Optometry; Optome-

trist of the Year awards from both the American Optometric Association and the Pennsylvania Optometric Association; and the George Gottschalk Jr. award from the Pennsylvania Optometric Association.     

 Grand Rounds are a proven teaching tool of medical education. At the University's Osborne College of Audiology, each second year student must participate during the spring term.

   Held in a classroom during lunchtime, "it is for students to present interesting cases to fellow students and faculty and to help everyone understand the case from beginning to end," explains associate professor Radhika Aravamudhan, PhD.

   The presenters must be ready to be challenged and to answer questions. "My case had multiple twists and turns while also having the possibility of multiple diagnosis," explained Pete Kleckner '14AUD. The task of Grand Rounds is to be able to look at a complex case and solve it through evidence-based medicine.  Mr. Kleckner continued, "When it came to presentation day I was definitely excited to not only share all the information and hard work we put into the presentation, but  . . . also to stand in front of a huge group of my peers and my colleagues."

   Mindy Westfried '14AUD, learned about benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) in class. "It is one of the few causes of vertigo that can be treated. We found a patient who was in a car accident and developed BPPV. We did our presentation on him. Presenting at Grand Rounds taught me that when I present I should be simple; don't put too much information on the slide," she said. "Also know everything about your case because you can be asked about anything." 

(Pictured above Grand Rounds 2012 winner, Abby Mott '14AUD, with (left to right): Dr. Charles M. Wormington; Dr. Bre Myers and Dr. Radhika Aravamudhan.)

As in years past, Walk4Hearing, the annual fundraiser begun by the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) to raise awareness of hearing loss and to eradicate the stigma associated with it, attracted a robust team from Salus University's Osborne College of Audiology (OCA).

     OCA students, families and friends gathered at Ridley State Park in Newtown Square, PA on Sunday, Sept. 23, for the 3.1-mile, pet-friendly walk. This local walk is part of HLAA's national effort that has become the largest walk of its kind in the country. The OCA team is pictured above at the end of the walk.

      Each Salus facility (Elkins Park campus, the Hafter Center, Pennsylvania Ear Institute, The Eye Institute and its satellites) offers ways to recycle cardboard, bottles, plastic and cans. All new applications feature energy-efficient lighting fixtures and LED lighting.

       "We take advantage of every opportunity to ensure that we are using environmentally correct materials," explains Rick Echevarria, director of the Physical Plant department. "For example, the 1,435 square yards of new carpet recently laid on the third floor of the University's academic building is climate neutral. The use of this carpeting material equates with saving 42,476 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, or 2,187 gallons of gasoline." As more renovations and updating take place, the University will continue to seek and employ measures to ensure the maintenance and expansion of a greener profile by the utilization of more eco-friendly materials whenever feasible. 

    The academic and administration areas of the University share two connected buildings, while the adjacent four-story building owned by the University houses the Pennsylvania Ear Institute, the clinical facility for Salus' Osborne College of Audiology doctoral students, and a variety of corporate and medical tenants.

      In September, four departments - Alumni Relations, Institutional Advancement, Communications/Publications, and Finance (payroll and accounts payable) - relocated to the fourth floor of that building, known as the Breyer Office Park (BOP) building.

     This is a permanent move and phone extensions remain unchanged.