I've been on the road for the past couple of weeks.  Last week I attended the American College of Healthcare Executives annual meeting in Chicago where it was great to reconnect with some of my Navy colleagues as well as learn the current trends in healthcare administration, finance, assessment and compliance.  One lecture that struck me discussed the ever growing focus on customer service in health care.  While we have always taught (and in the Navy we lived it) patient centered care, there is a movement afoot to more clearly define what that means.  I was encouraged to hear how some of the larger healthcare delivery organizations were moving from "patient-centered" care to "person-centered" care.  When you think about it, that's what we're all about - taking care of people, whether they're our patients or not.  As healthcare providers we have the responsibility to not only care for those sitting in our exam rooms or are the direct beneficiary of our care but also those around them.  That includes being able to communicate effectively, ensure ready and consistent access to care and information as well as spending time with our patients and families or significant others to help ensure they are active partners in their healthcare.  In the days of productivity and RVU generation it's easy to loose sight of the fact that we're in the business of caring for people, not just generating numbers and data.  It's a tough balance but I believe we need to maintain our focus on the person as providers.  Sometimes that's easier said than done - which is where the challenge lies.  

Last weekend I had the opportunity to meet with alumni, industry and friends while attending Vision Expo East in New York.  I'd never been to that meeting so it was a nice treat to see something new.  In my conversations with our some of our alumni and others I discussed what I had heard in Chicago the week prior.  It was surprising to me the "pushback" I got from some stating that it's almost impossible to see enough patients during the day if we spend too much time with them.  On the other side of the coin, I heard the opposite, where folks were making the effort to ensure enough time was taken with patients in order for them to feel special.  Once again, it's a balancing act that we absolutely need to get our heads around.  

Now I'm on an airplane flying home from San Antonio where I had the absolute pleasure of supporting our Osborne College of Audiology at their annual American Academy of Audiology meeting.  It's funny, there was no talk of RVU's or anything like that.  Audiology is a dynamic profession in the midst of growth and change.   Today's audiologists are trained at the highest level (they obtain an AuD or Doctor of Audiology degree), but because legislation has not kept up with educational levels, these amazingly talented professionals are not considered independent providers in the eyes of Medicare, most third party payers and the Federal Government.  This creates quite a problem if Medicare patients need hearing care as they must be referred to an audiologist if that provider is to receive Medicare or third party reimbursement.  While the profession is working hard to get this corrected, it's not likely going to happen for quite a while.  The sad thing is that the big loser is the patient.  Getting back to the original points I made about patient or person centered care, the government really needs to take a hard look at professions such as audiology to ensure the patients are benefitting from current rules and regulations and not lobbyists, or others more concerned about their own rice bowls than they are about the patients we all care for.

It's been a while since I've written one of these.  Lots going on at the university these days.  We're getting ready to put the final touches on our strategic plan which is extremely exciting.  We've been able to reach out to a large majority of our university community to include students, faculty, alumni, Board of Trustees and staff.  The input we've received from each cohort has significantly shaped the tenor of discussion that has resulted in what I believe is an aggressive, thoughtful and realistic plan for Salus.  In our off-site with the Board of Trustees yesterday we all agreed that we needed to drive a greater sense of urgency into portions of our plan that will result in accelerated curriculum changes in our optometry program, improvements in infrastructure and a continued emphasis on program accreditation, self assessment and program excellence.  To that end the Board approved our new Mission and Vision statements:

MISSION:  SALUS UNIVERSITY LEADS IN INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND SERVICE TO ENHANCE HEALTH.

VISION:  IMPACT THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE.

Subsequent College plans will align under the umbrella of the University's overarching plan.  It's exciting to be part of the process and see how each college is developing their roadmaps that lead to providing the most modern, efficacious and exciting integrated health science programs in the country.

It's an honor to be part of this great organization moving the delivery healthcare forward.

Having just returned from a trip to Singapore, China and Korea not only am I a bit jet-lagged but am also filled with ideas on how we can capitalize on the great expertise we have at Salus to assist our Asian colleagues in advancing their professions.  In Korea, for instance, there was a great deal of interest in both our optometry and occupational therapy programs. Optometry and occupational therapy is not practiced to the same level it is in the U.S. not is the educational system in place to facilitate that.  We have been extremely successful in bolstering optometric education in Europe, Israel, Scandinavia and Singapore by providing a master's level course in optometric practice.  This has enabled these providers to practice at a much higher level than their legacy training provided them, which was often at the baccalaureate level.  We can do the same thing in Korea and potentially in China.  I think these countries offer us opportunities to, once again, lead the way in increasing the scope of practice by providing a solid educational base to build upon.  One other thought I'd like for all of you to ponder.  While I was overseas I thought about the interprofessional education we're providing and the interdisciplinary practice opportunities many of our students are afforded through their externships and other clinical rotations.  It may be time we start thinking about tweaking our international outreach model from one of a single profession to one that provides multidisciplinary care, thus leveraging all those great experiences our students are getting.  SOSH, for instance may evolve into SHSH - Student's Health Services to Humanity.  Why not?  We work in an integrated health system so why not practice it?  Think about it.  Salus students, I solicit your comments on this!  More to come......

Had a great meeting with one of our contractors and internal staff to discuss external and internal communications as they pertain to social media. One of my frustrations is that we don't effectively communicate all the great things that occur at Salus to both prospective and current students. We're going to revamp our Facebook presence and look into a Google product to help get the message out. Any comments would be very welcome. 

So, I'm just learning how to do this but wanted to reiterate my intent to seek your input as I progress through my 100 days of listening.   So far I've received some great inputs from students, faculty and staff.  Keep those cards and letters coming!

PRESIDENT'S NEW BLOG

I've decided to start a blog to help communicate to our University community....hope you all enjoy this!   Check us out: www.salus.edu