Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Busy at work, but no work at home tonight... Hurray!

Well, today was another fun day at work. Aside from fun with the unions and the previously mentioned headaches, we're facing our Joint Commission survey in six weeks. For those of you not familiar with the Joint Commission (or its full name, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations), take my word for it that it strikes fear into the hearts of hospital managers nationwide. The Joint Commission, or JCAHO (usually pronounced "Jay-Co" by those terrified souls suffering with its requirements), sets standards for healthcare organizations and conducts a full "survey" every three years. The survey checks all manner of things, from employees following proper procedures to policies being updated to cleanliness and functionality of facilites/equipment to the completeness of employee records.

Needless to say, anyone facing a JCAHO survey scrambles to get everything ready. Why don't we prepare in advance, you ask? Oh, we do. At my old place, we started a year in advance and still had to scramble to get things set as the surveyors were doing there work. The standards they set are simply that strict. Really, no one can meet them all...not all the time, at least. I don't really object, however, as they keep hospitals (and other healthcare organizations) on their toes. If they didn't face these surveys and the inspections by other agencies (like the State Department of Health), who knows what would happen. Some people in healthcare have as lax an attitude as the slugs in other industries, but we have the added charm of being able to easily kill people. So I am glad for the existence of JCAHO.

With six weeks until our survey, we're getting into high gear. There will be lots of late nights and weekend meetings. Such is life. I just hope we make it through relatively intact.

On a happier note, I didn't bring home work tonight. Instead, Marc and I are watching a classic film I never managed to see. We're watching A Streetcar Named Desire.

I must say, I never knew Marlon Brando had been such a hottie! Holy cow! I only knew the older Brando. From The Godfather to the troubles of his son, Christian, to being a punch line for the jokes of comedians, that's the Marlon Brando I knew.

The Marlon Brando I am now seeing on my TV screen is a totally different Marlon Brando. He's an unmitigated babe. Makes you think what the passage of time can do to a man.

Oh, dear. That's a scary thought. Well, I guess I'd better just enjoy the good years while I can! :)

1 comment:

Bruce said...

Yeah, I've slowly gained an appreciation for Brando just as I slowly am for Sinatra, But he was a genius in Godfather!

This Jay-Co sounds a lot like what our North Central accreditation used to be. Now we do something called NCA/QPA, and of course, there's NCLB. What's really sad is when the people at the bottom of the ladder take it more seriously than those at the top.