I had planned on jumping right in on a favorite subject of mine (the infallibility of Joint Commission surveyors), but upon reflection it seemed a bit precipitous to leap without some words of introduction and maybe a quick look at the ol' crystal consulting ball before we roll on the serious subjects.

That said, the first order of business ought to be the tenor this new forum is likely to take. While the subjects we will discuss are nothing but serious, please don't mistake my lightness of tone for a lack of respect or a lack of understanding of how these things impact your every day lives.

I worked at an acute-care hospital in southeastern Massachusetts for some 23 years--starting out in environmental services and finishing my tenure as that organization's safety officer. Since becoming a consultant six years ago, I've completed a number of interim staffing assignments at hospitals throughout the Northeast, in addition to the "regular" consultant-type assignments.

I know exactly the nature and intensity of the pains generated by day-to-day hospital safety operations (sometimes too exactly, but we'll talk more about that on a slow news day).

I'm sure that over time this forum will evolve to one degree or another--hopefully with much participation from all of you. That said (and yes, I am absolutely aware that I use "that said" a lot, probably more than is necessary), if there's something you guys would like to see covered in more depth, less depth, Johnny Deppth (alright, a cheap joke, but I couldn't resist), then write to me. No topic is too obscure or too common to fall out of consideration.

So, bottom line--serious topics, somewhat irreverent responses and opinions, and rock-solid advice. This blog is your blog, this blog is my blog.  Let's make everything we can from it.