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Currents At the recent Board of Trustees meeting I reported, as indicated in the local newspaper, that we achieved a positive cash balance of approximately $1.5 million after the first two months of this fiscal year. While we are cautiously optimistic, this is an encouraging indicator that the numerous initiatives taken over this past year to improve our financial outlook are meeting with success. We must continue to follow our game plan to control costs while maintaining high quality patient care.   On another matter, we were very pleased that the Medical Center recently won the consumer choice award, as highlighted below, for the third year in a row. The award is based upon a study conducted by the National Research Corporation and is regarded as the most comprehensive consumer assessment in the industry. The survey rates hospitals on a number of criteria such as best doctors, best nurses, overall quality, most personalized care and best image.   Final preparations are underway for the JCAHO survey scheduled for the week of Nov. 6.  Everyone's full attention and cooperation is needed to ensure that we properly demonstrate the high quality of care and services provided by the Medical Center.    Thank you very much. W. Stuart Smith Vice President for Clinical Operations and Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center JCAHO Countdown  Patient Rights posters and mission statements are in. If you have not already done so, bring any out-of-date posters to room 148G, Main Hospital.  The existing frames will be reused for the new posters. Please provide a contact name, telephone number/pager, and location and once the posters are ready, you will be notified so they can be rehung. The new Medical Center employee badge attachments will be given to the management team for distribution to their employees within the next few days. The new Medical Staff Privileges manuals will be available at the following locations:  Medical Staff Office Hospital Services Coordinators’ Office Institute of Psychiatry (Administration) Main OR Ambulatory OR Ambulatory Services Administration Charleston Memorial Hospital (Administration) Medical Center Emergency Department Please discard the Medical Staff Privileges manuals that you now have on your units.   NRC Consumer Choice Award The MUSC Medical Center was once again recognized by the National Research Corporation as one of the top hospitals in the country. MUSC won the Consumer Choice Award for the third year in a row. The award recognizes the hospitals that consumers selected as having the highest quality and image. Rating criteria included best nurses, best doctors, overall quality, most personalized care and best image and reputation. The study surveyed more than 160,000 households nationwide including 325 respondents from the Charleston area. The only other South Carolina hospitals named are Palmetto Baptist Medical Center in Columbia and Greenville Memorial Hospital. An article was featured in the Oct. 23 Modern Healthcare magazine. Announcements June Stovall, nurse manager, Newborn/Nursery/GYN/Postpartum, introduced Angela Czapala, R.N., MHS, the new nurse manager for Ambulatory Surgical Services. Czapala comes to the Medical Center from West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell, Idaho, and she was also previously employed with the Medical College of Georgia. Welcome!