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The article focuses on the goal performance towards health care services in the U.S. It mentions that the overall goal performance at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Web site represents the average performance for every acute-care hospital in the U.S. It is projected that it is possible for an organization to achieve an outcome of 100% with every single item on their dashboard. It reveals that each level of the organization has to decide what they can do to make sure that their goal is met by talking to one another about what is possible for each organizational level to contribute.

The article presents the comments of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) to the proposed revision of the Performance and Program Standards for the Professional Practice of Environmental, Health & Safety (SH&E) Auditing in the U.S. ASSE states that the auditing function mainly addresses internal issues, however, many SH&E issues are impacting an organization. It argues that the auditing function lacks discussion of how business operations may affect external entities that includes customers, the community and environment. ASSE suggests that the Board of Environmental, Health and Safety Auditor Certifications should add more language to address auditing of the revision process.

Reports developments related to nursing services in the U.S. as of May 2003. Development of programs to provide the highest quality and safest care; Improvements planned in the work environment; Inclusions of community coalition.

The article features the Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology, which aims to engage in improving the care of patients with vascular disease through excellence in clinical care and advances in biology in the U.S. Their practice includes prevention, diagnosis, and endovascular therapies, which encompasses vascular biology, pathophysiology, and clinical trials. Furthermore, its mission is to expand their membership to improve the strength of their advocacy and extend its services to members.

The article presents trends in the development of safety standards in the U.S. The American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) Executive Standards Council has approved the reaccreditation of the Accredited Standards Committee A10, Safety Requirements for Construction and Demolition Operations. The ANSI A10 Committee on Construction and Demolition Operations have met in Washington D.C. to discuss updates within the organization. The Standard for Safety Gas Vents of the Underwriters Laboratories Inc. is under revision.

The article offers information on the new performance-oriented survey process by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations to be tested in the U.S. The new survey process will be participated by 17 hospitals on its initial pilot testing that had agreed in evaluating mechanisms for collecting, analyzing, transmitting and using quality indicator data. The selected hospitals were from a large group of volunteers as they vary by ownership, size, teaching status, location and system affiliations. The list of the selected hospitals is also presented for further information.