Editorial

Welcome to the first issue of the Grapevine for 2003. This year brings many exciting clinical articles, conference information and highlights, services and activities for the Normah family and all the readers in our service coverage. We will be bringing you information about the improvements in existing services, and new areas of development such as the Occupational Safety and Health Service, Sleep Disorders Clinic, Neurology specialty, and various other services as they develop. We are also busy with our continuous improvement programs and the progress toward hospital accreditation. We provide an overview of the accreditation process in this issue.

The primary clinical article describes the diagnostic value and process of various echocardiography procedures. In the area of medical information and community health education, Normah hosted the First Annual NMSC - Mayo Clinic Oncology Conference in March 2003. Some highlights of the various presentations and an introduction to the outstanding presenters are included in this issue.

The final piece on community health and education includes a graphic presentation with helpful information about the current international issue of concern - severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS.

We hope you enjoy this and every issue of the Grapevine and, as always, request your comments and recommendations for information that is of interest to you.

Lilburn S. Tipton
Chair - Publication Committee