I found the Forum useful in a number of ways. I found it informative in general regarding the functions and activities of the Joint Commission. While I was aware of the accreditation function of the JCAHO, I was unclear on the nature of "deemed status" and unaware of many of the other initiatives and activities of the Joint Commission.

More personally, I found it informative for me as a chaplain. First of all, I gained insight into the experiences of administrators in hospitals where I have worked. The nature of "deemed status" for Medicare accreditation helped me understand the anxiety I've observed over the years preparing for various surveys. I also saw a number of Joint Commission initiatives that I think could be important for spiritual care. Among other concerns, I believe there will be opportunities for spiritual caregivers to participate in the performance improvement initiatives within their own institutions, using both outcome and market research.

I also thought the opportunities for networking were important. Spiritual care was well represented, with eight chaplains present representing seven different chaplaincy organizations. Most represented member organizations of the Conference on Ministry in Specialized Settings (COMISS), and the Forum provided an opportunity to meet and share information on common efforts and concerns. Others represented Hospital Chaplaincy Ministries of America (HCMA), a non-COMISS organization. HCMA brings to specialized ministry a different history and perspective, and certifies chaplains based on their own standards and educational program. The opportunity to meet the HCMA representatives and discover our different approaches to common ministries was worthwhile.

AEHC and APC were well represented at the Forum. In addition to myself, Rod Pierce attended representing AEHC, and Razz Waff attended representing the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Pastoral Services (JCAPS). In addition to those organizations already mentioned, other pastoral care organizations represented included ACPE, NACC, and the National Association of Veterans Administration Chaplains.

There were aspects of the Forum that were less helpful. Although the Forum was presented as "an opportunity for dialog," there was in fact little opportunity. Presentations and seminars were fully and tightly scheduled. In addition, they were heavily content oriented, so that while there was much to learn, there was little time to share. In addition, it seemed to me that many of the presentations were oriented to persons who had attended the Forum before. It seemed much effort was put into describing changes in the past year, and less into describing the histories, purposes, and goals of Joint Commission activities and initiatives. As a result, I found myself scrambling to gather from context information that seemed to me to be pretty basic.