Step right up.

BOY, THERE'S NOTHING QUITE LIKE a good carnival sideshow, is there? Come see Jo-Jo, the Dog-Faced Boy. Come see The Wild Man of Borneo: Is he man or is he beast? Come meet Rosa and Josepha Blazek, "Siamese" twins joined at the base of the spine. If one takes medication, the other gets drowsy.

Am I giving away too much by telling you most sideshow oddities are just hyperbole? Oh, rest assured, Jo-Jo and Rosa and Josepha really did exist. But The Wild Man of Borneo? I'll let you answer the man/beast question yourself.

Sideshows are nothing if not lessons in great marketing and teamwork. Marketing because they really know how to give the "come on"; teamwork because carnies have relied on the combination of barkers, shills, and the human frailty of John Q. Public since mud was new.

But why all this talk of "pros" and "cons"? Our editorial coverage this month includes neither hustles nor human nature, but it does recognize marketing and teamwork. Under this month's Big Top, with its cleverly engineered "games of chance" and must-see attractions, we do examine one facility's attempt to beat the Prospective Payment System, the industry's version of the shell game where, if played correctly, there is a chance of minimizing your losses!

In their article, "Profitability under PPS," authors Lisa Colletti, RN, MN, and Lynn Hillhouse, RN, MSN talk about their SNF's survival story under PPS, or how they avoided being swept under the RUGs. Step right up and read about how they implemented a system that would efficiently record and transmit MDS information. Witness how they learned to evaluate the financial impact of these changes! Observe how they gathered staffers to create a RUG Analysis Group where none existed before! Just turn to page 38. Hurr-y hurr-y hurr-y!

Then, come one, come all to our "E-Z Answers" column, debuting this month on page 13. Here you will learn everything you ever wanted to know about this industry. No expense has been spared, no stone left unturned! It'll change your life. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself.

Finally, visit this year's award winners in CLTC's "Order of Excellence in Architecture & Interior Design" contest (following page 17). Winners and those cited for best practices will be honored at this year's cocktail reception in Washington, D.C., during the ALFA show.

Ours is definitely the greatest show on Earth!

Mark Zacharia

Editor-in-Chief and Publisher