WHY BECOME A MEMBER?

The National Association of Hospital Hospitality Houses, Inc. is committed to sharing knowledge and experience with any group wishing to establish a hospital hospitality house. NAHHH also seeks to strengthen and enhance the established services through viable membership programs. The Association is also committed to increasing public awareness of the HHH services and the concept. We believe that by joining NAHHH , you are assisting "homes that help and heal" throughout the nation. The following benefits are available through your membership:

Participation in a Recognized National Organization: Through your membership in NAHHH, you join with hundreds of others interested in advancing the hospitality house cause. The national office communicates with national organizations and governments that put your agenda on the national map. Besides these external contacts, NAHHH also provides a network of new house contacts. One of the most valuable benefits of membership is the exchange of information between NAHHH member houses. Our Ambassador Program encourages site visits to other houses. Joining NAHHH indicates a willingness to assist those houses now open to the public and to help other houses to get started. Membership in NAHHH opens doors and leads to the betterment of all.

Public Awareness: Through national and regional involvement, NAHHH Members build awareness among their own programs, major medical centers, medical and hospital auxiliaries, medical affiliates, and other groups who focus attention on the needs of families receiving medical care away from home. NAHHH will provide contact with individuals who help promote and support the HHH philosophy.

The Annual NAHHH National Conference: An educational meeting covering those topics specific to HHH-type facilities. The conference provides an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences with colleagues. NAHHH Members, along with experts from the allied health-care field, contribute to the plenary sessions, workshops, seminars and roundtable discussions. An effort is made to provide programming for all levels of "hospitality house" experience and to facilitate stronger Board participation. At the Conference "Awards Banquet", NAHHH House Members receive recognition from their peers in a variety of categories.

Resource Center: The NAHHH Resource Center provides NAHHH Members with free copies of materials relevant to the start-up of new programs and for improving existing programs. The resource material is donated by houses or is the result of NAHHH-funded research. Resource Center materials include fund-raising, public relations, operational procedures and policies, job descriptions, by-laws, budgets, feasibility studies, guest registration forms and evaluations, statistics on salaries and hhh operations, pertinent articles from newspapers and magazines, hospitality houses and the law, planned giving, house design, brochures, newsletters, and much more. If there is a hospitality-house related topic you need more information on, NAHHH is just a toll-free phone call away for all Member house staff and board. If the national office does not have the information you need on file, they will seek the information for you from their network of constituents.

National Referral Directory: The NAHHH National Referral Directory lists hospital hospitality houses nation-wide and the services provided by each. NAHHH will provide each member with one free directory and free updates.

Web Site Listing: NAHHH lists all members on their web site, www.nahhh.org and provide links to member houses, web sites and e-mail.

Inside Hospitality: This monthly newsletter by NAHHH provides articles and editorials on matters pertinent to hospitality houses to increase communication between Member houses and the Association. Articles contributed by house members are most welcome! Let the nation know about your house or your dreams of a house.

Toll-Free Referral Service: Your membership helps to support the NAHHH toll-free national referral hospitality house hot-line. Patients and their families can call the national office and receive information about hospitality houses near the area in which they are seeking medical care.

National Hospital Hospitality Week: This special observance provides the opportunity for you to promote your activities, reward your volunteers and pay tribute to those families and their loved ones who have brought meaning to your organization's mission. National Hospital Hospitality Week is the 4th full week in July.

Vendor Discounts: Members are offered discounts on products specific to hospitality houses through NAHHH endorsement. One such discounted product, for instance, is a computer software program specifically designed for hospitality-type houses that tracks guest room statistics.

Free Monthly Telephone Conference: "Talk With the Expert" phone conference is conducted monthly on various subjects of interest to our members. The topics for the calls have ranged from How to Start a Hospitality House to Small Fundraisers. The topics come from input from our members and then the National Organization finds the "Expert" for that subject.