About HAA

The association serves hospices that are freestanding and community-based, as well as those affiliated with home care agencies and hospitals. HAA's members are both Medicare-certified and all-volunteer hospices.

HAA is an affiliate of the National Association for Home Care (NAHC), the world's largest organization representing home care, hospice, and home care aide services.

HAA was organized for the following purposes:

1. To heighten the public visibility of hospice services.

2. To affect legislative and regulatory processes impinging on hospice services.

3. To gather and disseminate data pertinent to the hospice industry.

4. To promote hospice care as a viable component of the health care delivery system.

5. To foster, develop, and promote high standards of patient care in hospice services.

6. To provide an organized and unified voice for hospice providers.

7. To disseminate information and provide for the exchange of information with those interested in hospice services.

8. To collaborate with state organizations representing hospice interests and other organizations at the national, state, and local levels.

9. To initiate, sponsor, and promote educational programs for and with providers and consumers of hospice services, government bodies, and other professional individuals and associations interested in hospice care.

10. To initiate, sponsor, and promote research directly related to hospice services.

HAA is guided by an advisory board of directors composed of leaders in the hospice community across the country.

In 2005, Susan Goldwater Levine, Executive Director of the Hospice of the Valley (HOV) in Phoenix, Arizona was elected to lead the Advisory Board of Directors of the Hospice Association of America. HOV began in 1977 and was one of the original 26 hospice demonstration sites of the US Department of Health and Human Services, making it the oldest hospice in the state of Arizona. With total revenues of $100 million and serving over 2,000 patients daily, it is also the largest single site hospice in the country. Susan has served as Executive Director of HOV since 1994. In that year, they opened Arizona's first residential hospice home. Under Susan's leadership, HOV now has 13 such facilities in the greater Phoenix area to be increased to 16 by the end of 2006. HOV has recently forged a new partnership with the Scottsdale branch of the Mayo Clinic where one of the new facilities will be located. Ms. Levine has received many awards and distinctions including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) in 2003, 2000 ASU College of Nursing Distinguished Person's Award, 1999 Anti-Defamation League Leader of Distinction Award and the1998 Arizona Women, Who's Who in Business Award. Susan serves on the Board of a number of organizations including the Robert Wood Johnson National Advisory Board for Community State Partnerships, the Midwest Bioethics Center, Governor's Commission on the Health Status of Women and Families and the Lincoln Center for Ethics.

HAA's day-to-day activities in Washington, D.C. are led by Janet E. Neigh. Neigh has been working on home care and hospice issues for more than 18 years. Prior to becoming HAA's executive director in 1989, she spent 10 years working in the U.S. Senate for the Senate Special Committee on Aging and Foreign Relations Committees. Neigh played a pivotal role in the successful inclusion of a provision in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 which increased hospice reimbursement by 20 percent and tied annual rate increases to updates in the hospital market basket. She served as HAA's executive director from 1989 to 1996, when she became NAHC's Vice President of Policy and later Chief Operating Officer. In 2000, Neigh chose to once again serve as HAA's executive director. Focusing on the legislative and regulatory issues that impact hospice care and end-of-life programs, her responsibilities include representing the hospice community by working with Congress, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (formely the Health Care Financing Administration), and other state, federal, and national organizations. Neigh provides technical assistance to member hospices and state associations and is the managing editor of Hospice Forum and Volunteer Hospice Network Forum.

What Benefits Are Available to HAA Members?

Access to Information: Members can obtain expert advice from HAA's legislative, regulatory, legal, research, and clinical specialists. These experts are on hand to assist and support members with questions and concerns.

Advocacy: A team of trained professionals works with the membership to advocate on behalf of hospices, caregivers, and those they serve.

Volunteer Hospice Network: Created in 1996 as HAA's first special membership section, the Volunteer Hospice Network (VHN) was established to promote the growth, diversity, and development of volunteer organizations that serve persons who are dealing with life-threatening illnesses and those who are grieving.

Marketing: Members receive discounts on exhibiting at NAHC and HAA meetings, direct mail marketing lists, and advertising.

Public Relations: Media kits and promotional materials are provided to members for the celebrations of National Hospice Month and British Telecom Voices for Hospices. Discounts on audios, videotapes, billboards, keepsakes, brochures, posters, photos, and slides are also available to members.

World Wide Web: HAA's site offers online information about the hospice industry. In addition, HAA members have access to up-to-the-minute information on legislative, regulatory, and legal issues.

Networking Opportunities: HAA provides many networking opportunities at the international, national, and regional levels. Participants at any of HAA's meetings will meet the movers and shakers of the hospice and home care communities.

Continuing Education: Through Home Care University, HAA offers a comprehensive certification program for Home and Hospice Care Executives (CHCE(r)). The CHCE program serves as a uniform performance standard for home and hospice care executives and strengthens industry leadership through continuing education and professional development. It also provides consumers, employers, and caregivers with a mechanism for evaluating the professional commitment, knowledge, and conduct of home and hospice care executives while the industry continues experiencing growth.

Affiliate Organizations: NAHC has created a family of special affiliate organizations to enhance and support the various sections of its membership. These organizations represent wide-ranging interests of NAHC members across the United States. Membership in affiliate organizations is open to HAA members as well as NAHC members.

Publications: HAA members receive a discount on an assortment of award-winning publications produced and/or compiled by HAA and its parent organization, including:

Hospice Forum: a monthly column in Caring Magazine providing up-to-date information on legislative, regulatory, and legal issues; research news; and general information of interest to the hospice community. This publication is available in the members-only section of the HAA web site (www.nahc.org/HAA).

VHN Forum: a quarterly online newsletter focusing on issues of interest to all-volunteer hospices. This publication is also available, in its entirety, on the HAA and WHHO web site.

CARING: a monthly magazine featuring articles, special sections, and departments covering all aspects of the hospice and home care field.

Speakers Bureau: HAA members also have the opportunity to access the HAA/NAHC Speakers Bureau for speaking events and conferences of their own.

How Do I Join HAA?

A hospice can become an HAA member by completing the HAA Provider Membership Application. Home care agencies that are already members of NAHC may join HAA for no additional charge simply by checking the appropriate box on the NAHC membership application form. Applications are available at the NAHC web site and through NAHC's fax-on-demand system at 202/547-6638. For more information, call 202/546-4759.