To schedule a presentation to your staff or to request materials, please contact Tricia Silverman by email or 617.482.4338.

The Role of Hospital Staff
We rely heavily on our network of social workers, nurses, doctors, and other hospital staff members to spread the word about Hospitality Homes to patients and their families who could benefit from the program. We ask you to refer only people who seem well-suited to stay in private homes—those who seem independent, considerate, and responsible. In the unusual situation where a guest is found to be inappropriate once they are in the host home, the referrer is responsible for finding alternate housing.

The Importance of Referrals
Referral sources are often the first point of contact with Hospitality Homes for a patient and his/her family. They provide a concise and accurate description of what we can and cannot do, and how we do it. They help explain our program to families and determine if we are an appropriate resource for them.

Oftentimes, you can help ease some of the initial concerns that people unfamiliar with the program may have about staying in a private home, such as letting them know that they will not be expected to socialize with the host, that hosts have been screened and trained, and that the neighborhoods in which hosts live are safe. Hospitality Homes works to provide hospital staff with the information they need to help their patients' families. Items available for potential guests to view include brochures, a video, and photo albums containing pictures of host families and past guests.

The Placement Procedure

Our Application and Screening Process

• Guests should call the Hospitality Homes office directly at 1.888.595.HOST to fill out an application over the phone with one of our staff members. The application allows us to obtain important information (such as length of stay, number of guests, specific housing needs, etc.) needed to make an appropriate match with a host. While we have a high success rate of finding housing for families, we are not able to place everyone who completes an application.
• A character reference is required for each adult guest. We ask for the name of a medical professional (usually a hometown doctor, dentist, or nurse) who has worked with the individual in the past. Guests provide the contact information (name, phone, fax) and we complete the reference directly. It is important to keep in mind this is a character reference, not a medical reference, and we do not ask about medical histories. The reference source should have personal knowledge of the guest and believe them to be responsible, considerate, and independent. On occasion, social workers, doctors, nurses or other medical professionals in the Boston area provide the reference, if they have worked with the guest enough to feel comfortable doing so. If you, as a hospital staff member, are providing the reference, please ask yourself, "Is this someone I would want to have in my own home?"
• Once we receive a positive reference for each guest, the placement procedure can begin. It generally takes two to three days for a placement to be made. Turning an application around same-day, while sometimes possible, is very difficult. Applying about two to three weeks ahead of time is ideal.

The Next Step

Only after the application and referral process is complete do we begin searching for hosts. We search for hosts taking into consideration guest's needs in housing (e.g. parking, pet-free, number of people, etc.) If we are able to find a host, we provide the guest with host's name and phone number. so that the guest can contact his/her host directly. When possible, we also ask guests to call their host at least 48 hours prior to their arrival to confirm their stay. Please keep in mind our hosts are opening up their homes and will be expecting guests on the agreed upon date and time. It is critical that the guest alert both the host and Hospitality Homes to any changes in plans. Also keep in mind that hosts are not allowed to take in any additional guests until a reference check is done.

Things to keep in mind when referring families to Hospitality Homes

Who is eligible to use Hospitality Homes?

Hospitality Homes is available to people of all races, nationalities, and faiths, provided that the guest:

• Lives far enough away from the hospital so that commuting is difficult.
• Can provide some type of help in translating if English is not the first language of the family members
• Has a permanent home to which to return.
• Is an important support person for the patient.
• Is not likely to put the host family at risk.

Our program is designed to serve the families and friends of patients rather than the patients themselves. Under certain circumstances patients can be guests, but each patient must be accompanied by a family member or friend. Patients are considered on a case-by-case basis.

What do guests pay for this service?
Hospitality Homes charges no fees. We rely on donations from guests and others to sustain the program.

What about meals and transportation?
Guests must provide their own meals and transportation. Many hosts allow guests to use their kitchen for light cooking or their refrigerator to store food. While we have very few hosts who live within walking distance to the hospitals, most host homes are in areas with access to public transportation (subway/bus) and parking is also available at some host homes.

It is extremely important that guests of Hospitality Homes are self-sufficient and will not need any extra assistance during their stay. Our hosts help orient guests to the neighborhood and determine the best route to the hospital, and provide other anecdotal information (where to find a grocery store, restaurants, etc) to help guests feel at home.

What can guests do to improve their chances of finding housing when they need it?
Potential guests are encouraged to apply for housing before they arrive in Boston, allowing our staff members ample time to complete the application and reference process. We also encourage applicants to be flexible with their needs. The more willing guests are to stay a little farther away from the hospital and use public transportation or to share a bathroom with their hosts, for example, the more likely it is that we will be able to find housing for them. The more requests a guest makes, the smaller the pool of potential hosts becomes.