Getting Started It s Easy! A Toolkit Guide to Creating an Affiliate: NAHAM: The leading resource for managing successful patient access services 1. Contact one of the following individuals they are here to help YOU, you will have all the assistance you need! NAHAM Ambassador - Ambassador@naham.org or contact Maxine Wilson at 865-898-7097 and email address maxinewilson@comcast.net Regional Delegate If you do not know your regional delegate email info@naham.org to obtain contact information NAHAM s administrative offices at www.naham.org or (202) 367-1125 Tel 2. Start small! Use your current network of access professionals. Gain an interest in starting an affiliate. Having difficulty contacting people, NAHAM can assist in reaching out to other access professionals within your state. 3. Schedule a Getting Started meeting. Whether it is 5 people or 25 people that have indicated interest, bring the group together. Host the group at your hospital, all that is needed is a conference room. Have attendees bring their lunch. If the group can not travel, schedule a conference call Check with your facility operator, quite often they have the ability to facilitate a conference call If not, www.freeconference.com provides this service at no cost Focus of the call/meeting is to gain the interest in creating the affiliate 4. Creating the affiliate: Schedule an organizational meeting. The purpose is to create the affiliate board of directors. (The NAHAM ambassador or your delegate can be available to help guide this meeting) Develop the affiliate bylaws. The Affiliate Handbook provides a step by step document of what detail is needed for your bylaws (See attachment 1 and 1a for examples) http://www.naham.org/files/public/affiliate_handbook.pdf In addition, the NAHAM Ambassador or the Regional Delegate can obtain a copy of another states affiliate bylaws for you to use as a template. Most important these are just the guidelines by which the board of directors will govern. Membership: What to charge, if to charge for membership, initially, are all decisions that can be made at the organizational meeting. It is more important to build the affiliate then to build the checking account for the affiliate. (NAHAM vendor partners are very generous in supporting NAHAM at the national, regional, state and local level. They can help you defer cost or provide a no cost educational session!) Providing educational opportunities: The affiliate provides wonderful opportunity to offer education to your state access professionals. The NAHAM Ambassador and the Regional Delegate can assist in soliciting speakers for an event. Obtaining a not for profit status refer to attachment 2 Creation of a website NAHAM has the ability to provide you with a dedicated area on the National website, www.naham.org. There is no need to create a dedicated site, you can provide the direct link via email communication! NAHAM will assist you!
Attachment 1- Bylaw Example By Laws ARTICLE I: Name The name of the Association shall be Arizona Association of Healthcare Access Management (AZHAM). ARTICLE II: Objectives The objectives of the Association shall be: 1. To serve as forum for discussion of Hospital Access Management issues and mutual problems in the Health Care field. 2. To encourage advancement in the field by participation in workshops and institutes. 3. To cooperate in promoting the aims and objectives of the association. ARTICLE III: Board of Directors A: Membership The Board of Directors shall consist of a minimum of 4, but not more than 5 Directors. Directors are elected for a one year term every other year*. The Board shall elect from its own a President*, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Chairperson, Treasurer*, Publisher Chairperson., Education Chairperson and Past President. *The Vice President will move to the President after completion of their one year term, the Treasurer will serve for a four year term. In the event that a Director is unable to complete a term, the Board will appoint a replacement, with the exception of the Past President. In the event that a Director is unable to attend two consecutive Board meetings or two conference calls, the Board can suspend or remove the officer. The President or his/her designee might be able to obtain financial assistance when attending NAHAM related sessions. Financial assistance may be available for all active members to attend seminars at the discretion of the Board. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The Board of Directors shall consist of current officers and at least one member at large who will be responsible to report the quarterly regional updates to the Board. B: Duties PRESIDENT: To preside at all meetings and Board meetings. Shall be able to recommend and appoint Ad-Hoc task force Committees as needed. VICE-PRESIDENT: Shall assume the duties of the President in his/her absence and assist the President in carrying out Association objectives. He/she will assist the host hospital in arranging a program for the next meeting. He/she shall be the Coordinator and Liaison to all Committee Chairpersons. SECRETARY/TREASURER: Shall keep, prepare and maintain full and correct records of all meetings of the Association. He/she shall keep a file of all correspondence regarding any activities that the Association has initiated. Shall have custody of all funds, securities, and other assets of the Association. Will collect all monies and pay all bills submitted to the Association. Issues receipts for all monies received. Will prepare and have available, a financial statement showing the condition of the Association as of the close of business on the last day of each month. He/she will submit a Treasurer s report to all Board and general meetings, and shall deposit funds in designated bank. An annual audit of all funds shall be conducted by Board members. MEMBERSHIP/ADVERTISING/CHAIRPERSON: Shall mail out renewal notices at the end of the year and again the beginning of the New Year. He/she shall issue a membership card and a Membership Certificate to all new members. If the member has been a previous member, only a membership card will be issued. Included in that mailing should be a list of current officers and an outline of the upcoming meeting dates for the year. Update membership lists as needed and forward to Board members. PUBLICATIONS CHAIRPERSON: Shall produce a newsletter based on defined completion schedule including supervising production of the newsletter from typesetting, layout, proofreading to distribution. Identify key committee members to solicit articles for the newsletter. Review announcements and NAHAM administrative information submitted by National Office Staff for publication.
ARTICLE IV: Committees NOMINATING COMMITTEE: The Nominating Committee shall submit to the Board of Directors nominations for elected officers. NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE: Issues a minimum of two Newsletters a year. MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE: The membership committee shall coordinate membership drives to boost membership on a quarterly basis and shall submit a list of contacts to the Board of Directors. ARTICLE V: Elections Elections shall be held every other year. Nominees for vacant offices shall be selected by the Nominating Committee and be presented to the general membership. Additional nominations will also be accepted from the members present. Term of office shall be one years. Method of voting on other issues may be determined by the President. Elected offices are to include: President, Vice- President, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Chairperson and Newsletter/Editor. ARTICLE VI: Membership ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP: Active Membership shall be open to Admitting and Health Care Professionals. Only active members are eligible to vote. CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP: Corporations who service the Health Care industry. DUES: There shall be an annual membership fee voted on by active members. All membership dues shall be billed in November, payable by January 31. Dues from new members received between November 1 and December 31 shall be applied to the forthcoming calendar year. Corporate Membership will be assessed at a higher level than active members. ARTICLE VII: Calendar of Events No less then one meeting/workshop shall be held each calendar year. Board meetings will be held quarterly. Other meetings may be held at the discretion of the President and Board. Monthly teleconferencing will be held and to be attended by all Board members. ARTICLE VIII: Amendments The by-laws may be amended by the quorum of Board Members. Roberts Rules of Order shall constitute the parliamentary authority in all matters not covered by the by-laws. Revised January 2011
Alabama Association of Healthcare Access Management Attachment 1a - Bylaw Example Bylaws of the Alabama Association of Healthcare Access Management Article I Executive Committee The Association shall be governed by an Executive Committee consisting of all elected officers, the immediate past-president and Committee Chairpersons. The assets of the Association may be used in accordance with the directions of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall not, however, incur any debt of liability or a combination of debts and liabilities, exceeding the net assets of the Association. Section 3. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to act for the membership in the management of the Association and shall have and exercise all powers not inconsistent with any provisions of the Bylaws. The executive Committee shall: a.have and exercise general supervision over the activities of all standing committees. b.represent and act on behalf of the membership subject to such limitations as may be imposed by the membership. c.coordinate the activities and general policies of the Association. d.receive and act upon committee reports. e.implement policies of the Association not otherwise the responsibility of other committees. f.ensure the membership is kept abreast of Association action and activities. g.take all reasonable steps to ensure that the activities and endeavors of the Association are professional and ethical. h.report at every membership meeting. i.have such other functions as are provided in these Bylaws or may be assigned to it from time to time by the membership Section 4. The Executive Committee shall meet one month prior to any meeting of the membership. The date and site of the meeting is to be determined by the Executive Committee. Section 5. Special meetings of the Executive Committee may be called by the President at any time. A special meeting must be called on the written/verbal request of thirty (30) percent of the Executive Committee.
Section 6. A quorum for action by the Executive Committee shall be a majority of its voting members in attendance. No proxy voting is permitted. Action may be taken by majority vote. Article II Membership Dues The annual dues for the calendar year shall be determined by the Executive Committee. All membership dues shall be billed in October, payable in November for the forthcoming calendar year. Section 3. Dues from new members received August 1 to November 30 shall be applied to the following calendar year. Article III Officers The officers of the Association shall be President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. The President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer term of office will be for a period of two (2) years. None shall exceed two (2) consecutive terms in the same office. Section 3. The Vice President shall automatically succeed to Presidency, while the new Vice President shall be selected by written ballot on even years. On odd year, nominees for Secretary and Treasurer shall also be selected by written ballot. Any active member may suggest nominees to the Nominating Committee, which will prepare the slate. Section 4. The Officers of the Association and their respective duties are as follows: a.president. The President shall be responsible for conducting the business of the Association and shall preside at all meetings and shall be a member ex-officio on all committees. He or she shall appoint all committee chairpersons, and, with the advice of the Executive Committee, shall appoint all Ad Hoc committees, and in general shall perform all duties incident to the office of President. The President shall make interim appointments to fill vacancies of office when no other specific procedure is provided by these Bylaws. The President is Chairperson of the Executive Committee. b.vice President. In the absence of the President or in the event of his or her inability to act, the Vice President shall have all the powers of, and be subject to all the restrictions upon the President. When a vacancy occurs in the office of President, the Vice President will automatically become President. The Vice President shall perform such duties as may be assigned to him/her by the President including, but not limited to, liaison to all committee chairpersons. The Vice President shall be Chairperson of the Education Committee and serve on the Membership Committee. He/she shall be responsible for sending out cards when members are absent from meetings, greeting new members at the meetings and responsible for
receiving all properties relinquished from all committee Chairperson. The Education Committee shall submit to NAHAM for approval, programs for continuing education credit. c.secretary/historian. The Secretary shall keep minutes of meetings, carry out all orders, votes and resolutions of the Association and shall perform such other duties that are incident to the office of Secretary, or as are delegated to this person by resolution of the Executive Committee. The Secretary must be knowledgeable in Parliamentary Procedure and assure that such protocol is followed in all meetings of the Association. The Secretary shall ascertain that records are maintained for all meetings of the Association and the Executive Committee and ensure that copies of the minutes of each meeting are provided to the President and other officers and are made available for all members of the Association. The Secretary will be responsible for sending notice of meetings to be published in NAHAM news. Duties of Historian run currently with the duties of the position of Secretary. These responsibilities include chronicling the events of the ALAHAM history. d.treasurer. The Treasurer shall keep an account of all monies received and expended for the use of the Association, subject to approval by the President. The bank used by the Treasurer shall be the choice of the Treasurer; the Treasurer will be bonded at the expense of the Association. A written quarterly report shall be submitted to the Executive Committee at their quarterly meetings with copies of actual bank statements. Funds may be drawn only upon the signature of Treasurer with the approval of the Executive Committee Majority. Books and records of the Association shall be audited annually by an independent Certified Public Accountant and a notarized audit report appended to the annual report of the Treasurer. Association funds, property, books and vouchers in the hands of the Treasurer shall be subject to the inspection and control of the Executive Committee at any time. At the expiration of his/her term of office, the Treasurer shall deliver to the Treasurer-Elect or President all books, monies and other property within thirty (30) days. Failure to do so may result in appropriate action by the Association. Article IV Committee The following Committee shall be standing Committee of the Association. The Committee shall serve for two (2) years. The Committee will be appointed on even years, not to exceed 2 consecutive terms. Each Committee chairperson can select those members who are to serve on his/her Committee. The Committee chairperson shall serve on the Executive Committee with vote. The Committee chairperson shall be appointed by the President pursuant to the Bylaws. The role of the Committee chairperson is to direct the members and activities of the Committee to see that it fulfills its responsibilities. The chairperson ensures that the committee itself; ensures that individual Committee members understand committee objectives and their contribution to Committee activities in order to achieve those objectives; monitors Committee member assignments; prepares relevant information or materials in time to prepare for the meetings; directs meetings to insure that important issues are discussed, resolutions are reached, and recommendations are developed when appropriate; motivates and encourages Committee members; helps to identify leadership talent; and prepares Committee status reports for the Executive Committee. At the end of each tenure of office served or the inability to serve the full term, all properties of the Association shall be delivered to the Vice President. a.membership/nominating Chairperson. The Membership Committee shall be responsible for the review of applications for membership in the Association and quarterly progress reports to the Executive Committee. It shall periodically conduct a membership drive to increase the number of members in the Association. The Membership Committee shall mail membership literature to all new members. The Nominating Committee shall present a slate of three (3) nominees to the Executive Committee for approval. The President may appoint Ad Hoc Committees for specific purposes.
Article V Membership, Admissions and Expulsions There shall be three (3) types of membership in the Association as follows: Active, Honorary and Corporate. a.active Membership. Members are in Access related fields of Healthcare. Active members are entitled to vote/decision making. Two members per hospital are allowed to serve on the Executive Committee. To serve on the committee you must be at an Access Management level of authority. b.honorary Membership. Members who are no longer employed within the Healthcare Access field may have their membership converted to honorary status upon application. Honorary members are not entitled to vote, hold office or serve as Committee chairpersons but may serve as Committee members. c.corporate membership. Corporations who service the healthcare industry with particular relevance to patient access services. These members are not allowed to vote or hold office, or serve as a Committee chairperson but may serve as Committee members. Active and corporate Membership shall become effective upon receipt by the Treasurer of the specified dues and upon approval of the completed application form by the Executive committee. Dues from new members received between August 2 and November 30, shall be applied to the following calendar year. Section 3. There shall be no proxy voting on matters to be voted upon by the membership. Section 4. Any members of the Association charged with conduct detrimental to the objectives or interest of the Association, or violation of its Constitution, ByLaws or Rules and Regulation, may be suspended or expelled from the Association by vote of the Executive Committee. Prior to such action, the member will be provided with a copy of the charges preferred against him/her, and have the right to a hearing. Article VI Meeting of the Association The meetings of the Association shall be held three (3) times each year, spring, summer and fall. The date and site of the meeting to be determined by the Executive Committee at least three (3) months in advance. Special meetings of the Association may be called at any time by the President, and must be called at any time by the President, or in his/her absence by the vice President or Association. Ten (10) days notice of any special meeting must be given to the members of the Association and the notice must state the purpose of the meeting.
Section 3. There is no quorum for the meetings of the Association. Resolutions to be submitted to the active membership for vote will require a majority vote of those active members attending the meeting. Article VII Amendments In order to amend these Bylaws, a majority vote by a written/verbal ballot of Active Members (those who have attended the meetings), a response is needed. Suggested amendments to the Bylaws shall be submitted to the Secretary and approved by the Executive Committee for submission to the Active Membership for vote. The proposed amendment(s) must be submitted in writing to the entire Active Membership by the Secretary more than (6) but no less than four (4) weeks prior to the closing date of the vote. Votes must be mailed to the Secretary where they will be tallied and results forwarded to the President within two (2) weeks of the closing date of the vote. Votes received after the closing will not be counted. Amendments to the Bylaws shall be binding for all members, including those who have voted against the amendment.
Attachment 2 Obtaining Tax Exempt Status for an Affiliate and Non-Profit Status Your state or local association can exist without incorporating or filing papers with the Internal Revenue Service or with your state government. However, if your plan is to conduct business such as accepting membership dues, receipts for educational meetings, etc., you will need to open a bank account in the name of your affiliate organization. To do so you will need to: 1. Apply for a tax ID number (Employer Identification Number of EIN ) regardless of the fact that your affiliate will not have employees. A tax ID number is required if you wish to open a bank account in the United States. This is a simple process. 2. Speak with your local banker regarding any other requirements for establishing a bank account. 3. Decide whether you wish to be an unincorporated association or whether you wish to incorporate. Either incorporated or not, if your association brings in revenue, you will need to disclose this annually to the IRS (and if you have not applied for non-profit status from the I.R.S. all of this income will be taxable). Those who wish to incorporate should visit their state s Secretary of State web site for details regarding how to incorporate as a non-profit association. Also consult NAHAM s Affiliate Handbook for information. Those associated with organizing an unincorporated association can be held personally liable if the organization were to be sued. Incorporated associations have some protections in this area that unincorporated associations do not. To be recognized as a non-profit (whether incorporated or not), you must apply for non-profit status through the Internal Revenue Service. This is a process many groups delegate to a CPA or attorney but it is possible to complete this application (I.R.S. form 1023) with some help found on the Internet. Incorporated associations have a much better chance at meeting the IRS standards to be non-profits. (While NAHAM is an incorporated non-profit association, for many years we were an unincorporated non-profit.) Feel free to telephone NAHAM s Executive Director, Steve Kemp, for guidance regarding filing articles of incorporation or applying for nonprofit tax exempt status. Contact information: Steven C. Kemp, CAE Executive Director National Association of Healthcare Access Management 2025 M Street NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 (202) 367-1125 Tel. (202) 367-2125 Fax http://www.naham.org