Other FAQs for Hosts

HOSTS for HOSPITALS provides lodging through volunteer-hosts who have a spare bedroom in their homes. This service is available to all potential guests regardless of a patient’s age or illness.

As a host you will need to provide a clean and comfortable place to sleep, a bathroom and a feeling of home. You will also give your guests directions to your home, to the hospital in question, to grocery stores and to the nearest publc transportation. You are not asked to provide meals or transportation–these items ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF YOUR GUESTS. Many hosts, however, are happy to help out in these and other areas, such as by making their kitchen available at least for light meals. You’ll explain to your guests whatever additional services you wish to provide when you first speak with them by phone.

We accept guests associated with patients receiving treatment at any hospital within the area of Greater Philadelphia, including Southern New Jersey and Wilmington, Delaware.

HOSTS for HOSPITALS is open to guests of all races, faiths and nationalities provided that the guest: lives so far from the hospital that communiting is difficult; has a permanent home to return to; is an important support person for a patient receving medical care at a Philadelphia area hospital; and, is unlikely to put the host family at risk in any manner.

Patients may be guests as long as they can
be independent, whether by themselves or with the help of a support person.

Typically patients and their families first learn about the HOSTS for HOSPITALS program through hospital staff who are involved with the patient’s treatment at a Philadelphia area hospital, through hospital websites and through Internet searches. Referrals quite often also come from staff at healthcare organizations such as the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House, the American Cancer Society and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. On other occassions potential guests learn about the program through a healthcare provider in their home community, or, another family who has used our service in the past.

Yes! So that you may feel comfortable about opening your home to those in need, we require a personal character reference for each adult guest. We require a personal character reference for each guest age 18 and above. This reference person is usually a physician or other health care provider from the guest’s home community. We check to know that the guest is considerate, responsible, reliable and able to independently manage within the host home. The rule of thumb is: would I invite this person to stay in my home? In addition, we require that potential guests be free of alcohol or other substance dependency, and, be without serious mental health problems.

You as a host specify for how long you would like to have guests. Some hosts wish for short-term guests over one or two nights, others for longer. The average stay is one to two weeks. At times hosts by choice will lodge guests for stays extending for a month and beyond. In such long-term cases, we may also have guests stay at a number of successive host-homes.

This depends on your location. If you are far from hospitals and public transportation you will receive fewer calls. Don’t be discouraged–we need you! You may be sure that at some point you will be offered the opportunity to help a family in need.

Yes. You can accept guests when your schedule allows and take time off when you wish to. We are happy to work around your schedule and deeply appreciate whenever you are available to host guests.

Not at all. When you become a host we’ll complete with you a host application upon which we will note any restrictions you may have, such as no smoking, no children, only one person at a time, no parking space, etc. We’ll then only seek to place a guest family at your home which matches your preferences.

Yes. Hosts may ask for up to $15/night for a single guest and $5/night for each additional guest. Your intentions will be noted on your application form. Note that any reimbursements you receive are separate from any donations which guests may wish to make to HOSTS for HOSPITALS.

Once you agree to host a guest, we call the guest and instruct him or her to call you within 24 hours to coordinate arrangements for your stay. When you speak with your guest you should explain any house-guidelines you have set regarding hours, meals, habits, use of phone, etc. If during this conversation you feel that this guest would not be a good match for you, please call us so that we may arrange other housing for the guest. Also, guests are instructed to notify both you and our office in the event that there is a change in their plans.

Once guests arrive at your home, you need to give them a Guest Information Packet and have all aldult guests sign the Guest Liability Release Form, which you then fax, mail or send as an email attachment to the HfH office.

Very rarely. Through our screening, we can avoid obvious problems. However, should you have difficulty, we wish for you to call our office and we’ll make other arrangements for your guests.

We expect you to call the Hosts for Hospitals office when:

• a scheduled guest does not contact you within 24 hours of when the lodging arrangement
  has been made
• a scheduled guest does not arrive at your residence
• a scheduled guest cancels directly with you
• there are problems with a particular guest
• a guest changes plans (e.g., arrival, departure, number of guests)
• a former guest calls you directly asking to be lodged with you again
• your household commitments will temporarily prohibit the use of your home
• a guest leaves

We also ask that you keep track of when guests are at your home on a “Guest Night Tracking Sheet” which we provide you, and, that you email or call our office with this information when the guests depart from your home. This is of tremendous help to us in terms of our knowing which host-homes are potentially available at any given point in time.