Introducing the new nonprofit, Society of Hospital & Healthcare System-based Acupuncturists
Creation of the New Nonprofit, 501c3 Organization
The Society of Hospital & Healthcare System-based Acupuncturists
5.12.2023, updated 7.30.2023
I'm happy to share that we've launched a new nonprofit this season, the Society of Hospital & Healthcare System-based Acupuncturists. As of April 1st, 2023, this is the new nonprofit home of The Hospital Handbook Project. We've convened a small board to begin.
The "construction dust" phase is still in progress with our new nonprofit, but you'll recognize the familiar community-focused resource work and space for professional networking. We're still the HHP, and yet we are a bit more, too. :)
Check out our new LinkedIn page and consider supporting the work by joining our community discussion platform.
For those interested in the naming, just FYI that we may change the name again in the future, but this is the name we have now. It received the biggest feedback response from the "Names" survey we launched in February/March 2023. However, we are still reviewing all the great feedback from the survey, which included feedback on more than just the name.
Caption: 3 images with new nonprofit name. First on left has the San Diego sunrise. Other two are the front and back of the business cards we shared at the 2023 Society of Acupuncture Research (SAR) conference we presented at in May 2023.
Construction Dust Updates
On the HHP Community Discussion Platform
Starting this season, Tier 2 subscribers now have access to the content from our Jan 2023 Inpatient Acupuncture conference.
What is the new nonprofit organization?
The Society of Hospital & Healthcare System Acupuncturists was established as a unique nonprofit in March 2023. It is the new home for the Hospital Handbook Project (HHP). The HHP is a nonprofit collaborative learning health system & community networking platform.
This community includes clinicians currently working in healthcare system-based practice, program managers & admin, researchers who work with this community, students & prospective practitioners interested in this specialty, and those who support our work.
This nonprofit works to improve communication about employment practices and program standards for LAc work in the U.S. healthcare system. Some of the current biggest barriers to patient access to an acupuncturist's care include trouble in finding current and accurate information (and examples) on how to hire & credential LAcs into a system and then program setup & standards.
This nonprofit is unique in that it communicates about these standards while being able to connect with colleagues who are doing the work. ☺️
We define "healthcare system-based work" broadly to include any facility, program, or organization that is accredited by or eligible for accreditation by The Joint Commission. This includes (but is not an exhaustive list) civilian and federal facilities, FQHCs, county clinics, urban safety net hospitals, academic medical centers, county and city hospitals, and some hospice organizations.
History. This community resource work began several years ago through the nonprofit program, The Hospital Handbook Project (HHP) for Acupuncturists and Their Hospital Sponsors, founded and directed by Megan Kingsley Gale. In March 2023, we decided to create our own 501c3 nonprofit to continue this community-centered resource work for the healthcare system LAc community. The current name for this new organization, per community feedback, is the Society of Hospital & Healthcare System-based Acupuncturists. On April 1st, 2023, Megan moved The Hospital Handbook Project (which is a program) from the umbrella of Free Range Health (our 501c3 fiscal sponsor from Jan 22nd, 2022, until March 31st, 2023, to the new nonprofit entity, Society of Hospital & Healthcare System-based Acupuncturists. More to come, over time, as we continue to establish this new nonprofit.
On the HHP Community Discussion platform
5.12.2023
This platform has been updated for the new nonprofit transition.
There are two subscription tiers, Tier 1 and Tier 2. Both have monthly and yearly subscription options.
Tier 1 starts at $10/month.
Tier 2 starts at $30/month. It includes access to everything on Tier 1 plus access to the Inpatient Acupuncture Conference resources as well as HHP's other deep-dive topic-based resources. Tier 2 is "all the bells and whistles."
Tier 1 is available to both Tier 1 and Tier 2 platform subscribers.
Both tiers support professional networking and development when used (accessed and engaged with) at least weekly.
Tier 2, the “all the bells and whistles,” is set up as a leadership development resource for those who engage with it regularly. Long-term workgroups for the community are hosted in this space. Please see the platform for the current benefits of a Tier 2 subscription. We continue to grow this resource over time, so the benefits list changes regularly.
Topic-based discussion threads on the platform available for both Tier 1 and Tier 2 currently (May 2023) include:
More about the Hospital Handbook Project (HHP) &
the Society for Hospital & Healthcare System-based Acupuncturists
The HHP, a not-for-profit community project, is the go-to resource for hospital and healthcare system-based acupuncture employment practices and program standards. We are a professional network community of healthcare system-based practice LAc clinicians, program managers, researchers, and more. We have been (and continue to) developing a collaborative health learning system.
Our work is also useful to “champions”—change-makers in the integrative field who are setting up or expanding programs in their field at their healthcare facility. At its core, the HHP creates space for hospital and healthcare system-based acupuncturists to connect and share wisdom and experiences, all to help avoid working in silos or having to “reinvent the wheel.”
We are a source of information for hospital and healthcare system practice acupuncturists and their hospital sponsors (advocates, program managers, admin). The HHP is a living resource or "handbook" for our community.
The HHP creates community and space to communicate with each other and thus share the collective wisdom of hospital practitioners. We encourage each other to improve our knowledge and practice standards together.
It is a collaborative learning network and resource.