Become a member
Benefits of efhco.
Enjoy …
… A simple Access to a huge Network of Professionals, facilitating valuable Contacts and Exchanges of Best Practices at a European Level.
… An proven high-level Quality work in your Healthcare Clown Organisation!
… An access to specialised Resources, Training and tailor-made Support.
… Being the European part of a growing Global Community!
Networking & Communication Exchange
efhco. creates ways to communicate, exchange and stay in touch virtual and nose2nose with similar organizations across Europe.
We share the same profession, the same passion and mostly the same goals.
The members learn from each other in active working groups on artistic, management, fundraising and research, getting inspired by shared ideas. All working group meet up online (1,5 – 2.0 h) at a regular basis and minimum annually in person.
The efhco. Quality Label
The efhco. Quality Label for our full members, reviewed every 5 years an intense, multi-day audit onsite recognizes the defined efhco. Quality standards of Healthcare Clowning within the healthcare sector, best practices in artistic, management or in charity fundraising.
Access to valuable archives
Free Access to the efhco. Artistic and R&D archives
Recognition in Healthcare Institutions
One of efhco. main objective is the recognition of the Healthcare Clown profession within Healthcare Institutions. We work on the innovative development of our profession in cooperation with the different stakeholders while maintaining the best quality.
Quality Label
At efhco., we uphold professionalism and high standards in healthcare clowning through collaboration and continuous improvement. Our quality label ensures excellence via thorough evaluations and regular audits every five years.
Become a member
Thank you for your interest in becoming a member of efhco.. It implies that your entity stands for professional healthcare clowning with clowns performing high quality on all levels and wanting to be part of an European movement.
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Step 1
Membership Options
efhco. Two Membership Options
1. Associate Membership
Since 2008 efhco. is offering an Associate Membership, limited to 2 full years.
Your benefit of an associate member is a full access to all working groups and events, our R&D and Artistic archives on healthcare clowning.
Your professional healthcare clown organization will not have a right for the Quality Label, or General Assembly voting rights neither will you have permission to publish the efhco. logo on your website / social media / email signatures.
Our nose2nose meetings are open to non-members. Your organisation is invited to join us there as a guest! We offer it for a participation fee per person registered. Every participant pays for travel, accommodation and most catering with the exception of one group dinner, organized by the host organization.
The annual Associate membership fee is billed each January (no pro-rata possible).
2. Full Membership
The second option is the efhco. Full Membership.
An Associate Membership can be upgraded or professional healthcare clown organisations can apply directly for this membership with full voting and publishing rights of the efhco. logo, the Quality Label, and an all over access to the federations’ events, resources and other benefits.
The full membership fee consists of 3 parts:
- A one-time Entrance fee to cover partly the 1st Quality Label Audit expenses.
and annually
- A Fixed contribution per year for all organisations.
- A Variable contribution based on the annual turnover of each organization.
Contact us and we will provide you with our up-to-date membership information.
Step 2
Qualification Audit
Do you qualify for an efhco. membership?
The federation maintains a list of criteria, goals and requirements, carefully put together. Please see below some efhco. criteria for becoming a member listed per category:
Concerning the member organizations
- Applying Organizations must have the legal status of a not-for-profit organization, a clear and transparent organizational structure and responsibilities.
- The main goal of the organizations is to provide clowning services in a healthcare environment with a minimum of 3 years.
- Organizations must submit correct insurance policies, financial reports / audits of professional external auditors.
- Organizations must employ artistic methods, must have a clear artistic policy and must employ an Artistic Director or equivalent.
- Organizations must possess and ensure compliance with their own code of ethics,
health and safety and child protection policies; monitoring the quality of their work on all levels. - Organizations must work in collaboration with the administration of the institutions, where the clown artists perform and provide schedules for visits.
- Organizations must refuse funds of which the origin proves to be opposed to the basic rights of children and human ethics.
Concerning the artists
- Artists are selected on the basis of their skills and experience in the performing arts, their professionalism and maturity, and their suitability for work with vulnerable people.
- All artists must be performing artists who are specially trained to work in the health care environment as healthcare clowns; the artists receive this comprehensive training from the applying organisation before working bedside.
- The professional Healthcare Clown Organisation must provide ongoing training and feedback sessions to artists to ensure the highest possible standard.
- Artists must be paid for their services by the Member Organisation
Concerning working in a Healthcare Setting
Purpose of visits and professional conduct:
- The purpose of the artists’ visit is to improve the quality of life and well-being of patients, other vulnerable people and their relatives within a healthcare environment.
- The safety of participants is paramount and artists must not engage in activity that may put a participant or family member in danger or harm.
- Artists must retain their professional integrity, regardless of illness, age, gender, ethnic heritage, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, social status, political belief, education, tradition or family affairs of participants.
- Artists must respect the privacy of patients and their families and maintain professional discretion and confidentiality at all times. Confidential information includes anything that has been explicitly communicated, as well as things seen, read, heard, or understood concerning the patients’ state of health. Discretion is mandatory in all locations: inside and outside the healthcare environment (elevators, dressing or locker rooms, and public places).
- Artists must comply with the child protection policies of both the Member Organization and the relevant health care unit.
- The artist will not accept any gratuities for its work or enter into any commercial or promotional activity within the healthcare unit other than that sanctioned by the Member Organization.
Relationship with healthcare Staff:
- Artists must at all times respect the work of healthcare staff.
- All artists must abide by the hygiene and infection control procedures of the health care unit.
- Artists must not perform any task within the healthcare environment while engaged as hospital clowns other than the artistic activities that they have been engaged to perform by the Member Organization.
- Artists will not enter into any discussions or take sides in controversies within the hospital, complaints about service or problems between hospital personnel
Step 3
Application
The application process to become an efhco. member
The application process for an efhco.
In “Do you qualify for an efhco. membership?” you find the main requirements for your organization, your artists and your working method. You must comply to in order to be eligible to join our European federation; otherwise, your application will unfortunately be rejected.
If your professional healthcare clown organisation complies with them, please follow our application procedure. This allows us to see if your organization meets the quality standards set by efhco.
Several documents will be required for us to properly review your organization, including:
- Your completed efhco. questionnaire ‘Application (enter link to document)
- Statutes of your organization (in original language and in English)
- Most recent Activity Report of your organization (A summary in English)
- A Long-term Business Plan for your organization (in English)
- Most recent financial statements / accounts of your organization (In English, amounts in EURO)
- Most recent external financial audit (Only the audit letter or a summary of the report has to be in English, accompanied by a copy of the original document)
- Visiting schedules of the clowns and the names of the healthcare facilities visited (In English)
- Recommendation Letter of another Healthcare Clown Organization
- A Letter from the Artistic Director explaining the professional background of the artists, training program; coaching; audition procedure; approach and vision on the clown and healthcare clowning. (In English)
- Any supporting material (brochures, film etc.) about your organization (optional in original version)
Contact us and we will provide you with our up-to-date membership admission information.
Step 4
Approval
Approval
Our Admissions Committee reviews all applications carefully and confidentially.
An Associate Membership will be approved by the efhco. board.
Your organisation is applying for a full membership, and the 1st admissions committee’s review is positive? You will be asked to organise a 2 – 3 days on-site visit of your organisation by an experienced artistic director of the efhco. Quality Label Auditor team.
Administrative and Artistic reports are created, and reviewed by the efhco. board.
The final step is the vote of approval by the next General Assembly.
Contact us
Would you like to receive more information about efhco. and Healthcare Clowning? Do not hesitate to get in touch with us!