What The National Association of Travel Healthcare Organizations does

National Association of Travel Healthcare Organizations (NATHO) is a U.S.-based non-profit trade association founded in 2008 and headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, serving 100+ member organizations that recruit, screen, and credential travel healthcare professionals for supplemental staffing at healthcare facilities. NATHO's core function is to promote ethical business practices, establish industry standards, advocate on regulatory matters, and provide members with benchmarking data, credentialing guidelines aligned with Joint Commission standards, and educational resources. The association does not develop or sell technology products; its operational infrastructure runs on Wild Apricot membership management software, and its day-to-day operations are professionally managed by Impact Association Management. NATHO operates six member committees covering clinical quality, ethics, government and regulatory affairs, data analytics, conference planning, and marketing/membership, and publishes resources including the Quality Best Practice Guide, Board Reporting Best Practices Guideline, and National Licensure Compact advocacy white papers.

NATHO's revenue model is built on recurring membership dues paid by member travel healthcare staffing organizations, supplemented by annual conference registrations and sponsorships. Membership tiers provide differentiated access to white papers, credentialing standards, benchmarking data, webinars, state legislative guides, and admission to the annual conference. The association's go-to-market motion is sales-led and relationship-driven, leveraging its annual conference (2025 Denver, 2026 Las Vegas), webinars, partnerships with Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) for benchmarking surveys, and commissioned research from KPMG (2026 Cost of Labor Study). Major member firms include CHG Healthcare, FlexCare, Health Carousel, AMN Healthcare, and Travel Nurse Across America, with association leadership drawn from executives of these organizations. NATHO is governed by a Board of Directors and operates exclusively within the United States with no international footprint.

Name

The National Association of Travel Healthcare Organizations

Legal name

National Association of Travel Healthcare Organizations

Website

https://natho.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NATHO is a U.S. non-profit trade association founded in 2008, serving 100+ travel healthcare staffing organizations with ethical standards, credentialing guidelines, regulatory advocacy, annual conferences, and commissioned industry benchmarking research funded through membership dues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Monona

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: NATHO generates revenue through membership fees from travel healthcare staffing organizations. The association offers different membership levels with varying benefits including access to white papers, credentialing standards, industry benchmarking, networking events, conferences, webinars, and educational materials.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NATHO is a non-profit trade association that delivers membership services to travel healthcare staffing organizations, including industry advocacy, ethical conduct standards, credentialing guidelines aligned with Joint Commission HCSS standards, educational webinars, annual conferences, and benchmarking data such as the KPMG-commissioned Cost of Labor Study. Revenue is generated through membership dues across tiered levels and conference registrations.

Product overview

NATHO is a non-profit trade association serving travel healthcare organizations. The organization's portfolio includes membership programs providing access to educational content, webinars, newsletters, and SIA benchmarking reports; the annual Cost of Labor Study (commissioned from KPMG) analyzing healthcare labor costs; the Annual Conference featuring industry updates, legislative sessions, and networking; the Clinical Executive Committee (CEC) focused on clinical quality standards and credentialing best practices; and various specialized committees (Ethics, Conference, Data Analytics, Government/Compliance, Marketing/Membership) that serve member needs and advance industry standards. The association also publishes thought leadership materials including the Quality Best Practice Guide and Board Reporting Best Practices Guideline.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NATHO Membership Tiered membership program for travel healthcare staffing organizations providing access to government and regulatory affairs white papers, credentialing standards, advocacy programming, industry benchmarking and statistics, networking opportunities, admission to the annual conference, educational materials, and industry news.
• 2026 Cost of Labor Study Annual research study commissioned by NATHO and conducted by KPMG analyzing labor costs for nursing, allied health, and therapy roles across the U.S. healthcare system to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of travel healthcare labor compared to permanent staff.
• Annual NATHO Conference Annual conference for healthcare staffing executives featuring industry updates, legislative updates, roundtable discussions, committee presentations, benchmarking survey results, and networking opportunities.
• Members-Only Resources Exclusive content for NATHO members including webinars, newsletters, SIA Benchmarking Reports, State Legislative Guides, Membership Directory, and Board Resources.
• Quality Best Practice Guide Quality standards and best practices document utilized by NATHO member firms in the screening and credentialing of travel healthcare professionals.
• Board Reporting Best Practices Guideline Recommended best practices document assisting staffing agencies in understanding when and how to report healthcare professionals for deviations in standard of care.
• SIA & NATHO Travel Nurse Historical Trends Report Collaborative report with Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) providing historical trends data for the travel nurse industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• Travel nurses cost $89/hour vs $94/hour for permanent nurses when all labor costs are considered
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• KPMGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026NATHO commissioned KPMG to conduct the 2026 Cost of Labor Study analyzing labor costs for nursing, allied health, and therapy roles across the U.S. healthcare system. KPMG's independent research provided data showing travel clinicians frequently cost less than permanent staff.
• Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNATHO has a long-standing partnership with SIA delivering the Annual Benchmarking Survey to healthcare staffing firms. This partnership uncovers key trends across nursing, allied health, recruitment, account management, and operations. SIA analysts present survey results at NATHO's annual conference.
• The Joint CommissionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNATHO's Conference Committee works to strengthen partnership with The Joint Commission and create a stronger cross-walk between HCSS (Health Care Staffing Services) standards and credentialing best practices. NATHO member firms adhere to standards that comply with Joint Commission standards.
• Impact Association ManagementminorOthersNATHO's operations are professionally managed by Impact Association Management, which provides association management services.

Scale indicators3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• American Nurses Association: Major U.S. professional association for registered nurses. ANA influences policy and standards affecting travel healthcare nursing and intersects with NATHO's advocacy agenda, particularly on licensure and scope-of-practice issues.
• Staffing Industry Analysts: Commercial market intelligence provider for the staffing industry. SIA is a current NATHO partner on benchmarking but also sells independent research and advisory services that partially substitute for NATHO's data offerings.
• The Joint Commission: Independent healthcare accreditation body whose Health Care Staffing Services (HCSS) certification underpins NATHO's credentialing standards. Functions as a standards-setter and partner rather than a competitor.
• National Council of State Boards of Nursing: Governing body that administers the Nurse Licensure Compact, which NATHO actively advocates for. NCSBN sets regulatory frameworks that NATHO members must navigate.

Broad incumbents

• American Hospital Association: Large national trade association representing U.S. hospitals and health systems. AHA is the buyer-side counterpart to NATHO and shapes policy on staffing costs, contract labor, and workforce that directly affect NATHO members.

Direct peers

• American Staffing Association: The largest U.S. trade association for the staffing industry, covering healthcare and non-healthcare verticals. ASA directly competes with NATHO for healthcare-staffing-firm memberships and offers overlapping advocacy, benchmarking, and educational services.
• National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations: Trade association specifically serving locum tenens (temporary physician) staffing organizations. Operates the same membership/advocacy/ethics model as NATHO but focused on the physician-staffing subset of healthcare travel staffing.
• American Association of International Healthcare Recruitment: Trade association for organizations recruiting international healthcare professionals into the U.S. Overlaps with NATHO on advocacy, ethical standards, and member education in the international travel healthcare staffing niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nathorgs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/natho

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The National Association of Travel Healthcare Organizations