Fisher House Foundation
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| Fisher House Foundation | |
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| Founder(s) | Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-Profit Organization |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Rockville, Maryland - U.S. |
| Key people | Kenneth Fisher, Chairman |
| Focus | United States military members, their families, and American military verterans |
| Method | Construction of comfortable temporary lodging facilities near military hospitals |
| Slogan | "Fisher House because a family's love is good medicine" |
The Fisher House Foundation provides humanitarian support to members United States Armed Forces and their families. Fisher Houses provide comfortable temporary lodging for families when a military member or dependent requires specialized or extended medical care. Fisher House facilities enabled families to stay together while a loved one is undergoing long-term treatment.
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[edit] Military care
The Fisher House program was established by Zachary Fisher and his wife Elizabeth. The first "Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher House" was opened in Bethesda, Maryland at the National Naval Medical Center on 24 June 1990. President George H. W. Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush opened the second Fisher House at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.[1] To date, the Foundation has built 38 houses located near nine Veterans Affairs hospitals and 18 military installations across the country and at one United States military installations in Europe. From these locations, Fisher House serves more than 10,000 military families per year. The Fisher House program plans to build 22 more lodging facilities to complete its nationwide support network.[2]
Fisher Houses are given to the United States Government as gifts by the Fisher House Foundation. Each house is designed to provide eight to 21 family suites. The houses accommodate 16 to 42 family members. They feature a common kitchen, laundry facilities, spacious dining room, and a family style living room with a library. Toys are provided for the younger children.[2]
Fisher Houses are a temporary residence, not a treatment facility, hospice or counseling center. They are normally within walking distance of a military or Veterans Affairs hospital. They are designed to be comfortable temporary home, manned by caring volunteers who help family members endure the stresses associated with serious long-term medical conditions or injuries. Fisher House enables families to stay together, cook meals, do chores, and relax in a home-like environment. The nominal service fee charged Fisher House guests is always lower than other military lodging facilities and much lower than commercial hotels.[1] There is no charge to stay at any of the Fisher Houses.[3]
Since Federal law prohibited the military from paying for the personal travel of service members and their families, Fisher House expanded its support to include airline tickets. Through a program call Operation Hero Miles, Fisher House now gives away free airline tickets to help military families reunite with hospitalized service members.[4]
[edit] Foundation
The Fisher House Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1990 by Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher. The Foundation funded construction of Fisher House facilities near military hospitals and Vertans Affairs medical centers. In addition to building new houses, the Foundation educates the public about the Fisher House program, raised funds to support and expand the Fisher House network, and helps individual military families in need. For example, families of patients at any military hospital can receive up-to-the-minute reports on a loved one by going to the patient's own customized web-page available through an on-line system called CaringBridge which is funded by the Foundation. The Fisher House Foundation and many individual Fisher Houses receive financial support from the Combined Federal Campaign.[2]
[edit] Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher
As a young man, Zachary Fisher was severely injured in a construction accident. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, he tried to enlist, but was rejected by the military due to his injury. Since he was unable to join the military, he decided to help the war effort by building coastal fortifications for United States Army Corps of Engineers.[1]
After World War II, Fisher built a successful construction business. He also continued to look for ways to support America and its men and women in uniform. In 1988, in response to the attack on the USS Stark in the Persian Gulf, Fisher and his wife Elizabeth established the Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher Armed Services Foundation, to provide financial assistance to needy members of the Armed Forces and their dependents. Since then, the Foundation has provided substantial direct payments to families of service members killed or injured in the line of duty. The Foundation also provides college scholarships for dependents of military personnel.[1]
In 1990, the Fishers decided to build a comfortable home-like lodging facility to house families of patients undergoing treatment at a military hospital. The home was located in Portsmouth, Virginia, and was called the "Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher House". The Fisher House was designed to accommodate eight families and was fully furnished as a comfortable home. The current Fisher House program and its network of houses grew out of that initial project.[1]
Fisher died on 4 June 1999, but the Fisher House Foundation continues to build Fisher Houses and carry on the Fisher legacy of helping military men and women and their families.[2]
[edit] Locations
Curreently, there are 38 Fisher Houses located on military installtions and near veterans hospitals throughout the United States plus one at an American military base in Germany. The Fisher House Foundation plans to increase the number of facilities to 60 as resources become available.[2]
California: Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System; San Diego Naval Medical Center; Travis Air Force Base
Colorado: Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center
District of Columbia: Walter Reed Army Medical Center (3)
Florida: Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Medical Center, St. Petersburg; Haley Veterans Affairs Hospital, Tampa; West Palm Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Georgia: Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon
Hawaii: Tripler Army Medical Center (2)
Kentucky: Blanchfield Army Hopspital, Fort Campbell
Maryland: Andrews Air Force Base; Bethesda Naval Medical Center (2)
Minnesota: Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Mississippi: Keesler Air Force Base
New York: Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Albany
North Carolina: Womack Army Medical Center
Ohio: Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton (2)
Texas: William Beaumont Army Medical Center; Darnall Army Medical Center; DeBakey Veterants Affairs Medical Center, Houston; Brooke Army Medical Center (4); Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center (3)
Virginia: Portsmouth Naval Medical Center
Washington: Madigan Army Medical Center
Germany: Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (2)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e "Fort Hood Fisher House", Darnell Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, Texas, 16 January 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Fact Sheet, Fisher House Foundation, Rockville, Maryland, 8 September 2007.
- ^ Jontz, Sandra, "Fisher foundation seeks new sites to house the wounded and their families", Stars and Stripes, European edition, 4 March 2005.
- ^ Sample, Doug (Sgt 1st Class), "Fisher House Explains Rules for Free Airline Tickets", American Forces Press Service, Washington, DC, 5 February 2004.
