2/14/2019
VA to receive new Fisher Houses in Michigan, Colorado and Nebraska, which offer temporary lodging to Veterans’ families and caregivers
WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that Fisher House Foundation plans to construct three new 16-suite Fisher Houses at VA campuses in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Aurora, Colorado; and Omaha, Nebraska; which will provide temporary accommodations for the families and caregivers of Veterans and active-duty military receiving care at the VA facilities.
Construction for the new accommodations will begin within the next six months.
“VA has a great and longstanding 25-year partnership with the Fisher House Foundation and is pleased to expand support of their important mission,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Since the first VA Fisher House was built in Albany, New York, staff and volunteers serve passionately with gratitude in a welcoming ‘home away from home’ for families of Veterans undergoing critical care and treatment at VA.”
To date, Fisher House Foundation has built and donated 38 Fisher Houses to VA. Construction of a typical Fisher House takes approximately 12 to 15 months. Once the home is completed and ownership is transferred over to VA, the Fisher House becomes a federal building that is operated, maintained and staffed by the department. The VA Fisher Houses will support access to care for thousands of additional Veterans traveling to VA facilities for treatment. In 2018, VA Fisher Houses accommodated over 28,000 families, saving guests more than $18 million in lodging expenses.
“In my life, there have been few things I have been associated with that bring more satisfaction than the Fisher House Foundation,” said Ken Fisher, Chairman and CEO of the Fisher House Foundation. “But we don’t do this in a vacuum; Fisher Houses are built on partnerships, and none are more important than our affiliation with VA.”
The Fisher House program currently has 80 homes at VA and Department of Defense hospitals. Over the next several years, it anticipates expanding from 38 to at least 64 VA Fisher Houses.
For more information, visit VA Fisher House Program or Fisher House Foundation.
Article Credit: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
