The Fisher House Foundation will celebrate the dedication of its 100th Fisher House in Chicago, Illinois on Tuesday.
The newest facility is located at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, Illinois, and will provide free lodging for military and veteran patients and their families who receive care there.
Unlike other Fisher Houses built for the Department of Veterans Affairs or a particular military service, Fisher House Foundation Chairman and CEO Ken Fisher said this is the first-of-its-kind home built as a result of a partnership between VA and the Department of Defense.
“Our goal was always to build one wherever one was needed,” he said. “That was our goal. Whether it was 20 or 50 or 80 or 100, was almost irrelevant as long as we were meeting the need.”
The 16-suite, 14,490+ sq.-ft. “comfort home” is the second Fisher House in Illinois, joining the Hines VA Fisher House, which is also located in the greater Chicago area.
Each bedroom suite at the new facility is equipped with a private, wheelchair-accessible bathroom. Common areas include a spacious kitchen, laundry room, patio and large communal living, dining and family rooms.
When fully occupied, the new facility can save military and veteran families more than $1.3 million each year, but more importantly, the new Fisher House will allow patients to receive care they could not readily access in the past without a place for their loved ones to stay, Fisher said.
The Fisher House Foundation was established 35 years ago and has been able to keep up with the changing needs of the veteran and their families.
“This isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal,” he said. “Every veteran is different. Veterans of today are different from veterans of Vietnam, different from World War II and Korea.”
And while the end of recent wars means that wounded service members are not returning home in large numbers from the battlefield, there is another battle that veterans face - that of suicide - that Fisher House Foundation is also involved with.
“Since 9/11, 30,177 service men and women have committed suicide,” Fisher said. ‘They are four times as likely to die by their own hand as they are on the battlefield.”
Not enough attention is paid to the families of service members who have committed suicide - an issue that Fisher House Foundation is also trying to solve.
“The 100th House right now, is alright, let’s stop for a minute, let’s see what we’ve done and where we can go to make a difference for the families of the military.”
To learn more about Fisher House and to make a donation, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia;et@connectingvets.com.