JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Home is where the heart is. For most, that means family, including wounded service members requiring medical treatment.
The Fisher House Foundation makes it possible for military families to visit their wounded, ill or injured family member by providing a "home away from home" without worrying about lodging and travel costs.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord accepted a second Fisher House from the Fisher House Foundation here Nov. 17.
"We dedicated a facility that provides refuge from the storm that happens to Soldiers and families," said Col. Michael Place, Madigan Army Medical Center commander. "Those tough days when you get that phone call, the pain of rehabilitation, facing what can happen to a Soldier. These places provide a refuge for families to come together to share some hard truths."
This marks the 66th "comfort home" donated by the Fisher House Foundation since the start of the foundation 25 years ago.
Fisher Houses are given to the gaining installation as gifts once construction is completed by the Fisher House Foundation. The addition of the second Fisher House offers more families the opportunity to visit their loved ones during the hospitalization.
"The best part of the healing process is the family," said Place. "Healing doesn't occur just in hospitals, it occurs in homes across the country every single day. As we learn to live the reality we are facing, the Fisher House does that for our service members on some of the toughest days of their lives."
Place recognized families know their loved ones better than the health care professionals. He continued that adding families into the healing plan is singularly important to healing the entire person.
The new house can accommodate 11 more families aiding the recovery of their loved one. The first JBLM Fisher House has been operating at nearly maximum occupancy for the past several years.
"I hope we never have to use them," said Place. "But the truth of the matter is that we use the first one almost every day to capacity. We are looking forward to offering those services we sometimes have to tell people we are full to those families."
Fisher Houses worldwide housed more than 250,000 families, 848 families daily, with 5.2 million days of lodging, saving military families more than $282 million in lodging, food and transportation costs.
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Alexander Day has spent just more than a month at the first Fisher House while he visits his wife at Madigan.
"My wife is 29 weeks into a tough pregnancy and holding strong," said Day, USS Michigan Gold. "Once we got here, everything was lifted. It's not even about saving money, but they care about you no matter who you are. They let you in their home, a home away from home is what it is."
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