Posted on 07/11/2008 5:16:58 PM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON, July 11, 2008 More than 400 guests attended a dedication ceremony for the 39th Fisher House recently built on the grounds of Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in Richmond, Va., one of the VAs four Level 1 polytrauma centers.
The 16,800-square-foot facility, which serves as living quarters for family members of active-duty servicemembers and veterans receiving care at the medical center, resembles a large, private home more closely than it does temporary lodging. Each of its 21 rooms -- nine upstairs and 12 on the first level -- has a private bathroom, a 32-inch flat-screen TV and DVD player. The family room has a 50-inch flat-screen TV so those using the Wii videogame system wont miss a single detail. Residents of the house also can cook their own meals in the full kitchen. These families are under an enormous amount of stress. To be able to have a place that they can come home and relax and its not a hotel room, it means everything [to them], Walker said. That is precisely why this is the biggest model the Fisher House Foundation builds, said Jim Weiskopf, the Fisher House Foundations executive vice president of communications. Thats about as large as wed want to go, because we want them to look and feel like homes and not like hotels, and were able to do that with our facilities, he said. For Fisher House, the Richmond facility represents more than just an opportunity to help wounded warriors and their families. Its a promised kept. There are four Level 1 polytrauma centers in the VA, Weiskopf said. Building at Richmond fulfills our pledge to the VA to get a Fisher House at all of the Level 1 polytrauma centers. The VAs three other Level 1 polytrauma centers are in Palo Alto, Calif.; Minneapolis; and Tampa, Fla. The first families will begin moving into the new Richmond facility July 21. The Fisher House Foundation is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad. |
Related Sites: Fisher House Foundation Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center America Supports You |
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