Fisher House provides home away from home for families of ailing vets

Fisher House provides home away from home for families of ailing vets

07.27.11

STL TODAY
By Susan Weich
07.26.11

When Carmen Clifton's husband suffered a stroke and heart attack last month, she worried about how she could be there for him.

The Cliftons live in West Frankfort, Ill., about 85 miles from the Jefferson Barracks VA Hospital, where Bill Clifton, 63, is being treated.

A Vietnam veteran, Clifton had recently retired after working as a pastor of a small church, and the couple didn't have a lot of money to pay for a hotel or other temporary lodging for Carmen. In addition, the couple were planning to move near family in Texas, and all of their furniture, including their bed, had been shipped there.

While Clifton was taking a shuttle bus on the hospital grounds, the driver suggested she call the Fisher House Foundation. The nonprofit group provides free lodging for families of patients receiving care at military and VA medical centers that are 50 or more miles from their homes.

There are 54 Fisher Houses in the U.S. and Germany. The homes are usually within walking distance of a treatment facility. The foundation is named for the late New York real estate tycoon Zachary Fisher and his wife, Elizabeth, who have dedicated more than $20 million to the project.

The Fisher House at Jefferson Barracks opened a year ago, but Clifton was not aware it existed.

"I wanted to be close to my husband. so this has been a wonderful place," she said.

The 16,000-square-foot brick building features 20 bedrooms, a common kitchen with four refrigerators, a laundry with six washers and dryers, a dining room, living room and library. A deck on the back provides tables and a spectacular view of the Mississippi River.

Families get a bedroom that is furnished with different-sized beds, depending on their needs. Each of the rooms has its own bathroom and a television with a DVD player. The rooms are decorated with black and white photographs of the St. Louis area.

Rachel Fernandez, manager of the local home, said Fisher House depends heavily on volunteers and donations. For instance, the kitchen is stocked with food donated by various organizations, some of whom also cook weekly, and other gifts help families buy a change of clothes or other essential items.

Volunteers also help to maintain the facility and the grounds, which has a large garden. (For information on volunteering, call Fernandez at 314-894-6145.)

Since the local Fisher House opened last July, more than 550 people have stayed there. Nationally, the houses served about 12,000 families last year, with the average length of stay being 15 days. The Fisher Foundation estimates that the homes saved families more than $16 million in lodging costs, plus food and transportation last year.

Fernandez said the St. Louis Fisher House serves mainly Vietnam and Korean war veterans because the Jefferson Barracks hospital is a Trauma II facility. Most of those injured in Afghanistan and Iraq need more specialized treatment at a Trauma I facility, like the one in Bethesda, Md., or in San Antonio, Texas, which has a large burn unit.

Margaret Carnes, 61, of Brussels, in Calhoun County, is staying at Fisher House for the second time. Last year she was one of the first guests after her husband Emmett, a Vietnam veteran, was put on a ventilator due to complications from multiple myeloma, a type of cancer. This time she is staying there while he is recovering from a broken leg.

"When I walked in here that first time and it was free, it was like walking into a palace," she said. "It's been a godsend for me."

Carnes said her husband doesn't hear well, so she likes to be there when he gets his twice-daily therapy at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

"If I had to come from home every day, I'd probably have to get up at 6 a.m. to make it," she said. "This way I get to sleep in, and if something happens, I'm already here."

Both Carnes and Clifton said one of the biggest benefits of the Fisher House has been the support the guests provide each other. Many of them cook their meals together and share information about benefits.

"Everyone here is so nice, and they always ask about your loved one and are truly concerned about you too," Carnes said.

For Clifton, the program provides another benefit; when her husband is well enough to move, there's another Fisher House near the VA hospital in Houston, which is not too far from where they hope to relocate.