Palo Alto VA procures second Fisher House

Palo Alto VA procures second Fisher House

Mercury News

By Kristen Marschall

08.23.11

Since opening in 2006, the Fisher House on Palo Alto's VA campus has been overwhelmed by the number of families in need of a place to stay while their loved ones receive treatment.

With 21 suites, the Fisher House facility is almost constantly full and has been forced to turn away nearly 900 families since it opened.

But on Tuesday, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki gave the Palo Alto campus his approval to build a second Fisher House. That, according to Palo Alto VA spokeswoman Kerri Childress, makes the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System only the second in the nation to have two such facilities, along with the Houston campus.

Officials were able to secure approval for the second facility with the help of Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, who also led the effort for the first Fisher House in 2004.

Childress said the Fisher House application requires backing from congressional leaders.

"(Eshoo) went, 'I'm on it! You only needed to ask,'" Childress said. "And we did this on a very short deadline."

Further action will be determined by the Fisher House Foundation in Rockville, Md., which will prioritize the funding for the 10 new homes that Shinseki approved, Childress said.

The VA is looking to build the second facility to the right of the first and make it the same size with 21 suites, she said.

"It's really hard for me to explain the significance of the Fisher House," Childress said. The VA was certainly equipped to care for the needs of service members, "But we weren't prepared for caring for their families. We really didn't do that after Vietnam.

"Suddenly the families were coming and they were staying months and months and years and years. And some of them spent every penny just to get here."

One Fisher House has been nothing short of a "godsend," she said, as more than 3,500 families have been able to stay for free across the street from their loved ones and not pay for the pricey hotels nearby.

Another plan in the works is the Defenders' Lodge -- a free "Hometel" for service members. Donated by the Pentagon Federal Credit Union, the lodge will be built on the left side of the current Fisher House, Childress said. A groundbreaking ceremony is set to take place on Sept. 16, which Shinseki will attend.