Fisher House Foundation Breaks Ground on New Fisher House at Tennessee Valley Healthcare System

Fisher House Foundation Breaks Ground on New Fisher House at Tennessee Valley Healthcare System

09.14.12

FISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION BREAKS GROUND ON NEW FISHER HOUSE AT TENNESSEE VALLEY HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN MURFREESBORO, TN

First House in State of Tennessee to be Completed in 2013

Murfreesboro, TN [September 13, 2012] –Tennessee Valley Healthcare System Director Juan A. Morales joined Fisher House Foundation President David Coker, here today to break ground on a new 12-room Fisher House, the first in the state of Tennessee.

“Every Fisher House is special, but we’re always excited when we build in a state we’ve never been to before, because we know we’re reaching a new community,” said Coker. “When they need it most, our military families will be able to count on this house as a place to find refuge when their world has been turned upside down.” “This is an exciting time for VA TVHS,” said Morales. “Veterans and the community have worked for this project for quite some time and to see it become a reality demonstrates their commitment to Veterans and their families,” he said.

The 10,000 sq.-ft. “comfort home” will join the network of Fisher Houses operating in the United States and Germany, and will be gifted to the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System upon completion.  The house consists of 12 suites, each with a private, handicapped-accessible bathroom, and common areas including a well-appointed kitchen; large communal living, dining and family rooms; and patio.

Construction of this Fisher House is being supported locally by the efforts of the Tennessee Fisher House Board of Directors, led by Andrea Lawrence.

About Fisher House
Fisher House Foundation is best known for the network of comfort homes built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. The Fisher Houses are 5,000 to 16,800 square-foot homes, donated to the military and Department of Veterans Affairs, where families can stay while a loved one is receiving treatment. Additionally, the Foundation ensures that families of service men and women wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan are not burdened with unnecessary expense during a time of crisis.

Located in close proximity to the medical center or hospital it serves, each Fisher House consists of between 8 and 21 suites, with private bedrooms and baths. Families share a common kitchen, laundry facilities, spacious dining room and an inviting living room with a library and toys for children. Fisher House Foundation ensures that there is no fee to stay in a Fisher House. Since inception, the program has saved military and veteran families an estimated $192 million in out of pocket costs for lodging and transportation.

Fisher House Foundation operates the Hero Miles Program, using donated frequent flyer miles to bring family members to the bedside of injured service members as well as the Hotels for Heroes program using donated hotel points to allow family members to stay at hotels near medical centers without charge.  The Foundation also manages a grant program that supports other military charities and scholarship funds for military children, spouses and children of fallen and disabled veterans.

About Tennessee Valley Healthcare System
Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) is an integrated healthcare system comprised of Medical Centers, the Alvin C. York Campus in Murfreesboro, TN, and the Nashville Campus in Nashville, TN, and many community based outpatient clinics located in Tennessee (Charlotte Avenue, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Tullahoma, McMinnville, Cookeville, Vine Hill and Dover), and Kentucky (Hopkinsville, and Bowling Green).

TVHS provides ambulatory care, primary care, and secondary care in acute medicine and surgery, specialized tertiary care, transplant services, spinal cord injury, outpatient care, and a full range of extended care and mental health services. The Nashville Campus is the only VA facility that supports all solid organ transplant programs, including total in-house kidney and bone marrow transplants. The Alvin C. York Campus is a network referral center for mental health services, geriatrics, and extended care. TVHS provides a full range of specialized medical services.

TVHS has active affiliations with two local institutions. The Alvin C. York Campus is primarily affiliated with Meharry Medical College, with active residency programs in oral surgery, psychiatry, general internal medicine, occupational medicine, preventive medicine, geriatric medicine, and family practice. The Nashville Campus is primarily affiliated with the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine with active residency programs in all major medical and surgical specialties and sub-specialties.