FISHER HOUSE EXPANSION UPDATE 03:
Bracing for a generation of war
>> veterans needing long-term medical care, the Fisher House Foundation
>> plans
>> to build two dozen homes near military and Veterans Affairs hospitals
in
>> the U.S. By 2011, the non-profit foundation plans to boost its network
of
>> 38 homes to 62, said James Weiskopf, executive vice president of
>> communications for the Rockville MD based Fisher House Foundation, Inc.
>> He
>> said the foundation is expecting an influx of veterans from the wars in
>> Iraq and Afghanistan with such ailments as traumatic brain injury and
>> post-traumatic stress disorder. The foundation, created in 1990, builds
>> homes near military or VA medical facilities for families of patients
>> needing a place to stay while their loved ones receive care. Donations
>> allow families to stay at the homes for free. "We've largely taken
care
>> of
>> the needs of the Army, Navy and the Air Force, but the needs of the
>> [Veterans Affairs] is absolutely huge," Weiskopf said 4 JUN while
on a
>> visit to Landstuhl Germany. "They really need these houses. These
young
>> men and women have got to have their families with them when they're
>> going
>> through their rehabilitation, and the house is the means that allows
them
>> to do that." The foundation plans to finish building five homes by
the
>> end
>> of this year. Four of those homes are near VA hospitals and clinics.
"Our
>> future is really with the [Veterans Affairs clinics]," Weiskopf
said.
>> "The
>> long-term signature wound of this war is the traumatic brain injury and
>> that has a long-term period of rehabilitation, and that will be done by
>> the VA." Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest military
hospital
>> outside the U.S., has two Fisher Houses that offer 19 rooms. The
hospital
>> serves war wounded and patients stationed at bases across Europe.
>> Weiskopf
>> said there are no plans to build any additional houses at Landstuhl
>> because they currently have enough space to accommodate the need.
>> [Source: Stars and Stripes Scott Schonauer article 6 Jun 08 ++]