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ST. LOUIS VA MAY GET ITS OWN FISHER HOUSE --
"Family
love is good medicine, and we want to make sure
families can stay with their loved ones."
Story here...
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/
stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/576BBF90F
860CB17862572750017230A?OpenDocument
Story below:
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St. Louis may get its own Fisher House
By Mary Delach Leonard
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
A comfortable bed.
Kitchen and laundry facilities.
A quiet place to relax or watch TV.
Sometimes, a few basics of life can make a big difference for families
of wounded soldiers and veterans being treated at the nation's military
and veterans hospitals.
Families of patients served by the St. Louis VA Medical Center would
find such a haven at a 21-bedroom facility proposed for Jefferson
Barracks by the Fisher House Foundation.
"Family love is good medicine, and we want to make sure families can
stay with their loved ones during their treatment and rehabilitation
without enduring extreme financial hardship," said Jim Donahoe, a
retired Air Force colonel who is spearheading a campaign to raise local
funds for the project.
Fisher Houses provide free short-term lodging, including private
bedrooms and shared kitchen, laundry and living areas. The houses are
often likened to Ronald McDonald Houses, which serve families of
children being treated for serious illnesses.
Donahoe said the local campaign's goal is to raise $2.5 million, about
half the cost of construction and furnishings. The remainder would be
contributed by the Fisher House Foundation, which has built 37 comfort
homes nationwide at military installations and veterans medical centers.
Construction in St. Louis could begin in 2008.
The foundation's goal is to build 20 additional Fisher Houses during the
next four years to help meet the growing needs of military personnel
injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Jim Weiskopf, a foundation
spokesman.
Weiskopf said the foundation is currently focussed on serving the needs
of combat casualties. The St. Louis medical center was chosen because it
is a polytrauma site that offers rehabilitation programs for such severe
injuries as amputations, blindness, burns, and spinal cord and brain
trauma.
"Even when the war is over, the houses will stay full. The veterans'
needs will remain," Weiskopf said.
Government funds cannot be used for construction, but when the homes are
completed they are deeded to the military or to the VA, which assumes
responsibility for upkeep and maintenance.
Weiskopf said communities are encouraged to help fund the houses to
ensure a feeling of local ownership, but failure to meet a financial
goal would not necessarily prevent the foundation from building a Fisher
House where there is need.
Donahoe said the campaign plans to begin contacting local corporations
and service and veterans organizations during National Salute to
Hospitalized Veterans Week, Feb. 11-17.
For more information on Fisher Houses, visit
www.FisherHouse.org or
e-mail Donahoe at
donahoejb@hotmail.com .
Donations can be sent to: Fisher House Foundation, c/o Voluntary
Services, 1 Jefferson Barracks Drive, St. Louis, Mo. 63125.
mleonard@post-dispatch.com
| 314-340-8260
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Larry Scott
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