New Fisher House Dedicated at VA's Palo Alto Facility

April 19, 2006

WASHINGTON – Life just got easier for the families of veterans recovering at the Palo Alto Healthcare System, thanks to the dedication today of a new Fisher House at the facility operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  Families will be able to receive free lodging at the Fisher House to be near their loved ones during lengthy recoveries.

"This new Fisher House will help us bring those families closer to their loved ones at a time when they most need it," said Gordon Mansfield, VA's Deputy Secretary.

Mansfield took part in a ceremony today transferring ownership of the Fisher House, which was built by donated money, to VA, which will maintain and operate it at no cost to its residents.  

This is the 34th Fisher House built by the Fisher House Foundation and the first one on the West Coast.  At least one Fisher House is located at every major military medical center and seven VA medical centers.  Palo Alto will make the eighth VA Fisher House.  

Mansfield noted that many families travel long distances to be with their loved ones, especially the veterans of the Global War on Terror, during their rehabilitation in Palo Alto’s polytrauma center.  

But the facility's other programs will also benefit from the new Fisher House.  These programs -- hospice and palliative care, spinal cord injury, organ transplant, post traumatic stress disorder, blind rehabilitation and traumatic brain injury -- are highly specialized and family members play an important role in the recovery of their loved ones. 

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Larry Scott