LA Fisher House delivers comfort to wounded, ailing military personnel

The LA Fisher House stands as a model of hope and giving back to a community of people who have made the ultimate sacrifice: military personnel, veterans and their families. One of those people is SFC Chris Edwards, U.S. Army, who in 2008 stepped on an IED in Iraq, suffering burns over 80 percent of his body and other major injuries. When he went to the VA hospital in Los Angeles a few years ago, his family took comfort at the LA Fisher House. “In the beginning, every day I didn’t want to get out of bed,” he said in a video interview for the nonprofit. “The Fisher House makes it easier because you’ve got your wife and children there. … Family helps you heal a lot more than just sitting in a hospital bed.” American military members who need help with temporary supportive housing can find it with the LA Fisher House, part of a public-private system that delivers vital support to service members, veterans and their families when long-term treatment is needed at military hospitals and VA medical centers. Currently, there are 76 Fisher Houses across the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom, all run through the Fisher House Foundation; LA Fisher House was the 43rd one to join the roster. It was completed in 2009, attracting patients from all over California and Nevada, and including one woman who traveled from Okinawa, Japan. The house has 21 suites with private bedrooms and bathrooms. Guests share a common kitchen, dining room, laundry, and a living room that has toys and a library for children. Most patients stay an average of five days, free of charge. In 2017, LA Fisher House served 1,050 families with an average stay of five days and a total of 5,250 nights delivered, saving military families $1,233,750 in lodging costs. So far in 2018, Jan. 1 through April 30, they have served 536 families. “These relationships with the family members are part of the therapeutic process,” said Col. Evan Renz, director, U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center. “We see the Fisher House and staff as part of the treatment team. We truly do depend on the families of the wounded warriors to assist in that process.”