Families of veterans undergoing care at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center in Oakland have a home away from home in the Pittsburgh Fisher House.
Open since 2012, it’s one of more than 90 Fisher Houses located at military and VA medical centers around the world, offering free stays for families of patients receiving treatment if they live 50 or more miles away. The Fisher House Foundation builds the facilities in cooperation with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. Once the houses are built, they are gifted to the U.S. government.
But, with only 10 rooms, the Pittsburgh Fisher House is operating over capacity.
Now, site prep is underway for a second Pittsburgh Fisher House, with groundbreaking scheduled for 2025. It will be built on the H.J. Heinz III campus in O’Hara Township to complement the house at its University Drive campus in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Plans for the new facility feature 16 rooms and an elevator.
The Fisher House Foundation was founded in 1990 by New York philanthropist and builder Zachary Fisher and his wife, Elizabeth, who believed having family close by helps patients heal faster. As a result, they dedicated more than $20 million to the construction of comfort homes for families of hospitalized military personnel.
Pam Iovino, Washington Road, sits on the board of Friends of the Pittsburgh Fisher House, in the midst of a capital campaign to raise $3 million to support the new location. Through her work at the Veterans Administration, Iovino was well aware of the Fisher House mission. “I was very pleased to get the invitation to serve on the board. Since I joined the VA, I saw firsthand the impact that it had on the health outcome for the patient when you can have family members close by,” she said.
A second Pittsburgh Fisher House is a dream come true for Nancy Morris, whose husband, David, an Air Force Airman First Class, was in and out of the Oakland and O’Hara Township VA medical centers for several years before his passing in 2019. “I met many, many different military families that I’m still in touch with today,” she said.
Being a guest at the Pittsburgh Fisher House saved Nancy from having to make the long drive to and from her Masontown home, or the burden of having to pay for a hotel room.
“There are no words for the experiences I had at the Fisher House. They’re family. They’re there to support you emotionally and financially, if there’s a need,” she added.
The average length of stay at a VA hospital is six days. “Our estimate for what we’re saving people in lodging, food, transportation and incidentals is about $1,900 over those six days,” said Mary Ellen Austin, vice president of development for Friends of the Pittsburgh Fisher House.
Over the years, the Fisher House Foundation has served more than half a million families through 12 million days of lodging, at a savings to families of $610 million.
Funds raised by Friends of the Pittsburgh Fisher House help contribute to ongoing operating costs, like food and bedding “to make sure the guests have everything they need,” Austin said.