November 17, 2025 • 24 mins
What if a warm, welcoming home sat steps away from the hospital where your loved one is fighting to heal—and it cost your family nothing? We open the door to Fisher House, the nationwide network of free lodging for military and veteran families that turns proximity into peace of mind. Julie Riggs, Vice President of Community Relations at Fisher House Foundation, joins us to share how these homes are built, who they serve, and why a shared kitchen can become the most important room in healthcare.
We trace Fisher House’s growth from early eight-suite homes to today’s 16-suite sweet spot, then look ahead to new builds in Montrose, New York, a fully accessible replacement in West Palm Beach, and the first house in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Julie explains the funding model—Fisher House raises capital and constructs each property, then gifts it to the Department of Defense or VA for staffing and upkeep—so listeners see exactly how donations become bricks, beds, and breathing room for caregivers. We talk eligibility, the reality of months-long stays after severe injuries, and the simple ritual of cooking that binds families into a lasting support network.
When houses are full, Hero Programs keep families covered. Their Hotels for Heroes program steps in with paid hotel stays until a suite becomes available. At the same time, the Hero Miles program turns donated airline miles and hotel points into travel and lodging, allowing caregivers to attend to their duties and service members in treatment to fly home on leave. Along the way, we unpack occupancy patterns, the sites that run near capacity, and the outreach that helps nurses and case managers refer families at the right time. Want to help? Gift cards, new unopened consumables, hygiene kits, miles, and points make an immediate difference—and yes, your local Fisher House manager will gladly share a current needs list.
If this conversation moved you, share it with a friend, subscribe for more stories that matter, and leave a quick review so others can find the show. And if you’re ready to act, visit fisherhouse.org to donate, give miles or points, or connect your community group with a local house.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Larry Zilliox (00:15):
Good morning.
I'm your host, Larry Zilliox,Director of Culinary Services
here at the Warrior Retreat atBull Run.
And this week our guest isJulie Riggs.
She's vice president ofcommunity relations for Fisher
House.
And I'm sure most of ourlisteners have heard about
Fisher House, but for those whohaven't, and even those who
(00:36):
have, I think you'll besurprised at the extent of their
services and everything thatthey offer.
So it's great to have Juliehere.
She is actually a repeat guest.
She had previously been on andfor her role with Blue Star
Families, another amazingorganization.
Julie, welcome back to thepodcast.
Julie Riggs (00:57):
Thank you, Larry.
Glad to be back.
Larry Zilliox (00:59):
Tell us a little bit about what you do as the
vice president of communityrelations.
Julie Riggs (01:06):
Absolutely.
Well, my role specifically andmy team's role is to support the
communities that either have anexisting Fisher House or a
community that will be getting anew Fisher House.
And so we work collaborativelywith the medical treatment
facility where the house will belocated, as well as local
(01:26):
veteran service organizations,military service organizations,
entities like the DAR or otherlocal groups that are interested
in supporting their localveterans and military through
the Fisher House.
And so we we collaborate thatsupport.
Larry Zilliox (01:44):
So listeners, for those who don't know, there are
a hundred uh houses inoperation.
I'm looking at the webpageright now.
And uh the webpage isfisherhouse.org O-R-G.
I want everybody to go thereand check it out.
But um a hundred houses inoperation, uh, five hundred and
thirty-four thousand familiesserved, six hundred and fifty
(02:07):
million dollars in savings tofamily, which are a result of
offering families free housingwhile they're visiting loved
ones in the hospital systemthere.
And uh so you mentioned uhcommunities that are interested
in putting in a having a Fisherhouse associated with a medical
(02:30):
facility nearby.
Uh are there some in the works?
Julie Riggs (02:35):
Absolutely.
We actually just broke groundon the new Fisher House that
will be in Montrose, New York atthe Hudson Valley VA Medical
Center in upstate New York.
So September 15th, we put thefirst shovel under the ground on
that one.
And um, so that's the next onethat will open.
Um, we also have in DesignPittsburgh, um, West Palm,
(02:57):
Florida, West Palm Beach,Florida, excuse me, as a
replacement house, one that'sbetter equipped for um um
accessibility.
We are excited that we'll bebuilding our first house in San
Juan, Puerto Rico, um, as wellas um we've planned for uh Perry
Point, Maryland, Asheville,North Carolina.
We've got quite a long list ofhouses that um are um pending,
(03:20):
but those ones that I mentionedare in the next year or two.
Uh we'll be focusing on those.
Larry Zilliox (03:25):
Listeners, Fisher House isn't just at military
hospitals, as Julie mentioned.
They're gonna be next to a VAhere in Virginia.
They have one uh down atMcGuire VA Hospital down near
Richmond.
Uh so they support not onlyactive duty soldiers and
families, but veteran familiesas well.
Because as we know, veteransare constantly going into the VA
(03:50):
hospitals for care, so uhespecially our elderly veterans.
And it's just amazing to havethis house nearby where the
family can stay at no cost whilethey are visiting or staying
their loved one is in thehospital, which is um
phenomenal.
What does it take to put aFisher house in the community?
(04:10):
Who funds it?
Is it public donations or isFisher House?
Julie Riggs (04:18):
Yeah, it's a combination.
So Fisher House Foundation,which is the um uh headquartered
nonprofit, uh, we raise the ummoney for to build the houses.
Um so we build the houses, um,oftentimes in conjunction with
community groups who also raisemoney.
We call them friends of FisherHouse and private donors and um
(04:41):
people who are interested maybein if they see if Fisher House
is going in their localcommunity, individual donors
might give, but it pretty muchfilters through our foundation.
Um, and we raise the money umto build the houses.
Um, they're about at themoment, um, a 16-suite house is
about $12 million to build.
Um, and so we raise the capitalalong with all of our partners
(05:04):
and then um build the house, andthen we give the house back as
a gift to the Department ofDefense or VA.
Um, so then the they take thoseupon completion, um, they take
the houses and becomeresponsible for operation and
maintenance in perpetuity ofthose houses.
Larry Zilliox (05:23):
Okay.
And and then the uh folks whowork are employed at the Fisher
House than are DOD or VAemployees?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Correct.
Larry Zilliox (05:35):
Yes.
Okay.
All right.
But they're there's alsostaffed by a large number of
volunteers.
I mean, there are a lot ofpeople that want to help.
Julie Riggs (05:43):
Oh, there are.
Um, volunteerism is one of thebiggest um contributions to the
houses.
Um, communities do really wrapthemselves around a fisher house
when it gets built.
And uh, and we want them to.
I mean, it's their house thatis for their community.
Um, and so so many people willcome in and volunteer.
And if people are interested involunteering in a local fisher
(06:04):
house, they can reach directlyout to the manager of that
fisher house and ask, you know,what needs to be done.
Sometimes volunteers will comein and do like a, you know, a
spring refresh of thelandscaping.
Sometimes they'll come in andcook meals for families who are
at the hospital so that whenthey come back, they have a warm
meal to, you know, eat beforethey go up to bed or something.
(06:25):
Um, there's a there's a numberof things that can happen.
Holidays are great.
People love to come in anddecorate for the holidays at a
Fisher house because justbecause it's the holidays or
just because it's, you know,downtime for other people
doesn't mean, you know, whenpeople are in the hospital,
their families want to be nearthem.
And so our houses are usuallyfull 365 days a year, not full,
(06:45):
but you know what I mean?
There's people there at 365.
So yeah.
Larry Zilliox (06:49):
So who can stay at Fisher House?
Julie Riggs (06:53):
Absolutely.
So the houses are built to be ahome away from home for
families of patients receivingmedical care at a major militar
military or VA medical facility.
So the families of the activeduty or veteran who is receiving
that care.
Um, family can be definedpretty broadly.
So if your sister is yourcaregiver and you're a veteran
(07:17):
and you're going in for asurgery, your sister is
identified as family and couldstay at a fisher house while
you're in that episode of care.
Um, you know, um, there aretimes when people are going into
hospice and they have a larger,broader um group of family who
will come to a fisher house andstay as that person finishes,
you know, their life there inhospice.
And so it really it justdepends.
(07:38):
So it's the caregiver andfamily members of the um person
who's in who's receiving thecare that are at the house.
Larry Zilliox (07:46):
Is there a limit on how long somebody can stay?
Julie Riggs (07:49):
There isn't.
As long as there is an episode,an active episode of care
occurring.
Um people have stayed foryears, actually.
Um, you know, and when someonehas maybe had a training
accident and ends upunexpectedly in a hospital and
has multiple surgeries, theirfamily picks up everything and
comes and stays at a fisherhouse for months on end while
that while the person, theirloved one is receiving the care
(08:11):
they need.
Um so it's always at no cost.
And um and you know, they canstay as long as they need to, as
long as that person is stillreceiving care.
Larry Zilliox (08:20):
And while they're there, how are meals handled?
Julie Riggs (08:24):
So the fisher houses don't actually provide
the meals for the families asone of the um, you know, guest
amenities.
However, often, as I mentioned,volunteers will come and um
make meals, stock therefrigerator or freezers with
pre-made meals so that you canjust grab one to throw it in the
microwave when you get backfrom the late long day at the
(08:45):
hospital.
Um, our groups that supportmany of them will donate uh grab
and go food items or fill thefreezer.
You often will find, you willnot often find an empty
refrigerator at a fisher house.
So even though there's not abreakfast, lunch, and dinner
service provided, uh, there'salways food.
But the the houses all have ouruh amazing state-of-the-art
(09:09):
kitchens, and each family isgiven a cup, a cabinet, and a
shelf on the refrigerator.
They have access to all of thepots and pans.
They can cook their own meals.
And I don't know, Larry, ifyou've ever traveled.
I know when when we would PCS,the first thing I would do when
we would get into that TLA afterhaving been on the road forever
is to like, I just make a potof spaghetti because I just
wanted to cook something, youknow?
(09:30):
It's just like kind of settlesyou.
And um, so we find that thosekitchens become this center of
community in our fisher houses.
And people are coming back fromthe hospital and they're making
bread and they're cooking somedinner and they're talking about
what's going on with theirlives and they're connecting
with other families, and thoserelationships are just
invaluable.
I mean, those those those lastwell beyond their stay at the
(09:53):
fisher house.
Larry Zilliox (09:54):
Well, it also is is extremely valuable to have
other people around you that aregoing through the same thing as
a sort of support network,which is really wonderful.
Julie Riggs (10:08):
Yeah, absolutely.
Larry Zilliox (10:09):
And and so you could have you could have like
five, ten different familiesstaying at the same time, right?
Yeah.
Julie Riggs (10:18):
Yep.
Our small houses, um, when wefirst started building them were
eight suite houses.
And pretty quickly we uh placeswould outgrow those, and then
we'd have to build a secondfisher house.
Um and so um, and then westarted building the 20-suite
house.
Um and um we have found thatthe 16 suite is sort of the
sweet spot, if you will.
(10:39):
So there would be 16 rooms thathave their own um private
bathrooms, and so that would be16, you know, families staying
in that house at any given time.
Larry Zilliox (10:48):
Wow.
What happens if the Fisherhouse is full and we have
somebody coming into the areabecause of a service member
who's been injured or a veteranthat needs surgery?
Is there is there some otherorganization that could provide
help and support while they seekum refuge in the community,
like at a hotel or somethinglike that, or are they on their
(11:11):
own?
Julie Riggs (11:12):
No, absolutely.
So we have um our hero programsis also a part of the Fisher
House Foundation portfolio.
And hero programs include umour um hotels for heroes.
And so um we, if a family hasbeen referred to a Fisher House
and the Fisher House is unableto accommodate that family due
to um, you know, um not havingthe room, the manager will call
(11:35):
our team and our team willimmediately uh reach out to a
hotel and pay for that hotelstay until the space at the
Fisher House becomes available.
So the family will um not betold no, they just may start
their journey uh at the hoteland then they would move into
the Fisher House as soon asspace became available.
Larry Zilliox (11:55):
And I see that you guys also have a program
called Hero Miles, which uhreally caught my attention
because it helps families withtransportation issues if they
can't afford to fly in becauseyou know they've suddenly um,
you know, a a warrior's beeninjured and they've been sent to
(12:15):
Walter Reed or Fort Belvore andthey can't afford to fly.
Fisher House can help them withthat.
But one of the things thatreally caught my attention is
that Fisher House provides roundtrip airfare and tickets for
service members who are intreatment who want to go on
leave and go home and visittheir family, which I thought
was wonderful.
Julie Riggs (12:35):
And all of those um Hero Miles programs and also
Hotels for Heroes, they comefrom donations from people of
their unused miles and hotelstays.
So um, um, as well aspartnerships with the airlines
and and hotels.
But people will often at theend of the year they have points
they're gonna lose or orwhatever, and we have agreements
(12:56):
with them um, you know, some ofthe hotels that if the person
donates their their um hotel umnights, um, then we can use them
for for this um and as well asairline miles.
So it is really it's an amazingprogram for people to give back
if they if they want to in thatway and know that they their
donation is going to support,like you said, you know, a
(13:19):
service member who maybe isgetting medical care and then
wants to go home and and and seetheir family for a little
while.
Larry Zilliox (13:25):
Sure, especially especially around Christmas or
Thanksgiving.
Um Exactly.
That's I mean nobody wants tosit around at Walter Reed over
Christmas.
Yeah, for sure.
And yeah, listeners, you candonate those miles right on
their webpage, fisherhouse.org.
Um, if you go to their programsection and you click on like
(13:48):
Hotel for Heroes, there's a listof different hotels there.
You can click on like BestWestern and it'll walk you
through the process of donatingyour miles or your points there.
And certainly if they're uhgonna expire, you wanna uh go
ahead and donate them.
And I'm sure that once they'redonated, the hotels and the
(14:10):
airlines uh that they no longerare set to expire.
Is that right?
Julie Riggs (14:15):
Correct.
We've got agreements with them.
Yes.
Larry Zilliox (14:18):
Yeah, well that's that's awesome.
Um Yeah.
How how is this a seasonalthing?
Is there is there times whenFisher houses are full and then
other times of the year or whenwhen it's down?
How does it get it?
Julie Riggs (14:36):
You know, I think it it varies by house, to be
honest with you.
Um, some of our houses, itreally depends on the medical
treatment facility that they'resupporting and the um rhythm or
cadence of their their surgeriesor their um appointments.
We actually see less people inFisher houses during the
holidays because people tend tonot schedule a surgery if they
(14:59):
can help it over the holidays.
So the houses will typically bemuch um um smaller in size of
guests, you know, and it just itreally does does depend.
I mean, there's there's um I'mthinking of Lackland Air Force
Base, um, and they have the umuh the clinic where you can get
the eye surgery.
Um it's elective.
I'm trying to remember the nameof it, but where, you know,
(15:20):
people can go in and get theirum eyesight improved.
Um, and and so they're eligibleto stay at the Fisher House
while they're there.
And um, so um those types ofsurgeries, when those are
happening, we might have ahandful of people in the Fisher
House that are actually at inthat program, right?
Um, so it just really dependswhat um the medical treatment
facility or VA hospitalspecializes in and how many
(15:45):
people they see.
Um, you know, the polytraumaunits, those houses tend to be
very busy.
Um and uh the stays tend to belonger.
Yeah.
So it just does really vary.
Larry Zilliox (15:57):
Are there certain houses that are constantly
always full?
Some like some of the biggerinst uh installations and
hospitals like Walter Reed, likeFort Sam Houston, those kinds.
Julie Riggs (16:08):
Yes.
So the um, yeah, there are likeI know one of ours that's
always seems to be very full isuh Charleston, South Carolina.
We have an amazing managerthere who does a lot of outreach
to case managers and tohospital nurses and lets them
know that the Fisher House is anoption for you know people
coming in.
And it's that sort of word ofmouth in the middle, also in the
(16:31):
military or sorry, the medicalcommunity to know to refer a
patient to a Fisher housebecause and knowing the
eligibility.
So, you know, the house managerdoes a great deal of outreach
to make sure that the nurses allknow that if a family comes in
and it looks like they mightqualify, make sure you give us a
call.
And he runs at about 95%occupancy on a regular basis.
(16:52):
Um, the Fisher houses at WalterReed, um, there were two of
them.
Um, as you can imagine, duringum the height of the OIF OEF
conflict, um, there were a lotof people at Walter Reed as one
of the primary places thatpeople were sent for um care.
And now there are five Fisherhouses at uh at Walter Reed um
(17:13):
in Bethesda.
So um, yes, they tend to be umpretty busy there as well.
So yeah, it just depends on theum the hospital and the volume
that they do as well.
Larry Zilliox (17:25):
Yeah.
Well, let me tell you, uh,hotel rooms in Charleston are
not cheap.
So I I can imagine, I canimagine that that is pretty
full, and that's just great.
I mean, that's the wholepurpose behind this thing, yeah,
is to say, hey, how you know,we you don't need to spend three
hundred dollars a night.
(17:46):
Right.
Yeah.
That's exactly because that'suh that's a burden for most
families, it really is.
Julie Riggs (17:51):
It is, and you know what we've also heard time and
time again is about people whowould not have come to do a
surgery or get a treatmentbecause if they hadn't heard
about the Fisher House becausethey couldn't afford it, or they
wanted their spouse with themor their caregiver with them,
and they they couldn't afford toput that person up in a hotel.
And so people will elect not toget treatments that are needed
(18:14):
because they don't want to bealone in the process.
And so, you know, so many timeswe hear, you know, these
life-saving treatments, someone,you know, found cancer early or
something because they they didgo and get the scan they needed
to get because they knew theycould have their family with
them at a fisher house.
And it's just, you know, itfills my heart to know that
we're we're providing thatservice for people.
Larry Zilliox (18:36):
Uh what's the what's the one or two kind of
top things that just generallyspeaking, a fisher house in
someone's area would needdonated?
Julie Riggs (18:49):
A lot of your main, you know, stables, um, toilet
paper, um uh consumables, yes,the um snacks, always I mean
snacks are always helpful,coffee, uh, welcome, little
welcome bags of um um, what am Itrying to say?
Um like shampoo and you know,uh chair kits or whatever, um,
(19:12):
those type of things.
A lot of times people willassemble those and then drop
them off at a fisher house.
And you know, more and more, ifI'm being honest with you, gift
cards for families um who maybewant to grab an um, you know, a
meal off base or something umor in the community, or maybe
even a gift card for them to gograb some groceries before they
(19:32):
head home because they've beenum away from home.
So the refrigerator is going tobe empty when they get there.
Um we are seeing, you know,food insecurity in in in our in
our veteran population and uhand our active duty population
as well.
And um, so our our housemanagers will often have a stack
of gift cards and they'll givethem to families in need as they
walk out the door as well.
Larry Zilliox (19:53):
Yeah, great.
And listeners, let's let's beclear about making donations
like that here at Fisher House.
Okay.
When it comes to snacks, whenit comes to food like that, this
is not stuff that's been layingaround your pantry until it's
you know expired three yearslater earlier.
(20:13):
Um this is stuff you want to goout and buy and donate it then.
It's the same for these the thethe little shampoo bottles and
things, not half used.
Don't don't find something thatyou used at a hotel and then
brought it home with you.
New stuff, please.
Not uh not used uh consumables.
So but also give your local uhFisher House a call and say,
(20:39):
Hey, what do you need?
You know, maybe it's somethingyour church group can put
together.
And I guarantee I guarantee youthey're gonna have a list of
consumables.
And they'll say, We need papertowels, we need toilet paper, we
need snacks, we need sodas, weneed water.
They're gonna have a list foryou, and your community group,
your boy scouts, your girlscouts, your your uh your church
(21:02):
group, they can all kind of puttogether.
And when when you got a groupof people, what's really nice is
that it's it doesn't cost muchfor one person to donate one
thing, and before you know it,you got uh 40 40 items, and
that's a substantial uhdonation.
That helps.
So please consider doing that.
(21:23):
Um also I want to again directour listeners to the web page,
which is Fisherhouse.org, andthey're gonna see up in that
right hand corner a donatebutton.
Go ahead and uh hit that donatebutton, bang on it, and give
what you can.
Um Fisher House is a renownedorganization that's been around
(21:45):
for a long, long time.
I've known Julie for a long,long time, and I know that she
wouldn't be hooked up with anyfly by night operation.
Very true.
So um you your money willreally be uh shepherded and and
used wisely, I guarantee it.
Um and this is such a greatorganization because it they
(22:11):
fulfill uh a need that no oneelse does.
There are organizations thatcome close and like Yellow
Ribbon for transportation andBlue Star families and all sorts
of organizations that are outthere.
But you know, other than USOsthat have a physical property
and location, nobody else doesanything like this where they're
(22:33):
they're just building a $12million house for people to stay
in for free.
And uh, you know, it's justit's just an amazing, amazing,
amazing organization.
So Julie, one last thing.
Um where do you see FisherHouse in five years?
Julie Riggs (22:52):
Well, I think we'll probably have a handful more
houses.
Um, I don't I don't think thatthe need's ever gonna go away.
I mean, um medical care issomething that continues um to
be needed um uh by both ouractive duty population and our
veteran population.
And um, so we are, you know,forever grateful to the people
(23:13):
who fund us to be able tocontinue to build these amazing
houses.
We're you know absolutelygrateful that we get to continue
to bless um our um, you know,our those families and our
veterans and our military by andbeing able to say thank you for
what they've done and show thatthere are people who do care
and support.
So I think we'll be uh we'll bea little bit bigger um and have
(23:35):
a few more options for housesto stay at.
But I, you know, we since 1990,we've we've built houses and um
provided that home away fromhome for families and patients
receiving medical care.
So that's what we're gonna keepdoing.
That's that's what we do.
Larry Zilliox (23:51):
Well, we thank you so much because you do it so
well and uh it's it's anincredible service that you guys
offer.
So thanks.
Uh thanks so much for coming onand telling us all about it.
Julie Riggs (24:04):
Yeah, thank you.
I appreciate the time and anduh getting the word out.
Larry Zilliox (24:08):
Yeah.
Well, listeners, uh, we'll haveanother episode next Monday
morning at 0500.
If you have any questions orsuggestions, you can reach us at
podcast at willingwarriors.org.
You can find us on all themajor podcast platforms.
We're also on YouTube andWreaths Across America Radio.
(24:28):
So until then, thanks forlistening.
Good morning.
I'm your host, Larry Zilliox,Director of Culinary Services
here at the Warrior Retreat atBull Run.
And this week our guest isJulie Riggs.
She's vice president ofcommunity relations for Fisher
House.
And I'm sure most of ourlisteners have heard about
Fisher House, but for those whohaven't, and even those who
(00:36):
have, I think you'll besurprised at the extent of their
services and everything thatthey offer.
So it's great to have Juliehere.
She is actually a repeat guest.
She had previously been on andfor her role with Blue Star
Families, another amazingorganization.
Julie, welcome back to thepodcast.
Julie Riggs (00:57):
Thank you, Larry.
Glad to be back.
Larry Zilliox (00:59):
Tell us a little bit about what you do as the
vice president of communityrelations.
Julie Riggs (01:06):
Absolutely.
Well, my role specifically andmy team's role is to support the
communities that either have anexisting Fisher House or a
community that will be getting anew Fisher House.
And so we work collaborativelywith the medical treatment
facility where the house will belocated, as well as local
(01:26):
veteran service organizations,military service organizations,
entities like the DAR or otherlocal groups that are interested
in supporting their localveterans and military through
the Fisher House.
And so we we collaborate thatsupport.
Larry Zilliox (01:44):
So listeners, for those who don't know, there are
a hundred uh houses inoperation.
I'm looking at the webpageright now.
And uh the webpage isfisherhouse.org O-R-G.
I want everybody to go thereand check it out.
But um a hundred houses inoperation, uh, five hundred and
thirty-four thousand familiesserved, six hundred and fifty
(02:07):
million dollars in savings tofamily, which are a result of
offering families free housingwhile they're visiting loved
ones in the hospital systemthere.
And uh so you mentioned uhcommunities that are interested
in putting in a having a Fisherhouse associated with a medical
(02:30):
facility nearby.
Uh are there some in the works?
Julie Riggs (02:35):
Absolutely.
We actually just broke groundon the new Fisher House that
will be in Montrose, New York atthe Hudson Valley VA Medical
Center in upstate New York.
So September 15th, we put thefirst shovel under the ground on
that one.
And um, so that's the next onethat will open.
Um, we also have in DesignPittsburgh, um, West Palm,
(02:57):
Florida, West Palm Beach,Florida, excuse me, as a
replacement house, one that'sbetter equipped for um um
accessibility.
We are excited that we'll bebuilding our first house in San
Juan, Puerto Rico, um, as wellas um we've planned for uh Perry
Point, Maryland, Asheville,North Carolina.
We've got quite a long list ofhouses that um are um pending,
(03:20):
but those ones that I mentionedare in the next year or two.
Uh we'll be focusing on those.
Larry Zilliox (03:25):
Listeners, Fisher House isn't just at military
hospitals, as Julie mentioned.
They're gonna be next to a VAhere in Virginia.
They have one uh down atMcGuire VA Hospital down near
Richmond.
Uh so they support not onlyactive duty soldiers and
families, but veteran familiesas well.
Because as we know, veteransare constantly going into the VA
(03:50):
hospitals for care, so uhespecially our elderly veterans.
And it's just amazing to havethis house nearby where the
family can stay at no cost whilethey are visiting or staying
their loved one is in thehospital, which is um
phenomenal.
What does it take to put aFisher house in the community?
(04:10):
Who funds it?
Is it public donations or isFisher House?
Julie Riggs (04:18):
Yeah, it's a combination.
So Fisher House Foundation,which is the um uh headquartered
nonprofit, uh, we raise the ummoney for to build the houses.
Um so we build the houses, um,oftentimes in conjunction with
community groups who also raisemoney.
We call them friends of FisherHouse and private donors and um
(04:41):
people who are interested maybein if they see if Fisher House
is going in their localcommunity, individual donors
might give, but it pretty muchfilters through our foundation.
Um, and we raise the money umto build the houses.
Um, they're about at themoment, um, a 16-suite house is
about $12 million to build.
Um, and so we raise the capitalalong with all of our partners
(05:04):
and then um build the house, andthen we give the house back as
a gift to the Department ofDefense or VA.
Um, so then the they take thoseupon completion, um, they take
the houses and becomeresponsible for operation and
maintenance in perpetuity ofthose houses.
Larry Zilliox (05:23):
Okay.
And and then the uh folks whowork are employed at the Fisher
House than are DOD or VAemployees?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Correct.
Larry Zilliox (05:35):
Yes.
Okay.
All right.
But they're there's alsostaffed by a large number of
volunteers.
I mean, there are a lot ofpeople that want to help.
Julie Riggs (05:43):
Oh, there are.
Um, volunteerism is one of thebiggest um contributions to the
houses.
Um, communities do really wrapthemselves around a fisher house
when it gets built.
And uh, and we want them to.
I mean, it's their house thatis for their community.
Um, and so so many people willcome in and volunteer.
And if people are interested involunteering in a local fisher
(06:04):
house, they can reach directlyout to the manager of that
fisher house and ask, you know,what needs to be done.
Sometimes volunteers will comein and do like a, you know, a
spring refresh of thelandscaping.
Sometimes they'll come in andcook meals for families who are
at the hospital so that whenthey come back, they have a warm
meal to, you know, eat beforethey go up to bed or something.
(06:25):
Um, there's a there's a numberof things that can happen.
Holidays are great.
People love to come in anddecorate for the holidays at a
Fisher house because justbecause it's the holidays or
just because it's, you know,downtime for other people
doesn't mean, you know, whenpeople are in the hospital,
their families want to be nearthem.
And so our houses are usuallyfull 365 days a year, not full,
(06:45):
but you know what I mean?
There's people there at 365.
So yeah.
Larry Zilliox (06:49):
So who can stay at Fisher House?
Julie Riggs (06:53):
Absolutely.
So the houses are built to be ahome away from home for
families of patients receivingmedical care at a major militar
military or VA medical facility.
So the families of the activeduty or veteran who is receiving
that care.
Um, family can be definedpretty broadly.
So if your sister is yourcaregiver and you're a veteran
(07:17):
and you're going in for asurgery, your sister is
identified as family and couldstay at a fisher house while
you're in that episode of care.
Um, you know, um, there aretimes when people are going into
hospice and they have a larger,broader um group of family who
will come to a fisher house andstay as that person finishes,
you know, their life there inhospice.
And so it really it justdepends.
(07:38):
So it's the caregiver andfamily members of the um person
who's in who's receiving thecare that are at the house.
Larry Zilliox (07:46):
Is there a limit on how long somebody can stay?
Julie Riggs (07:49):
There isn't.
As long as there is an episode,an active episode of care
occurring.
Um people have stayed foryears, actually.
Um, you know, and when someonehas maybe had a training
accident and ends upunexpectedly in a hospital and
has multiple surgeries, theirfamily picks up everything and
comes and stays at a fisherhouse for months on end while
that while the person, theirloved one is receiving the care
(08:11):
they need.
Um so it's always at no cost.
And um and you know, they canstay as long as they need to, as
long as that person is stillreceiving care.
Larry Zilliox (08:20):
And while they're there, how are meals handled?
Julie Riggs (08:24):
So the fisher houses don't actually provide
the meals for the families asone of the um, you know, guest
amenities.
However, often, as I mentioned,volunteers will come and um
make meals, stock therefrigerator or freezers with
pre-made meals so that you canjust grab one to throw it in the
microwave when you get backfrom the late long day at the
(08:45):
hospital.
Um, our groups that supportmany of them will donate uh grab
and go food items or fill thefreezer.
You often will find, you willnot often find an empty
refrigerator at a fisher house.
So even though there's not abreakfast, lunch, and dinner
service provided, uh, there'salways food.
But the the houses all have ouruh amazing state-of-the-art
(09:09):
kitchens, and each family isgiven a cup, a cabinet, and a
shelf on the refrigerator.
They have access to all of thepots and pans.
They can cook their own meals.
And I don't know, Larry, ifyou've ever traveled.
I know when when we would PCS,the first thing I would do when
we would get into that TLA afterhaving been on the road forever
is to like, I just make a potof spaghetti because I just
wanted to cook something, youknow?
(09:30):
It's just like kind of settlesyou.
And um, so we find that thosekitchens become this center of
community in our fisher houses.
And people are coming back fromthe hospital and they're making
bread and they're cooking somedinner and they're talking about
what's going on with theirlives and they're connecting
with other families, and thoserelationships are just
invaluable.
I mean, those those those lastwell beyond their stay at the
(09:53):
fisher house.
Larry Zilliox (09:54):
Well, it also is is extremely valuable to have
other people around you that aregoing through the same thing as
a sort of support network,which is really wonderful.
Julie Riggs (10:08):
Yeah, absolutely.
Larry Zilliox (10:09):
And and so you could have you could have like
five, ten different familiesstaying at the same time, right?
Yeah.
Julie Riggs (10:18):
Yep.
Our small houses, um, when wefirst started building them were
eight suite houses.
And pretty quickly we uh placeswould outgrow those, and then
we'd have to build a secondfisher house.
Um and so um, and then westarted building the 20-suite
house.
Um and um we have found thatthe 16 suite is sort of the
sweet spot, if you will.
(10:39):
So there would be 16 rooms thathave their own um private
bathrooms, and so that would be16, you know, families staying
in that house at any given time.
Larry Zilliox (10:48):
Wow.
What happens if the Fisherhouse is full and we have
somebody coming into the areabecause of a service member
who's been injured or a veteranthat needs surgery?
Is there is there some otherorganization that could provide
help and support while they seekum refuge in the community,
like at a hotel or somethinglike that, or are they on their
(11:11):
own?
Julie Riggs (11:12):
No, absolutely.
So we have um our hero programsis also a part of the Fisher
House Foundation portfolio.
And hero programs include umour um hotels for heroes.
And so um we, if a family hasbeen referred to a Fisher House
and the Fisher House is unableto accommodate that family due
to um, you know, um not havingthe room, the manager will call
(11:35):
our team and our team willimmediately uh reach out to a
hotel and pay for that hotelstay until the space at the
Fisher House becomes available.
So the family will um not betold no, they just may start
their journey uh at the hoteland then they would move into
the Fisher House as soon asspace became available.
Larry Zilliox (11:55):
And I see that you guys also have a program
called Hero Miles, which uhreally caught my attention
because it helps families withtransportation issues if they
can't afford to fly in becauseyou know they've suddenly um,
you know, a a warrior's beeninjured and they've been sent to
(12:15):
Walter Reed or Fort Belvore andthey can't afford to fly.
Fisher House can help them withthat.
But one of the things thatreally caught my attention is
that Fisher House provides roundtrip airfare and tickets for
service members who are intreatment who want to go on
leave and go home and visittheir family, which I thought
was wonderful.
Julie Riggs (12:35):
And all of those um Hero Miles programs and also
Hotels for Heroes, they comefrom donations from people of
their unused miles and hotelstays.
So um, um, as well aspartnerships with the airlines
and and hotels.
But people will often at theend of the year they have points
they're gonna lose or orwhatever, and we have agreements
(12:56):
with them um, you know, some ofthe hotels that if the person
donates their their um hotel umnights, um, then we can use them
for for this um and as well asairline miles.
So it is really it's an amazingprogram for people to give back
if they if they want to in thatway and know that they their
donation is going to support,like you said, you know, a
(13:19):
service member who maybe isgetting medical care and then
wants to go home and and and seetheir family for a little
while.
Larry Zilliox (13:25):
Sure, especially especially around Christmas or
Thanksgiving.
Um Exactly.
That's I mean nobody wants tosit around at Walter Reed over
Christmas.
Yeah, for sure.
And yeah, listeners, you candonate those miles right on
their webpage, fisherhouse.org.
Um, if you go to their programsection and you click on like
(13:48):
Hotel for Heroes, there's a listof different hotels there.
You can click on like BestWestern and it'll walk you
through the process of donatingyour miles or your points there.
And certainly if they're uhgonna expire, you wanna uh go
ahead and donate them.
And I'm sure that once they'redonated, the hotels and the
(14:10):
airlines uh that they no longerare set to expire.
Is that right?
Julie Riggs (14:15):
Correct.
We've got agreements with them.
Yes.
Larry Zilliox (14:18):
Yeah, well that's that's awesome.
Um Yeah.
How how is this a seasonalthing?
Is there is there times whenFisher houses are full and then
other times of the year or whenwhen it's down?
How does it get it?
Julie Riggs (14:36):
You know, I think it it varies by house, to be
honest with you.
Um, some of our houses, itreally depends on the medical
treatment facility that they'resupporting and the um rhythm or
cadence of their their surgeriesor their um appointments.
We actually see less people inFisher houses during the
holidays because people tend tonot schedule a surgery if they
(14:59):
can help it over the holidays.
So the houses will typically bemuch um um smaller in size of
guests, you know, and it just itreally does does depend.
I mean, there's there's um I'mthinking of Lackland Air Force
Base, um, and they have the umuh the clinic where you can get
the eye surgery.
Um it's elective.
I'm trying to remember the nameof it, but where, you know,
(15:20):
people can go in and get theirum eyesight improved.
Um, and and so they're eligibleto stay at the Fisher House
while they're there.
And um, so um those types ofsurgeries, when those are
happening, we might have ahandful of people in the Fisher
House that are actually at inthat program, right?
Um, so it just really dependswhat um the medical treatment
facility or VA hospitalspecializes in and how many
(15:45):
people they see.
Um, you know, the polytraumaunits, those houses tend to be
very busy.
Um and uh the stays tend to belonger.
Yeah.
So it just does really vary.
Larry Zilliox (15:57):
Are there certain houses that are constantly
always full?
Some like some of the biggerinst uh installations and
hospitals like Walter Reed, likeFort Sam Houston, those kinds.
Julie Riggs (16:08):
Yes.
So the um, yeah, there are likeI know one of ours that's
always seems to be very full isuh Charleston, South Carolina.
We have an amazing managerthere who does a lot of outreach
to case managers and tohospital nurses and lets them
know that the Fisher House is anoption for you know people
coming in.
And it's that sort of word ofmouth in the middle, also in the
(16:31):
military or sorry, the medicalcommunity to know to refer a
patient to a Fisher housebecause and knowing the
eligibility.
So, you know, the house managerdoes a great deal of outreach
to make sure that the nurses allknow that if a family comes in
and it looks like they mightqualify, make sure you give us a
call.
And he runs at about 95%occupancy on a regular basis.
(16:52):
Um, the Fisher houses at WalterReed, um, there were two of
them.
Um, as you can imagine, duringum the height of the OIF OEF
conflict, um, there were a lotof people at Walter Reed as one
of the primary places thatpeople were sent for um care.
And now there are five Fisherhouses at uh at Walter Reed um
(17:13):
in Bethesda.
So um, yes, they tend to be umpretty busy there as well.
So yeah, it just depends on theum the hospital and the volume
that they do as well.
Larry Zilliox (17:25):
Yeah.
Well, let me tell you, uh,hotel rooms in Charleston are
not cheap.
So I I can imagine, I canimagine that that is pretty
full, and that's just great.
I mean, that's the wholepurpose behind this thing, yeah,
is to say, hey, how you know,we you don't need to spend three
hundred dollars a night.
(17:46):
Right.
Yeah.
That's exactly because that'suh that's a burden for most
families, it really is.
Julie Riggs (17:51):
It is, and you know what we've also heard time and
time again is about people whowould not have come to do a
surgery or get a treatmentbecause if they hadn't heard
about the Fisher House becausethey couldn't afford it, or they
wanted their spouse with themor their caregiver with them,
and they they couldn't afford toput that person up in a hotel.
And so people will elect not toget treatments that are needed
(18:14):
because they don't want to bealone in the process.
And so, you know, so many timeswe hear, you know, these
life-saving treatments, someone,you know, found cancer early or
something because they they didgo and get the scan they needed
to get because they knew theycould have their family with
them at a fisher house.
And it's just, you know, itfills my heart to know that
we're we're providing thatservice for people.
Larry Zilliox (18:36):
Uh what's the what's the one or two kind of
top things that just generallyspeaking, a fisher house in
someone's area would needdonated?
Julie Riggs (18:49):
A lot of your main, you know, stables, um, toilet
paper, um uh consumables, yes,the um snacks, always I mean
snacks are always helpful,coffee, uh, welcome, little
welcome bags of um um, what am Itrying to say?
Um like shampoo and you know,uh chair kits or whatever, um,
(19:12):
those type of things.
A lot of times people willassemble those and then drop
them off at a fisher house.
And you know, more and more, ifI'm being honest with you, gift
cards for families um who maybewant to grab an um, you know, a
meal off base or something umor in the community, or maybe
even a gift card for them to gograb some groceries before they
(19:32):
head home because they've beenum away from home.
So the refrigerator is going tobe empty when they get there.
Um we are seeing, you know,food insecurity in in in our in
our veteran population and uhand our active duty population
as well.
And um, so our our housemanagers will often have a stack
of gift cards and they'll givethem to families in need as they
walk out the door as well.
Larry Zilliox (19:53):
Yeah, great.
And listeners, let's let's beclear about making donations
like that here at Fisher House.
Okay.
When it comes to snacks, whenit comes to food like that, this
is not stuff that's been layingaround your pantry until it's
you know expired three yearslater earlier.
(20:13):
Um this is stuff you want to goout and buy and donate it then.
It's the same for these the thethe little shampoo bottles and
things, not half used.
Don't don't find something thatyou used at a hotel and then
brought it home with you.
New stuff, please.
Not uh not used uh consumables.
So but also give your local uhFisher House a call and say,
(20:39):
Hey, what do you need?
You know, maybe it's somethingyour church group can put
together.
And I guarantee I guarantee youthey're gonna have a list of
consumables.
And they'll say, We need papertowels, we need toilet paper, we
need snacks, we need sodas, weneed water.
They're gonna have a list foryou, and your community group,
your boy scouts, your girlscouts, your your uh your church
(21:02):
group, they can all kind of puttogether.
And when when you got a groupof people, what's really nice is
that it's it doesn't cost muchfor one person to donate one
thing, and before you know it,you got uh 40 40 items, and
that's a substantial uhdonation.
That helps.
So please consider doing that.
(21:23):
Um also I want to again directour listeners to the web page,
which is Fisherhouse.org, andthey're gonna see up in that
right hand corner a donatebutton.
Go ahead and uh hit that donatebutton, bang on it, and give
what you can.
Um Fisher House is a renownedorganization that's been around
(21:45):
for a long, long time.
I've known Julie for a long,long time, and I know that she
wouldn't be hooked up with anyfly by night operation.
Very true.
So um you your money willreally be uh shepherded and and
used wisely, I guarantee it.
Um and this is such a greatorganization because it they
(22:11):
fulfill uh a need that no oneelse does.
There are organizations thatcome close and like Yellow
Ribbon for transportation andBlue Star families and all sorts
of organizations that are outthere.
But you know, other than USOsthat have a physical property
and location, nobody else doesanything like this where they're
(22:33):
they're just building a $12million house for people to stay
in for free.
And uh, you know, it's justit's just an amazing, amazing,
amazing organization.
So Julie, one last thing.
Um where do you see FisherHouse in five years?
Julie Riggs (22:52):
Well, I think we'll probably have a handful more
houses.
Um, I don't I don't think thatthe need's ever gonna go away.
I mean, um medical care issomething that continues um to
be needed um uh by both ouractive duty population and our
veteran population.
And um, so we are, you know,forever grateful to the people
(23:13):
who fund us to be able tocontinue to build these amazing
houses.
We're you know absolutelygrateful that we get to continue
to bless um our um, you know,our those families and our
veterans and our military by andbeing able to say thank you for
what they've done and show thatthere are people who do care
and support.
So I think we'll be uh we'll bea little bit bigger um and have
(23:35):
a few more options for housesto stay at.
But I, you know, we since 1990,we've we've built houses and um
provided that home away fromhome for families and patients
receiving medical care.
So that's what we're gonna keepdoing.
That's that's what we do.
Larry Zilliox (23:51):
Well, we thank you so much because you do it so
well and uh it's it's anincredible service that you guys
offer.
So thanks.
Uh thanks so much for coming onand telling us all about it.
Julie Riggs (24:04):
Yeah, thank you.
I appreciate the time and anduh getting the word out.
Larry Zilliox (24:08):
Yeah.
Well, listeners, uh, we'll haveanother episode next Monday
morning at 0500.
If you have any questions orsuggestions, you can reach us at
podcast at willingwarriors.org.
You can find us on all themajor podcast platforms.
We're also on YouTube andWreaths Across America Radio.
(24:28):
So until then, thanks forlistening.
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