Veteran couple finds "home" at VA
A home can be described as a place of warmth, comfort, and love. For some Veterans, they're fortunate enough to have two homes - one being the Tennessee Fisher House in Murfreesboro.
"What [Tennessee Fisher House] means to me is home," Ruby Thomas, resident of the Tennessee Fisher House and wife of Army Veteran Ronnie Thomas said. "You know, we've been coming [here] so long it's just home. I was telling my husband going to Fisher House is just like going to family because it's not stressful and it's peaceful. Everything is perfect."
The Tennessee Fisher House is located at the Alvin C. York VA Medical Center and provides free lodging and meals to Veterans and their spouses while hospitalized at the Nashville and Murfreesboro campuses. It's designed to feel like a second home for families and ease the emotional and financial stress that comes along with hospital visits.
Watch the Thomas' video here!
Tennessee Valley Healthcare System is the only VA in the state to have a Fisher House. The lodge opened in 2013 and the Thomas' have been staying there since.
"It's just the perfect place for us," Ruby said. "When [Ronnie] is sick at the hospital he knows I'm taken care of over here. We feel safe. The health care at Murfreesboro and [Nashville] is great. We don't want to go anywhere else. Financially, it's been a blessing for us because we could never afford to go anywhere else without the help of Fisher House. All we have to do is pack our clothes."
The Wartburg, Tennessee natives travel more than two hours to get to Ronnie's appointments. Because of the long commute and medical procedures he undergoes, Ronnie's social work team secured lodging for him and his wife at Tennessee Fisher House.
"Our main goal is to take away the stress for the Veteran or their loved one when they come here to stay so that they can just focus on getting better or taking care of that loved one," Rebecca Wood, Tennessee Fisher House Manager said. "We work really hard to create an environment of healing here. We would want [Veterans and their loved one] to feel like they're a guest in someone's home. That's always been important to the Fisher family."
In 1991, Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher founded the Fisher House Foundation to help military and veteran families going through medical hardships. There are 92 houses located throughout various VA and military medical centers worldwide. Fisher Houses are given to the U.S. Government as gifts. Military service secretaries and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs are responsible for the operation and maintenance of the homes.