Fisher House History

The first two Fisher Houses, designed and built by the Fishers, opened in 1991 - at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland and Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC. A year later, the Air Force received its first Fisher House - at Wilford Hall Medical Center at the Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

By 1993, the network had expanded to 12 houses, and Fisher House Foundation, Inc. was established as the national not-for-profit organization to coordinate private support and encourage public support for the program. In 1994, the program expanded to the Department of Veterans Affairs, with the first Fisher House for Veterans opening in Albany, New York.

From 1990 through 1998, all Fisher Houses were given as gifts to the U.S. Government by the Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher Armed Services Foundation. In 1999, the Fisher House Foundation began to build new Fisher Houses.

Fisher House Founder and Chairman, Zachary Fisher, passed away on June 4, 1999. At the time of Zachary's death, there were 26 Fisher Houses.

In mid 2000, the program began its 11th year, and had provided more than one million days of lodging to eligible families. In 2001, the first Fisher House built in partnership with another organization, the Veterans Guest House, opened at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, and the first Fisher House built outside the U.S was formally dedicated in Landstuhl, Germany.

By year's end, 2003, there were 32 Fisher Houses located at 17 different military medical centers and six VA medical centers. Today, Fisher House Foundation serves more than 12,000 families in over 50 Fisher Houses each year and has saved families more than 167 million dollars in lodging and transportation costs.

The phenomenal growth of Fisher Houses and the unprecedented support received is testimony to the foresight of founders Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher and the commitment of Zachary's family to continue his legacy. The houses truly are "dedicated to our greatest national treasure... our military service men and women and their loved ones."