Ellis and his family are just a few of the military families staying in the $4 million, single-story building located on base. The 10,000-square-foot Fisher House II welcomed its first guests about two weeks ago. It replaces the Nightingale House, which opened in 1990 and was demolished in February.
A ribbon-cutting for the facility was held Friday morning.
The Fisher House Foundation built the home with the help of more than $1 million raised by Fisher/Nightingale Houses Inc. The rest of the money came from private donations.
The new brick building has a large, upscale kitchen with marble-top counters, a family room with a big-screen television, a living room with paintings and other artwork hanging on the walls, and a patio.
With 12 bedrooms, 13.5 handicap-accessible bathrooms and wider hallways, Fisher House II was designed with the changing needs of injured veterans and their families in mind, said Chris Stanley, executive director of Fisher/Nightingale Houses Inc.
Fisher House is open to anyone receiving treatment at Wright-Patterson Medical Center.
David Coker, president of the Fisher House Foundation, said they began building Fisher Houses in the early 1990s to give military veterans and their loved ones “a home away from home” as they received medical treatment.
Veterans and their families who could not afford the cost of a hotel room were sleeping in waiting rooms and their cars, or went into debt to pay for hotels, he said.
The Fisher House Foundation estimates it has saved veterans and military families about $165 million in out-of-pocket costs for lodging and transportation.
There are 54 Fisher Houses nationwide.
Nightingale House was the first compassionate care facility created for the U.S. Department of Defense, but the 2,000-square-foot duplex had limitations. It was not handicap accessible, and six families had to share two upstairs bathrooms. The original Fisher House, adjacent to the new facility, opened at Wright-Patt in 1994.
“This is their home,” said Karen Healea, Fisher House manager. “They have keys to come and go as they want to, as they would at their own home. They have their privacy, but they can be here with other family members, and it turns into a wonderful support system.”
Ellis said the house’s staff and volunteers have been exceptionally welcoming and helpful as he receives rehabilitation and pain-management treatment at the hospital.
Without Fisher House, Ellis said he would have to stay in a hotel, and the bills would quickly add up.
“This house is truly a blessing,” he said.
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