2008-10-02 06:00:02 -
www.triwest.com - Opening in 1992 with just eight bedrooms, the original Fisher House at the Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) grew over the years into a place that thousands of families of active and retired military patients have called home while their loved one healed.
To accommodate even more families, a second Fisher House is opening at the
NMCSD at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, October 3. The house, made possible through funding from TriWest Healthcare Alliance, T. Boone Pickens and BP Capital, will provide military families up to a month's free stay while their loved ones are recovering.
"This home symbolizes so much of what we in the TRICARE community hope for, work for and strive to uphold: complete care for our wounded troops and comfort for their families," said TriWest President and CEO David J. McIntyre, Jr. "We believe that a wounded service member's only duty is to heal, and to do so without needless worry or delay. And family members are a critical part of their healing."
The new house opening is the latest in a long line of organizations and programs TriWest supports for military members in San Diego, including:
-- Supporting the opening of the Comprehensive Combat Casualty Care Center (or "C5"). The first-of-its-kind care center combines the services of orthopedics, prosthetics, physical and occupational therapy, wound care, psychiatry, brain injury care and mental health counseling to keep warriors close to their families as they heal.
-- Developing a "Healing Heroes" Web portal to aggregate government and community resources care coordinators need to help recovering service members.
-- Sponsoring the Department of Veterans Affairs' newest rehabilitative event for injured veterans, the National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic. The event gave recently injured veterans who have spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, certain neurological conditions, amputations, other mobility impairments, or post-traumatic stress disorder the opportunity to participate in a variety of sports.
-- Supported Camp Pendleton's Wounded Warrior Center, a place for members of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force to recover from combat-related injuries.
-- Offering free assistance to disabled veterans and their families in obtaining benefits and other services earned through their military service in partnership with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV).
-- Providing grants through the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund to Marine families to defray unexpected expenses such as travel, childcare, lodging or other problems resulting from lost wages.
-- Partnering with the Wounded Marine Careers Foundation to provide wounded Marines and Navy Corpsmen new and marketable skills for careers in media following their rehabilitation.
For more on TriWest's programs, please visit www.triwest.com. For more information on NMCSD's Fisher Houses, visit:
www.nmcsd.med.navy.mil/service/services_view.cfm?csid=88.
About TriWest
TriWest Healthcare Alliance partners with the Department of Defense to do "Whatever It Takes" to support the health care needs of 2.7 million members of America's military family. A Phoenix-based corporation, TriWest is URAC accredited, without deficiencies, in Networks, Utilization Management, Disease Management, and Case Management. TriWest provides access to cost-effective, high-quality health care in the 21-state TRICARE West Region and is the 2007 TRICARE Region of the year. TriWest is a proud Corporate Team Member of America Supports You. Visit www.triwest.com for more information.
About the Fisher House
The foundation was started in 1990 by Ken Fisher's late uncle, Zack Fisher. When it was brought to Zack's attention that there was a shortage of affordable housing for injured Service members and their families, he decided to put the program together. Zack Fisher built the first comfort homes with his own money. "Zack always believed that it was our obligation to give back to a nation that had been so great to us," Ken Fisher said. "Zack always considered Service members to be the greatest national treasure." There are 37 Fisher Houses, with four more in construction or design. After the houses are built, they are gifted to U.S. government, which then maintains them. Fisher said the foundation works closely with the military to determine where a new house should be built.
TriWest Healthcare Alliance
Elizabeth Perrine, 602-644-8356
eperrine@triwest.com 
