Private Citizens Filling In Where the Government Falls Short

It is no secret that veterans today frequently receive less than adequate medical services upon their return from service. The government promises to take care of veterans’ health care needs after they sacrifice life and limb executing US interests on the battlefield. However, what they're promised and what they actually receive are too often two very different things. Apparently it is much easier to speak highly of veterans than it is to follow through with sufficient medical services. In response to this, private citizens are taking it upon themselves to spot deficiencies in veterans’ health services and work towards instituting measures for correcting inadequacies.

Zachary Fisher is one such citizen. Mr. Fisher was a prominent figure in the New York real estate community, and has sought creative and constructive ways to assist veterans and their families. His efforts began in 1982 with the establishment of the Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Armed Services Foundation. The Foundation was established to supplement what was at the time a very modest death benefit from the government. The Foundation offered grants ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 for military families experiencing the loss of loved ones by tragic circumstances.

In addition to the Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Fisher were also responsible for establishing the Fisher House program in 1990. The program is a private-public partnership that supports military families through construction of comfort homes for families of hospitalized military personnel. The comfort homes are on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers, and provide military families inexpensive lodging close to where loved ones receive treatment.

Zachary Fisher passed away in 1999. After his passing, the Fisher family picked up where he left off by continuing the Fisher House program and establishing the new Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund’s initial mission was the same as that of the Armed Service Foundation. The Fund provided military families grants after losing loved ones performing their duties in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2005, Congress passed legislation significantly raising the military death benefit, resulting in the Fund’s transitioning to another mission. The new mission focuses on treating the severely injured through a $40 million state-of-the–art physical rehabilitation center located at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The Center for the Intrepid is a 60,000-square-foot facility that allows Brooke Army Medical Center to move its rehabilitation program from a small carved-out section of the hospital to an excellent center dedicated to comprehensive physical rehabilitation. The Center for the Intrepid is a unique facility utilizing computer-assisted rehabilitation environments, gait labs, community re-integration programs, psychiatric support, and firearms training simulators. Additionally, the facility employs highly technical and sophisticated methods for fabricating artificial limbs.

The Fisher House comfort homes and the Center for the Intrepid both address significant issues not properly dealt with by the government. These projects make me feel both proud and ashamed at the same time. I am proud of the private citizens who saw a need and took action to meet that need. However, I am ashamed that our government is satisfied with our veterans having to rely on charity for adequate services. The Fisher House and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund built these facilities with private donations, and then donated the facilities to the US military. It is a shame that it takes sizeable private donations to ensure these services for our veterans. We must commend private citizens like Zachary Fisher for their dedication to the care of our armed forces, and we must hold our government officials accountable for not engaging in a more proactive approach to the system's deficiencies.