‘Home away from home’ will offer free stay for families of patients at Lovell health care center
A facility offering free lodging for families of veterans and military members being treated at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago is under construction.
Families can stay free as long as needed, said Diane Kelley, president of Friends of Fisher House Illinois.
“Having a family member or loved one close helps the healing process,” she said. “It is what we consider to be your home away from home.”
The 16-suite, 14,490-square-foot structure will be the 100th Fisher House and the second in Illinois. The state’s first was built 14 years ago at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital near Maywood.
In North Chicago, the house will be located near the Lovell campus on Buckley Road east of Green Bay Road. It’s expected to open to military families in spring 2025.
Construction of the $10 million project was announced in August and a topping off ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Oct. 2. A beam is available leading up to the event for guests to sign their names and good wishes.
“Because they assist families for VA patients in the same way Ronald McDonald House helps civilians, we like to help bring awareness to the little known organization,” said Hombre Darby, communications and outreach director for the city of North Chicago.
Based in Rockville, Maryland, the Fisher House Foundation Inc., builds comfort homes where military and veteran families can stay free while a loved one is in the hospital.
Each bedroom suite is equipped with a private, wheelchair-accessible bathroom. Common areas include a kitchen, laundry room, patio and large communal living and dining rooms.
Each Fisher House creates an “instant community” for residents united in supporting a sick or injured loved one, according to Friends of Fisher House Illinois.
Lovell Health Care Center also provides health and dental care for Navy recruits, service members and their families based at Naval Station Great Lakes, and veterans from northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin.
While the 100th Fisher home is a milestone, the need for military and veteran families to have a safe place to stay while loved one receive care is growing, Fisher House Foundation Chairman and CEO Ken Fisher said in a statement.
The new home will be a refuge for military and veteran families traveling to the area for medical care who might otherwise have to rely on long, expensive hotel stays, he added.