If you plan to be away from the Fisher House for more than four nights, you must check out completely so that your room is available to other families. Please keep us informed of your plans every two-three days so that we may better accommodate others.

Note that the management reserves the right to enter your room for maintenance work or for other reasons. Although we will try to give adequate notice, this is not always possible.

No medical services or procedures of any type are provided by Fisher House staff.

Most importantly, you should be aware that Fisher House is a volunteer operation, and while you are here, you are one of the volunteers! We appreciate your cooperation and any extra help you can give.

GENERAL LIVING: Linens are provided in your room. Free washers, dryers, and other cleaning supplies, are in the laundry room. You will also find cleaning supplies under your sink in your bathroom. Rollaway beds and portable cribs/playpens may be checked out from the manager.

KITCHEN: Prompt and thorough clean-ups of the kitchen and dining area are vital, in fairness to those who use these areas after you. Mark your own food with your name and date, and store in your assigned food locker and a designated area in the refrigerator. Cooking MUST occur in the kitchen.

Please eat food in the dining room and kitchen ONLY. All children who are eating or drinking should be closely attended by a parent, so that thorough cleanups can be made. NO FOOD OR DRINK IS TO BE CARRIED TO BEDROOMS OR OTHER ROOMS EXCEPT TO A BEDRIDDEN FAMILY MEMBER.

MESSAGES: We will place messages on our in/out board in the kitchen. Please check each time you come back to the Fisher House.

MEDICATIONS: All medications requiring refrigeration must be kept in a separate refrigerator. Please see the manager.

SAFETY AND SECURITY: Exterior doors are kept locked at all times. We depend upon you to make certain the door locks properly each time you enter/exit. Unlike a hotel, there is not always someone available to let you in if you forget the key. Note that rear doors are on an active alarm system (approximately 9 P.M. to 7 A.M.).

The House is equipped with extremely sensitive smoke detectors and fire alarm system. Should the smoke detector go off and there is a fire, please call 911 immediately.

SMOKING & ALCOHOl: Absolutely no smoking or consumption of alcohol is permitted inside the Fisher House; however, we do have smoking urns in front, and back of the building.

After reviewing our Welcome Package, please sign your name where indicated.

At age 16, Zachary Fisher left high school to help his father and older brothers in the family construction business. He laid bricks, earned his union card and by age 19 was supervising brick layers.

Mr. Fisher's knee was severely injured in a construction accident, and when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, he was rejected by the military, dashing forever his hopes of serving his country in the war. Searching for other ways to be of use, he helped the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers build coastal fortifications.

Since that time, Mr. Fisher, along with his lovely wife Elizabeth, continue to dedicate themselves to the Armed Forces and to those who serve in them. They are true patriots who ardently support a number of philanthropic activities. Mr. Fisher and his wife, Elizabeth, are dedicated to enhancing the public perception of the U.S. Military, and to helping needy members of the Armed Forces. In 1988, in response to the USS STARK tragedy, they established the "Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher Armed Services Foundation," to provide financial assistance to members of the Armed Forces and their dependents. The Foundation has provided substantial direct payments to the surviving families of service people, including the forty-seven members of the IOWA. The Foundation also provides college scholarships for dependents of military personnel. In addition, the Fisher Armed Services Foundation, inspired by the wife of the former Chief of Naval operations, Pauline Trost, decided to build a home designed to house families of patients undergoing treatment at a U.S. Military hospital installation. The home was to be called the Zachary & Elizabeth Fisher House. A home away from home, the Zachary & Elizabeth Fisher house is fully furnished to accommodate eight families at a minimal charge. This is a home where residents all share a common concern - the health and well being of their loved ones.

Currently, there are 22 Fisher Houses throughout the TriServices and Veterans Affairs; nine of which are Army owned and operated.

Mr. Fisher has received the Department of Transportation's Meritorious Public Service Award, in recognition of his efforts to preserve and promote the history of the Coast Guard. In 1988, President Reagan awarded Mr. Fisher the prestigious Volunteer Action Award for his work with the INTREPID Sea-Air-Space Museum, the Veterans Bedside Network, the Marine Scholarship Foundation, and Honor America.

President Bush, who dedicated the first Fisher Comfort House in Bethesda, Maryland, on June 24, 1991, said "Elizabeth and Zachary Fisher are Brilliant Points of Light. This kind of dedication and ingenuity has made ours the strongest, and the most caring nation in the world."

Most recently, Zachary Fisher served as a member of New York's "operation Welcome Home" Commission, which planned New York's mammoth homecoming for troops who fought in the Persian Gulf War.