Kevin O’Brien was a 22-year-old senior airman from Chicopee, Mass., when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2013. His chances of survival hinged on an eight-hour surgery at the West Roxbury VA Medical Center, 90 minutes from home.
For O’Brien’s mother, U.S. Staff Sgt. Betty Jo O’Brien, finding Kevin the right care was priority number one, and being there for him when he underwent his treatment and recovery followed close behind.
She found the Fisher House, a comfort home where military and veteran families can stay free of charge while a loved one is in the hospital. Instead of a 90-minute daily commute while her son was in a hospital bed, or an expensive hotel bill, Betty Jo was able to stay by his side.
“When your loved one is sick, the only thing you want to do is be with them,” Betty Jo said in an interview for the Fisher House.
Despite Kevin “dying four times on the table through the surgery,” as Betty Jo recounts, the airman survived, completed his treatment and went on to compete in the Wounded Warrior Games.
Kevin and Betty Jo are just one of thousands of military families, both active duty and veterans, who have found a “home away from home” at one of the nearly 100 Fisher Houses across the U.S. In fact, the 100th Fisher House will be formally dedicated at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago on July 29. And David Coker will be there to celebrate.
Coker, the president of the Fisher House Foundation, was the first-ever employee hired by the Fisher House Foundation, a labor of love founded by Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher.
Zach Fisher and his brothers founded one of the biggest construction and real estate businesses in New York City. And while a leg injury prevented him from fighting in World War II, it didn’t stop him from serving.
In 1982, he led the effort to preserve the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, founding the Intrepid Sea‑Air‑Space Museum.
When the Fishers learned that family members were sleeping in their cars near the Bethesda Naval Hospital because they couldn’t afford an extended hotel stay, they dedicated $20 million of their own money to begin building the first Fisher Houses.
Coker said the Fisher House model was initially designed to serve active-duty members of the Military Health System.
“But then, Zach received a letter from a nurse at the Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany, New York, and she said, ‘What you’re doing with the (active duty) military is fantastic, but we could use that resource in the VA.’
“And I said, ‘That’s a good idea,’ and he built one there.”
A new era was underway. Fisher and Coker later received a list of 70 additional potential house locations.
All of the houses are attached to a military or VA hospital. Because New England has relatively few military hospitals, there are only three in the region: West Roxbury, the Connecticut VA in New Haven, and the Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta, Maine.
The program isn’t limited to brick-and-mortar houses. A little more than a decade ago, Jennifer DeLuca, who manages Boston’s Fisher House, realized there were only so many families that could be accommodated. Given its proximity to several of the top hospitals and specialists in the country, Boston attracts veterans and their families from not only New England but also from all over the country.
For DeLuca, the problem was finding a place for those families to stay when Fisher House was full.
Fisher House Maine at Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta, Maine.
She put a plan in place to connect with area hotels, and the program grew from there.
“It’s the perfect model for Boston,” said Coker.
So far in 2025 alone, Fisher House Boston has provided more than 2,501 nights of lodging for 450 families — saving them an estimated $975,000 in combined living expenses. Some families have traveled from as far away as Greece and Japan for medical care.
And Boston’s Fisher House is a family affair. DeLuca’s sister, Abigail, is a surgical nurse who currently serves as the organization’s operations director.
“We have 40 or 50 families we’re serving here in Boston, and there’s no lodging program that has a building with that many rooms,” DeLuca said during a recent interview.
It’s stories like Kevin’s that the DeLucas hope will draw more families to Fisher House as the organization prepares to open its 100th house.
“You never know when a family member will read about the Fisher House and say, ‘Wait, that sounds like something that can help my dad,’ or ‘That’s something that could help me,” Abigail said. “That’s the idea. We’re just so appreciative, because we can only do this if we get connected with people.”
So, what’s it like to walk into a Fisher House?
“Number one, when somebody walks into the world of Fisher House, we want them to know there are others who appreciate their service, we honor that service, and we want to help them in their time of need,” Coker said. “So you walk through the door and it’s an upscale home, and it’s a home environment, and you walk in and you’ve got the living room and dining room with a library.
Community volunteers, such as Olivia (on the right), bring food, desserts, and other treats to the Fisher House in Boston.
“And we have wonderful common areas that draw people out, but everybody’s got a private suite with a private bath, so that when they need to be alone, that’s important.”
But Coker said the most important rooms in the houses are the kitchens.
“Some people deal with stress by cooking,” he said. “Others of us are really good eaters, and it’s a beautiful relationship.”
For Coker, the opening of the 100th house in Chicago will have special meaning.
In 2024, he vowed to visit all 100 Fisher House locations in a single year. He hit that mark in December when he visited Chicago. He even brought with him a distinctly local first meal – a spread of Portillo’s Italian beef sandwiches to share with the home’s manager and the director of the house construction project.
But when Coker returns this weekend, the house will be ready to welcome its first families.
“I always thought I was gonna retire when we hit 100,” he said. “And now I’m thinking 150 is a much better number.”
To donate to Fisher House Boston, please click here.
For a list of ways to give to the Fisher House Foundation, please click here.
