Mission Monday: Air Force Fisher House Program

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  • AFIMSC Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – It’s Mission Monday. Mary McLean is the Department of the Air Force Fisher House Program manager at the Air Force Services Center here.

McLean works with the dedicated managers at eight installations who oversee 14 Air Force Fisher Houses to “provide outstanding temporary home-like havens for the families of the fallen and those undergoing medical treatment, along with the family members and caregivers who accompany them to allow the warfighters to fly, fight and win.”

We asked McLean to tell us more about what she does to support the Department of the Air Force.

What do you love about your job?
The families staying with us and their stories of how the support of our houses helps in the healing process. The houses bring out the true heart of the military.

When it comes to your job, what keeps you motivated?
Knowing that we are helping families during their most difficult times of medical crisis

Why are you and your team important to the Department of the Air Force and your customers?
Without the Fisher House Program, many families could end up choosing not to have medical care because they can’t afford the lodging expense, or they would be alone undergoing medical care because their loved ones can’t afford to be near.

Describe a project/event you and your team worked on recently that gave you a great sense of accomplishment:
Providing comfort and care to a family with a neonatal intensive care unit baby born at less than 1½ pounds and now thriving at 10 pounds; or when we had an active-duty captain with two broken legs stay while unable to be in her own residence. 

How does what you do support AFIMSC priorities? 
Our program provides outstanding comfort homes to allows families to be together while undergoing medical treatment, thus accelerating healing which strengthens Airmen, Guardians and their families so they can again be ready and lethal.

Is there anything else you’d like to add which might help people understand the importance of what you do for the Department of the Air Force? 
To quote the Fisher House motto “Family is good medicine.”

Find out more about the DAF Fisher House program: http://www.afimsc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3250981/afsvc-helps-make-daf-fisher-houses-homes-away-from-home/