Request a Stay

Who can stay at the VA Pittsburgh Fisher House?

Guests must have a family member (Veteran or active duty service member) currently receiving inpatient care at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.
The guest must have a permanent residence that is located more than 50 miles from treating facility.
Guests must be medically stable and able to care for themselves and/or other family members independently.
Guests must abide by all house guidelines and regulations.
Minor children are welcome, but they must be under the supervision of family members at all times.
Families may only occupy one room, and each room has a maximum occupancy of four individuals.

How do I request a room?

To start, a patient must inform a VA Social Worker or provider of his or her family’s interest in staying at the Fisher House at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. We recommend that you contact the clinic or provider which is scheduling the procedure for which you will be hospitalized. If you are already in the hospital or if you are the family member of a patient who is already in the hospital we recommend that you ask to speak to a social worker at the hospital, you can ask that a social worker be paged to come speak with you and your family.

The social worker will then conduct a brief screening interview with the patient or guest to ensure that the guest meets the eligibility requirements to stay at the Fisher House. Once it is determined that all eligibility requirements are met, then the social worker/provider will complete a Fisher House consult, which is a request to the Fisher House Manager for processing.

Once the Fisher House manager receives the consult, the guest(s) are added to the Fisher House wait list.

The guest(s) will be contacted by the Pittsburgh Fisher House Manager by 10 a.m. the first day of the requested stay to be informed of room availability.

Because we are almost always at capacity and operate on a first come, first serve basis it is impossible for us to tell you if a room is available until the day you arrive. We understand that this can be difficult for some in planning and we do have other programs we can use to assist you should the house be full when your day of requested stay arrives. However, we must have a consult to proceed, which is why it is so important to follow the process. If you have further questions or want to verify that a consult has been placed by the social worker or provider to whom you requested do so, please call 412-360-2030.

Please note: Completing a consult does not mean that you have a reservation – we do not take reservations. Your stay at the Pittsburgh Fisher House is dependent upon the availability of space and all prospective guests are required to go through the above screening process.