BAY PINES, Fla. — A new Fisher House is opening to serve the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System.

The facility offers a home away from home for military families and veterans staying at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center.

The second house will triple Bay Pines' capacity to host families.

"I hope to provide the support, care and compassion for the families here at the Fisher House, I want this place to be a respite place for the families,” said Fisher House Manager, Shentrela Diggins.

At full capacity, the second house is expected to serve almost 6,000 families a year.

Janice Cullen, a previous guest who stayed at the first Fisher House, says she knows the support it provides. 

Cullen stayed for three months in 2016 when her husband, Daniel Berthiaume, a Marine Corps veteran hospitalized after a cancer diagnosis.

“It was scary what was going on with my husband," said Cullen. "And it was scary coming in here, but by the time I left, this was family."

Years later, Cullen says the Fisher House still feels like home. She lost her husband in 2017 but says she’s grateful for the support she received. Cullen finds comfort in knowing more families can get the same support.

"Now that so many more people can come and be close to their family members in the hospital, it just makes me very happy,” said Cullen.

Once the new house opens in January of 2024, more families can be closer to their hospitalized loved ones.

The Fiser House Foundation has homes available to families of military service members and veterans around the world.