Meet Kimberly Luse | Executive Director, Fisher/Nightingale Houses, Inc.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kimberly Luse and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kimberly, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Fisher/Nightingale Houses, Incorporated is a non-profit whose mission is to support the guests and operations of the Greater-Dayton area Fisher Houses. These three houses, two located on the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and one located in front of the VA Medical Center, provide compassionate care housing, at no cost to active military, veterans, and their families during times of medical need. We strive to provide a home away from home, at no cost to our guests. The goal is for the patients and their families and support systems to focus on healing. We provide these services for those who have served all of us.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The non-profit I lead, Fisher/Nightingale Houses, Inc. provides support to the guests and the running of the three Greater-Dayton area Fisher Houses. The houses provide compassionate care to active military, veterans, and their families during times of medical need at no cost. This particular position is a real labor of love for me personally. It combines my background, and things I hold very dear. I am a medical professional by training. I specialized in cardiovascular and peripheral angiography in my early career, and then moved into Magnetic Resonance Imaging. I developed the Magnetic Resonance Imaging program in the Advanced Medical Imaging department at the University of Cincinnati and taught my craft before moving into administration in higher education. In those positions I served in roles that were deeply grounded in friend and fundraising, as well as serving as the spokesperson for institutions where I worked. I also had the opportunity to work extensively in government relations. In 2015 I started my own company, Strategic Ethical Solutions, which supported many non-profits in their work. The combination of experience and expertise that is needed in the role I am serving in for FNHI is a beautiful blend of many of the skills sets I have developed across my career, and also work I find to be very meaningful when you add the element of serving those who have served us all.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One of my favorite places to go is to a Dayton Dragon’s Game! Making a weekend out of it definitely involves booking a room at the AC Marriott right next to the ballpark. A visit to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum is a must to learn the history of the region. A tour of the Fisher Houses both on the base, and the one at the VA Medical Center would definitely be on my itinerary. The VA Medical Center is located on another historical site in the Miami Valley. It is situated on one of three historic campuses, which were authorized by President Lincoln. It is the third oldest VA in the country. In addition, the campus has a National Cemetery and is believed to be the only cemetery in America with a live bugler each weekday other than Arlington National Cemetery.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to Shoutout to the Board of Trustees of the Fisher/Nightingale Houses, Inc. (FNHI) and to all of the supporters, sponsors and stakeholders that came together to make our first, “Compassionate Care Heals Gala” a big success on May 18, 2024. FNHI exists to provide support for the guests and operations of the Greater-Dayton area Fisher Houses. As the Executive Director, I friend and fund raise every day of the year for FNHI, but our gala is the biggest event of our year to achieve that goal. This year found us supported with proclamations from Governor DeWine, Mayor Mims declaring May 18th, “Fisher/Nightingale Houses, Inc, Compassionate Care Heals Day” in the great city of Dayton, and representation from so many others. Volunteers worked tirelessly. Paula Jarrett worked to turn our ideas into the beautiful materials you see associated with the event. It all came together in a very special way.

Website: https://www.fnhi.org

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fisher-nightingale-houses/?viewAsMember=true

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FisherNightingale