This Week at Walter Rhoades Post 111
Announcements, news, events, and other information about your American Legion Post.
From the Commander
A huge thanks to all those who participated in this year’s Labor Day parade. A special thanks to Mary Niebch for coordinating our participation in the parade with the city, Josh Kuebler for coordinating with the Marine Corps League for the use of their float, and all members of the color guard for leading the parade and so proudly representing veterans and their families!
v/r
Chuck
Announcements
Did you live in Louisville, Co during the Vietnam War? Did you serve in Vietnam? The Louisville Historical Society is seeking folks willing to share memories of Louisville during the Vietnam War, even if they did not serve in that particular conflict. Please email Summer King (SKing@LouisvilleCO.gov) to set up time to discuss prior to September 5th. These memories will be used to write an article. Any veteran who shares will have early access to approve or edit their statements.
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News
Sterilization Issues Impacting Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center
“On August 22, 2024, sterilization issues began impacting Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center and other nearby healthcare facilities. The sterile processing service cleans and sterilizes instruments and equipment for surgeries and other medical procedures. Due to this issue, Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center is limiting surgical and procedural cases to those performed with disposable instruments.
The care and safety of our patients is always our top priority. As of August 27, 2024, 22 cases have been postponed. Cases are being reviewed daily to determine if they can safely proceed with disposable equipment or should be postponed.
We are working with UC Health, Children’s Hospital, and City of Aurora Water to coordinate on this issue. Here are three crucial things to know:
The drinking water is completely safe. Aurora Water has done testing at multiple sites and there are no concerns with the drinking water.
We are working to install additional filters on the SPS water supply used for the washers, and we hope to have that complete on Thursday, 8/29/24. After any major repair to the sterilization equipment, we must run three test cycles to validate the system is working, so those test cycles will begin immediately.
VA has very stringent quality requirements for sterile processing that exceed the industry standards. While it may take longer for us to validate that our systems are meeting those high standards, we must ensure that we are providing the safest care possible to our Veterans.
It’s frustrating that we are experiencing this issue only two weeks after resuming normal surgical operations. However, we cannot compromise on patient safety, and we must be diligent about our HRO principles as we problem-solve. We hope that we will see positive results after installing the new filters this week.
We’ll continue to work with the impacted patients to coordinate their care needs.”
Amir Farooqi, Interim Director, VA ECHCS
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Upcoming Events
General Membership Meeting (September 10, 2024): There will be a General Membership Meeting at 6:00 PM at the post. The lounge will be closed during this meeting. The agenda for this month’s meeting will include an update on facade improvement, audit status, establishment of new committees, and plans for Veterans’ Day. If you'd like to join the meeting via Zoom, please notify the Executive Board by noon, September 9th.
Auxiliary Unit 111 Meeting (September 14, 2024): There will be an Auxiliary Unit 111 Meeting at 9:30 AM at the post.
Live Music by John Long (September 14, 2024): We are excited to welcome John Long to Walter Rhoades American Legion Post 111. John Long's adoptive father was Homesick James, who was a direct influence on his music accomplishments. Homesick James, who passed away on December 13, 2006, was Elmore James' cousin and the last of his band members (The Broomdusters). FK111 will be serving BBQ brisket with Olathe sweet corn and FK 111 fries, along with their regular full menu. Come join us for an amazing night of live, classic rock ’n’ roll! This event is open to the public.
A Toast to Walter Rhoades (October 9, 2024): On the evening of October 9th, will be pausing to honor our namesake Walter Rhodes. PFC Walter Rhoades was killed while on October 9, 1918 while fighting in World War I. More details on this event to follow.
District 4 Meeting (October 12, 2024): The District Four fall meeting will be held on October 12th, from 9am to 11am, at the American Legion Post 32 (Longmont). This meeting is open to all members in our district. ***Note the corrected date of October 12th***
Live Music by James Hurtado (October 19, 2024): We are excited to welcome Jes Hurtado to Walter Rhoades American Legion Post 111. James has been playing professionally for 20 years and has shared the stage with Daniel Valdez and has also performed at the Winter Park Music Festival as well as the Taste of Colorado. Join us for a night of wonderful music. This event is open to the public.
Save the Date (November 9, 2024): Veterans Day celebration at the post. More details to follow.
Bingo (Every Monday Night): Join us for bingo, every Monday night starting at 6:30 PM. All proceeds support Veterans and Veterans' Programs.
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Hours
Monday 4-8 PM
Tuesday 4-8 PM
Wednesday 4-8 PM
Thursday 4-8 PM
Friday 1-9 PM
Saturday 1-9 PM
Sunday 12-8 PM
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Walter Rhoades American Legion Post 111
1150 Pine Street
Louisville, CO 80027
(303) 666-6314
