Legion honored for Colorado hospital advocacy
Louis Celli, director of the Legion's VA&R Division, accepted the Distinguished Veterans Service Organization award on behalf of The American Legion by United Veterans Committee President Frank McCurdy and VA Secretary Bob McDonald.

Legion honored for Colorado hospital advocacy

The American Legion’s successful advocacy efforts to secure the necessary funding for the replacement Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Aurora, Colo., were recognized April 10 at the United Veterans Committee (UVC) of Colorado’s 44th Annual Awards Banquet. Louis Celli, director of the Legion’s Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Division (VA&R), was presented the award by United Veterans Committee President Frank McCurdy – a member of the Legion’s VA&R Commission – and VA Secretary Bob McDonald.

The UVC annually honors veterans, legislators, and other individuals and organizations for outstanding activities and accomplishments on behalf of Colorado’s veterans community. The Legion was honored as a Distinguished Veterans Service Organization.

Last September, Congress approved legislation that provided the final $625 million to finish the more than $1.6 billion project. Without the funding, construction was expected to shut down, as had happened in the past after construction initially started in 2012. The American Legion, both at the national and local level, has repeatedly called for the completion of the project, as well as for VA to examine how it manages major construction projects.

In May 2015, the Legion and other veterans service organizations sent a joint letter to congressional leaders, urging them “to take swift actions and procure necessary funding to continue and complete the construction of the replacement for the Denver VA medical center.”

The new hospital is located close to both the University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado, and will replace an older, overcrowded hospital in Denver. The 184-bed facility is expected to be completed in January 2018 and will benefit an estimated 1 million veterans in Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, New Mexico, Montana and Utah.