Knights of Columbus contribute to facility to house veterans' families during hospital stays

Intermountain Catholic

+ Enlarge

(From top) Art Richardson, Knights of Columbus Council 1136 and Disabled American Veterans Orem Council; Ray Lopez, Knights of Columbus State Deputy; Timothy Matthews, DAV Chapter 1 Commander; DAV Adjunct Penny Larsen; DAV Sr. Vice Commander Les Baxley; Manuel Mendoza of Knights of Columbus Council 1136; DAV State of Utah Jr.. Vice Commander Ken Baxley; Ray Bachiller, Knights of Columbus Council 9561 and Ray Folks, also of Council 9561, are shown at the check presentation at the Fisher House in Salt Lake City on Jan. 18. IC photo/Marie Mischel

SALT LAKE CITY — In 2006, just after returning from Bagdad as a civilian employee, retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Ray Bachiller agreed to help military families in another of his roles. As Veterans Affairs Chairman for the Utah Knights of Columbus, Bachiller agreed to spearhead the fundraising to build a Fisher House next to the Veterans Administration hospital in Salt Lake City.

The 54 Fisher Houses in the United States and Germany allow members of military families to stay at the facility free of charge while the veteran is being treated in a hospital. The facility in Salt Lake City, which has 20 rooms, opened Jan. 9.

The facility was needed even though Utah has relatively few military bases, Bachiller said. "Utah has provided more than its fair share of people toward the wars that have gone against terror in recent years…. The veterans that we are seeing now that are coming back are young men and women that belong to the Guard and Reserve who have been activated to go reinforce, augment and support some of the active units and, in some cases, go entirely as their own unit."

When these military members return from service, they come home to Utah, Bachiller pointed out. If they need medical treatment, they receive it at the VA or other local hospitals.

With the Fisher House, veterans and their families don’t have to worry about the strain the cost of lodging is putting on their budget, said Art Richardson, who is a member of both the Knights of Columbus and the DAV.

The national average for families to stay at the Fisher House is two weeks, said Quinn Kiger-Good, the clinical social worker who manages the Fisher House for the Salt Lake VA hospital. However, two of the families now at the local facility will stay about two months because of the treatment the veterans are receiving.

Bachiller has strong ties to the Fisher House organization: He grew up in New York and has known the Fisher family since the 1990s. The first Fisher House opened near Bethesda Naval Hospital, where he was born, and the second was built at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where his father died. "So you can see some of the connection with me and Fisher House," he said.

The Utah Knights of Columbus became involved with building the local Fisher House because the group needed a nonprofit to help raise funds for the project, Bachiller said. The Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Marine Corps League and other veterans’ groups also were strong supporters of the project in the five years it took to be built, he added.

"We expected the building to be finished within 18 months of 2006," but because the economy tightened, the project was delayed until 2011, he said.

The 17,000-square-foot facility has a large kitchen that allows several families to prepare meals at the same time; there also is a laundry facility with industrial grade machines. Families are expected to fix their own meals, do their own laundry and clean their rooms, Bachiller said.

Although the building is complete and 11 families are residing in it, Bachiller is still seeking donations for the Fisher House. A propane barbecue recently was donated for the porch; he is hoping to receive playground equipment for the yard area. In addition, all cleaning supplies and other items such as toilet paper are needed, he said.

To help with this sort of materials, the Knights of Columbus donated $1,000 to the Fisher House on Jan. 18. The money was raised at a joint fundraiser with the DAV in November, as well as personal donations from individual Knights.