By MetroNews Staff
November 17, 2020 – 7:42 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday passed legislation requiring reports on policies and patient care at Veterans Affairs health facilities.
The Senate passed the Improving Safety and Security for Veterans Act in December 2019. The measure, which West Virginia’s five congressional delegates sponsored, is a response to the deaths of patients at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg.
“Congress must do everything it can to ensure that this never happens again,” Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., said Monday. “This bill is just the first step toward that goal.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs will be required to file reports on patient safety and quality of care. McKinley said the reports will provide transparency into the actions of medical personnel.
“The public was kept in the dark for far too long during the course of this investigation,” he noted about the deaths at the Clarksburg medical center.
“Our veterans have sacrificed so much for our country, and they deserve the best possible care and to feel safe when they come to one of our facilities.”
Reta Mays, a former nursing assistant at the Clarksburg facility, faces charges related to the deaths of eight veterans. Autopsies showed the veterans received unnecessary injections of insulin.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Kleeh will preside over a status conference on Wednesday aimed at ensuring both sides in the case are on schedule. A sentencing hearing will begin on Feb. 18, 2021.