CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin was with family on Christmas Eve morning when he got a call from a high-ranking official in the Veterans Administration telling him of changes that were about to happen at the Clarksburg VA Medical Center.
Manchin and U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito have called for the changes both publicly and in legislatively in recent months after an investigation revealed the suspicious insulin-injected deaths of several veterans. Former nursing assistant Reta Mays eventually pled guilty to multiple counts of murder and is awaiting sentencing.
Manchin, Capito and others have been waiting on VA response to such an operation that allowed Mays to do what she did. They got their answer, at least in part on Christmas Eve.
The VA is replacing the leadership at the hospital and revamping some of its operations.
Medical Center Director Dr. Glenn Snider Jr. is being replaced. Associate Director Terry Massey will become interim director until Jan. 4 when VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Deputy Director Barbara Forsha becomes acting director in Clarksburg.
Manchin told MetroNews it’s much overdo.
“The sad thing is it’s taken over 2 and a half years. I know there was a (criminal) investigation and the (VA) investigation could have interfered with that,” Manchin said. “Now we know more about how things could have happened. How things were lapse. People have been removed and there will be a new team coming in.”
Capito called the leadership changes “absolutely necessary” considering the problems at the medical center.
“While this is a sign of progress, there are still many questions that need to be addressed, and I’m committed to making sure that happens. I commend the VA for making these necessary changes and I look forward to more actions to further improve operations and care at the Clarksburg VAMC once the investigation has fully concluded,” Capito said. “In the meantime, I remain committed to doing all I can to make sure our veterans receive the best possible care at all of our West Virginia VA’s and tragedies like this one never happen again.”
Manchin said that’s also his focus.
“There will be a full (Senate) Veterans Affairs Committee investigation to make sure what happened in Clarksburg will never happen again in any other VA facility in the country,” Manchin said. “Veterans and their families should not worry whether or not the Clarksburg VA or any other VA has the highest quality of standards.”
Other changes announced include:
–making a recently hired physician, who was an experienced hospitalist in the community, the hospital’s new inpatient director of hospitalists.
–a detailed nursing leadership team is being brought into the facility.
–retraining of all Clarksburg VAMC personnel involved in reporting urgent issues throughout the chain of command. The incoming leadership team will assess the amount and level of training that is needed. It will be conducted throughout the facility over a period of time to ensure continuity of operations and care.
Manchin said he knew there were problems in the first meeting he had at the medical center after information on the deaths surfaced.
“I told them in a meeting, ‘There’s either somebody incompetent or someone’s lying. Either way it’s gross negligence,’” Manchin said. “It was wrong. It was so bad. The quality of care, the leadership, no one was taking responsibility. It’s like nobody cared.”
The VA has also announced the medical center is on a stand down for the time being and accepting no new non-emergency patients. Manchin said he anticipates that will begin to change after the first of the year.
“We’ll see that workers have the right quality of education. There will be a vetting process, how we hire, how we have access to medication. It’s going to change from the leadership at the top down.”