CHARLESTON — West Virginia’s two U.S. Senators and Northern West Virginia’s congressman toured the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg on Monday one week after a former employee was sentenced for multiple murders at the facility.

U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., along with 1st District Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., toured the medical center Monday morning with Denis McDonough, the new secretary if the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The medical center was the epicenter of a series of murders of veterans by a former aid injecting them with unprescribed insulin when none of the victims were diabetics.

“Today, VA Secretary McDonough and I visited the Clarksburg VAMC to learn more about the lapses in procedure and leadership that allowed for the horrific deaths of West Virginia Veterans at the Clarksburg VAMC,” Manchin said.

“I appreciate Secretary McDonough taking the time to come to West Virginia today to see firsthand the policies, procedures, and action items that need to be put in place to regain the trust of our veterans and provide a safe, high-quality health care environment,” Capito said.

“Ensuring the safety for our veterans who have served our country should be a top priority,” McKinley said on Twitter. “We must work together to make sure that what happened at the Clarksburg VAMC never happens again.”

Reta Mays, 46, of Harrison County, was sentenced to seven life terms last week by U.S. District Judge Tom Kleeh for the murders of seven veterans. She was also sentenced for an additional 20 years for the attempted murder of an eighth victim. She pleaded guilty last July after a three-year investigation. Manchin, a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, said more investigations are needed.

“It has taken nearly three years to get an answer for our Veterans and their families, and I will continue to ask for a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on VAMC care so that we can ensure that what happened at the Clarksburg VAMC will never happen to another Veteran,” Manchin said.

A report from the VA’s Office of Inspector General released last week found a number of issues that allowed Mays to get away with her crimes. According to the report, a background check on Mays was never conducted, which would have found she was fired from the state’s prison system for misconduct and violent behavior toward inmates.

The report cited lapses in the VA’s medical management and security which allowed Mays to get access to insulin — a medicine she was not qualified to administer.

The report stated that better clinical evaluations could have identified the pattern of deaths due to unexplained hypoglycemic events quicker and resulted in fast reporting.

“The bottom line is we must address the abject failures at the Clarksburg VA to ensure a tragedy like this can never happen again,” Capito said. “It will take a unified approach, with everyone’s commitment from the top down, to better serve those who gave so much to our country.”