FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 14, 2020
[CHARLESTON, W.VA.] United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts, a Vietnam combat veteran and Chair of the AFL-CIO’s Veterans Committee, issued the following statement today:
“The admission by a former nursing assistant that she murdered patients under her care at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Clarksburg, W.Va., is shocking and beyond comprehension. We grieve for all those lost, and we send our prayers to their families. While justice may finally be coming in this case, nothing can bring back their loved ones.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs must get to the bottom of how this could happen, and establish protocols so that it can never happen again. I am very concerned that funding for our veterans’ health care system, including the VA hospitals, has continued to face cuts from Washington politicians at the same time that thousands of Vietnam veterans need health care the most.
“I urge West Virginia’s congressional delegation to demand Congress restore adequate funding for America’s veterans. They put their lives on the line for all of us. For them to be subject to unspeakable tragedies like this is unacceptable.”
###
