Identities of 4 Mt. Carmel claims were 'not terminal' revealed
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Attorneys have released the names of four patients given potentially fatal doses of pain medication that Mount Carmel said might have survived if given additional medical treatment. The hospital says they've identified a total of five patients who died under Dr. William Husel's care who might have benefited from more treatment.
Attorneys identified the following patients:
Attorneys for different firms claim the patients weren't terminal. This comes after the hospital identified at least 35 people who were allegedly given excessive doses of narcotic pain medication under the care of former Mount Carmel Dr. Husel. They say 29 of those patients were given a potentially fatal dosage of medications like fentanyl.
Lawyers with Rourke & Blumenthal argue Donald McClung could have potentially survived. The law firm Leeseberg & Valentine argued that Melissa Penix wasn't necessarily brain dead either.
ABC6/FOX28 spoke on the phone Monday with Husel's criminal defense attorney and asked about those five patients identified by the hospital. Attorney Richard Blake said they had not been informed of the identity of these five patients, therefore he isn't able to comment any further.
Mount Carmel released the following statement Friday:
We’re continuing to do everything we can to understand what happened regarding the deaths of patients under the care of Dr. William Husel and to make changes to ensure it never happens again. We remain committed to providing accurate information to our community and colleagues as we learn more through our investigation. As part of that commitment, we have the following information to share:
We continue reviewing the records of all patients who were treated by Dr. Husel and died in the hospital. At this point, we have identified one additional patient who received an excessive and potentially fatal dose of medication ordered by Dr. Husel. As we have done with each of the affected families, we have contacted the loved ones of this patient. This brings the number of patients involved to at least 35, including at least 29 who received a potentially fatal dose of medication ordered by Dr. Husel.
As previously shared, we also have been investigating whether any of the affected patients received excessive doses of pain medication when there was still an opportunity for treatment to improve their immediate condition. We are aware of five cases in which this possibility is a concern, and we are reaching out to the loved ones of these patients to share this information.
These events are heartbreaking, unacceptable and inconsistent with the values and care processes of Mount Carmel. As we work to understand how this happened, we continue to implement meaningful changes to ensure they never happen again. So far, we have: Added a new protocol to set maximum appropriate doses for pain medication in our electronic medical record system; Implemented a new escalation policy for deviations in our pain medication protocols; Restricted the ability to bypass pharmacy review of medication orders; Increased clinician education on standards and practices regarding end-of-life care; Implemented numerous other initiatives to ensure patient medication safety; Initiated a review of our culture of safety initiative to identify what needs to change; and Engaged independent experts who are assisting us with this process.
Our internal investigation is ongoing, and we continue to share information and cooperate fully with authorities, including law enforcement. Providing safe, compassionate, people-centered care remains our highest priority – just as it remains the highest priority for more than 11,000 Mount Carmel colleagues who dedicate their lives every day to the people we serve. We continue to learn from this, and we will improve."
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