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DOSSIER – In this archive photo from January 15, 2019, the main entrance of Mount Carmel West Hospital is shown in Columbus, Ohio. The Ohio hospital system has investigated a doctor accused of prescribing overdoses of painkillers to dozens of patients, which means that five people may have been given excessive doses so that it was still possible to improve their treatment conditions. Mount Carmel Health System, located in the Columbus area, announced Friday, Feb. 22 that it was notifying the families of these patients. (AP Photo / Andrew Welsh Huggins, File)
Columbus, Ohio – Five hospital patients who died after taking doses of potentially fatal painkillers may have received these medications while it was still possible to improve their treatment conditions, a health care system announced Friday. Ohio, while the investigation was continuing.
The Mount Carmel Health System, located in the Columbus area, announced that it was warning families of these five people, who were among dozens of patients given excessive doses prescribed by one of his doctors.
He also found another patient who received a potentially lethal dose, bringing the total to at least 29 patients over several years, mainly at Mount Carmel West Hospital in Columbus. He said that six other patients received doses but that the drug was probably not the cause of these deaths.
The results raised questions as to whether hospital staff misused drugs to hasten death intentionally or illegally without the knowledge of the patient's family.
"These events are heartbreaking, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values and healing processes of Mount Carmel," said CEO Ed Lamb in a statement Friday, echoing the hospital's earlier apology to ensure that situation does not happen again.
The hospital said the overdoses were prescribed by ICU physician William Husel, who was fired in December after Mount Carmel received reports of concern and opened an investigation.
Husel and the hospital now face at least 19 criminal prosecutions for wrongful death, alleging that patients have been killed negligently or intentionally. Some families also wonder if hospital employees have misled them about the seriousness of the patients' condition.
Mount Carmel said it had 23 other employees on leave, including nurses and pharmacists who administered and approved drugs. He also stated that he changed his treatment protocols to prevent similar situations.
Husel had been working on Mount Carmel for five years.
His lawyers have declined to comment on the allegations and are seeking to put an end to the lawsuits in some of the lawsuits filed against him pending the ongoing investigation of local authorities.
The state medical board has suspended its license, but no criminal charges have been announced. The records show that the council has not yet disciplined Husel.
He invoked his right not to incriminate himself when he was questioned before the board of directors, especially when he was asked when he had deliberately ordered excessive doses to end the lives of his patients, according to a council opinion.
Concerned patients identified up to now by relatives or in litigation include men and women treated for various conditions. They were between 39 and 85 years old.
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