VA Workers Hoping Inquiry Ends Soon

VA Workers Hoping Inquiry Ends Soon

TUESDAY AUG 26 1975

BY WILLIAM B. TREML News Staff Reporter

Staff members and employes of the Veterans Hospital are anxious for the current investigation of patient deaths to be concluded.

That’s the assessment of the Dr. Duane T. Freier, acting medical chief of staff at the Fuller Rd. facility.

“Everyone is hoping the investigation can be completed shortly so we can get back to work,” Dr. Freier said today. “I’d say the morale is very good but with the hospital census down there’s less to do and our people would like to have this finished."

Dr. Freier and his staff have been the subjects of nationwide attention since a Federal Bureau of Investigation probe of seven patient deaths began Aug. 15. That investigation was requested by Arnold Mouish, director of the VA Hospital, after a check revealed there had been a total of 41 respiratory arrests of patients in a three-week period. Officials believe the deaths may be the work of a killer.

Since the federal officers began interviews in the hospital the normal routine of the institution has been disrupted as new admissions were halted and a tight security clamp was placed on the grounds. Dr. Freier said the patient census is now about 200, and 100 less than the normal number of patients.

The physician said he has no knowledge about the progress of the current probe or when it might end.

And an FBI spokesman in Detroit offered little hope today that there might be a quick conclusion to the investigation.

“We don’t know when we’ll finish,” the federal agent said. “We’re going to talk with anybody and everybody who may have knowledge about this case. This includes staff members and employes at the hospital, patients and visitors. All of this takes time.”

The FBI man said a United Press International story that the investigation-had “widened to neighboring hospitals” was speculation.

“The investigation centers at the VA Hospital," the agent said. “Of course if leads direct us to other places we’ll go there. But there’s no widening."

Officials at both University Hospital and St. Joseph Mercy Hospital denied their institutions are now involved in the federal probe. Spokesmen said there had been no change in drug handling procedures in either hospital since the VA investigation began.

A wire story mention that there are "frequent patient exchanges” between U-M Hospital and the government facility” was labeled inaccurate by a U-M Hospital official.

“There’s no patient-swapping,” the spokesman said. “Occasionally if a VA patient is in need of specialized treatment which we have and their facility does not, the patient will be transferred here. But it’s not a regular practice by any means.”

One Veterans Hospital official said patient morale has not suffered because of the investigation. Mark Gullickson an administrative assistant, said patients generally have been “very optimistic” about the probe.

Dr. Freier said he and his staff are in the process of hiring additional nursing personnel authorized by top VA officials Washington. As many as a score of nurses and nurse’s aides are needed to supervise wards and keep a watch on patients under terms of the new government order.

“Of course there’s always a shortage of registered nurses,” Dr. Freier noted today. “But we’re making contacts and hiring as quickly as possible.”

While FBI agents conduct daily interviews in various conference rooms in the Fuller Rd. hospital, medical technicians in four widely-separated laboratories pore over test tubes and microscopes in attempts to find traces of death-dealing drugs. The technicians are analyzing blood and urine samples from Veterans’ Hospital patients who experienced respiratory arrests during the three-week period now under examination. Two of the tests have already revealed the presence of Pavulon, a muscle-paralyzing drug used for patients who are on breathing machines. Administered to a person not on such machines could bring death through a halting of respiratory functions.

The laboratory tests are being made at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration facilities in Detroit, at U-M Hospital, at Federal Bureau of Investigation laboratories in Washington and at another government building in Denver, Colorado. Results of the test are being forwarded directly to FBI agents. However, the final results of all tests made will not be revealed until the entire investigation is completed, officers say.

One investigator said recently the pre-could last another month.