Board cites Mount Carmel West, 3 pharmacists
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy has cited the former Mount Carmel West hospital and three pharmacists in an investigation into the deaths of patients who were treated by Dr. William Husel, a former intensive care physician facing 25 counts of murder.
The citations against the pharmacists’ licenses to practice and the former hospital’s license to distribute dangerous drugs involve the high doses of painkillers given to patients.
The cited Mount Carmel license — now held by the emergency department at Mount Carmel’s Franklinton campus — references 28 patients and involves overrides to obtain medications before pharmacy approval, pain control when removing terminal patients from ventilators, and the timely signing of medication orders made verbally.
The three pharmacists at Mount Carmel West are John O’connell, 70, a pharmacy supervisor cited for failure to create or enforce polices; Nathan Kochheiser, 33, cited for verifying high doses of the opioid fentanyl and other drugs for two patients; and Gregory White, 50, cited for verifying high doses of fentanyl and other drugs for three patients. Some of the verifications came after the patients had already been administered the medications.
O’connell, of Clintonville, and Kochheiser, of Mansfield, did not return messages Thursday seeking comment. White, of Dublin, told The Dispatch he had not received notification from the pharmacy board and declined to comment.
The pharmacy board could take action against the licenses up to and including revocation. The licensees also face fines.
They have the opportunity to have hearings before the board takes action.
Husel, 43, of Liberty Township near Dublin, has been indicted by a Franklin County grand jury on charges that he ordered fatal doses of painkillers, primarily fentanyl, for 25 patients.
Hospital investigators determined that 35 of Husel’s patients received excessive doses of painkillers, most of them potentially fatal. Most of the patients were treated in the intensive care unit at Mount Carmel West, though one patient was treated at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital in Westerville.
The doctor has pleaded not guilty and is free after posting a $1 million bond.
In a statement, Mount Carmel Health System said Thursday night it has fully cooperated with the pharmacy board’s investigation and that such citations are common after significant events.