Hospital of Death

What do a 44-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman have in common? They were both treated by a doctor who is now accused of being a serial killer. As more than 30 patients were killed, Mount Carmel West Hospital barely blinked an eye. It was only after several complaints flooded in that administrators decided to take a look at what was happening. An investigation uncovered a secret; Dr. William Husel was over-prescribing opioids to patients in lethal doses.

Troy Allison was one of the patients that received Fentanyl. He was enjoying a night in with his wife, Christine, when he began having trouble breathing. Emergency services were called and he was transported to Mount Carmel West Hospital. Christine followed in their car, and as she made her way into the emergency room, hoping for information on her husband, she was shocked to be told he had passed away. It made no sense until she was told later that Troy had been given a lethal dose, more than 1000 micrograms, of Fentanyl for pain. Her husband had been unconscious and unable to request or approve the medicine, Christine says they never asked her. Nor did they tell her what happened until after Christmas 2018. After an internal investigation had begun because there were lawsuits pouring in. One of which came from the husband of a victim.

"When the doctor came out, he said she was brain dead — her heart wasn't working, Of course, of course, I wanted my wife to survive," David Austin recounted the story of his wife, Bonnie, and how she died. Like Allison, she had been given a higher than normal dose of opioids without permission. Bonnie would die in the hospital, just over half an hour after arriving there. Like Allison, At 64, she may have had a few issues but none that should have been deadly. A simple truth would not be acknowledged until the law forced it to be; there was a killer on the loose.

What did Allison and Austin have in common? They were both treated by Dr. William Husel. Christine Allison said that during her brief interaction with Husel, she found him to be understanding and compassionate. Yet, he had failed to relay what the cause of her husband's death was. Same goes for David Austin. Neither thought to question the doctor as the shock of their loss was setting in and family had to be informed of the tragedy. It was the perfect way for someone to get away with murder.

Yet according to many experts, the hospital had safeguards in place that could and should have prevented these tragedies, which now total 38. The process should have been, Dr. Husel put the order for Fentanyl into the pharmacy. The pharmacist should have caught on that something was off about the order and questioned the doctor. If that failed, the nurse who picked up and administered the medicine could have flagged it with her supervisor. What went wrong?

For one, it is alleged that quite a few times, a pharmacist did question why such a high dose was needed, only to be overruled by Husel. Records indicate that Husel was questioned in at least five cases and that the Doctor remained steadfast that he needed the exact amount requested. And there is another little wrinkle in this case that makes it worthy of a TV movie.

One of the nurses who administered a lethal dose of the drug just happens to be married to Husel. Mariah Bird has been named a defendant in one lawsuit and investigations are ongoing as to whether or not she played a role in more than that. A husband and wife working together is nothing new, but when one is accused of murder, it does raise eyebrows. Husel and Bird married in 2017, and investigators are looking to see if there are any deaths reported in that time.

Husel was suspended in December 2018, and eventually, let go from the hospital as the internal investigation began revealing a pattern of deaths and abuse of authority. Ohio's Medical Board revoked Husel's medical license on January 25, 2019. While these steps are good, they do not begin to ease the pain and suffering that the hospital administrators allowed to unfold before their eyes.