Nurses say they gave fentanyl doses to same patient 20 minutes apart at Husel's direction
Two former intensive care nurses at Mount Carmel Health testified Wednesday that in 2017 they each administered large doses of fentanyl to the same patient about 20 minutes apart at the direction of former doctor William Husel.
The second nurse testified in the murder trial of former doctor William Husel that he was unaware that his colleague had earlier given the same dosage of 1,000 micrograms to the patient.
Both dosages were prescribed by Husel, who was the attending physician at the time for Ryan Hayes, 39, an overdose patient who was considered comatose during his two-day admittance to the hospital.
Tyler Springer testified that on April 3, 2017, he had no idea that 20 minutes earlier, his nurse colleague Troy Rudman had administered the same dosage to Hayes.
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'The highest amount of medication that I had given'
Springer testified that he recalled the Hayes case as memorable, without reviewing medical records, because "it was the highest amount of medication that I had (ever) given."
Springer also testified that he recorded Hayes' pain as '0' on a 1-10 scale for several hours leading up to the fentanyl dosage. During the removal of Hayes' breathing tube at about 11:15 p.m., Springer said he had changed the pain score to '10,' anticipating that removing the breathing tube would be uncomfortable.
"I anticipated that he had pain. I noticed that he was turning blue," he said.
Previous doctors have testified that fentanyl, if used at all, would be administered in smaller dosages over a period of time for pain relief only — and not in one intravenous dosage as Husel had prescribed, in this case twice.
On cross-examination, Diane Menashe, one of Husel's defense attorneys, asked if Springer noted that Springer injected the fentanyl in a single dosage prior to logging the highest possible pain score.
She asked Springer if he would ever assign a patient a pain score if he didn't believe it was warranted. Springer agreed that he would only do so if warranted.
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Nurses testify about working with Husel
Menashe asked both nurses if they like Husel, and if he was responsive to change and easy to work with. Both replied yes.
"Is it fair to say that he was approachable? Accessible? Willing to take the time to take questions and to answer them?" Rudman replied yes to each.
Rudman had worked with Husel on more than 50 palliative exhubations, where patients breathing tubes are removed, and that in each case he was there in his role as a rapid response nurse.
"Any time I was called it was for some emergency," Rudman said.
He testified that he frequently overrode the monitoring and dispensing machines, bypassing oversight by pharmacists, because of the emergency status and at Husel's direction.
Menashe asked both nurses if they recognized whether different doctors have different techniques. Both agreed.
Background of William Husel case
Both nurses were among a dozen or so employees eventually fired by Mount Carmel in the wake of the Husel scandal, which a hospital investigation determined involved the deaths of more than 30 patients. The two nurses are still licensed but now working in different fields.
Husel was initially charged with 25 counts of murder by then-Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien. But Gary Tyack, a Democrat elected in 2020 to replace Republican O'Brien, directed the withdrawal before trial of 11 counts, leaving the current 14 counts the former doctor is now facing at trial.
Testimony indicated Hayes had arrived at Mount Carmel in full cardiac arrest after being found in a bathtub. His son drove from North Carolina that day and, en route, agreed to the removal of his father's breathing tube.
Nurse testifies about patient Sandra Chard's pain
In afternoon testimony, Stephanie LeChard, another former night shift nurse at the hospital, recalled giving an 80-year-old patient a 1,000-microgram dose of fentanyl and being told by colleagues that it was appropriate.
"Dr. Husel told me to draw it up in a different room," LeChard said ... "just for the comfort of the family."
Asked what Husel meant by that, defense attorneys objected, stating that LeChard's answer would be speculation.
LeChard testified that the patient was "gurgling loudly, grimacing in pain and had a tear running down her cheek," and discussed the agony her family was going through.
Shortly after administering the dosage, she said, "The patient looked more comfortable... a little more relaxed."
The patient, Sandra Castle, died shortly after being given the single, intravenous dose.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former nurses: William Husel ordered 2 large fentanyl doses
