Becker's ASC Review

117 HEALTHCARE NEWS Trinity Health, Mount Carmel must face libel claims, court rules By Alia Paavola S everal healthcare workers terminated by Mount Carmel Health System after an investigation into the overdose deaths of intensive care unit patients can proceed with some of their defamation claims against the health system, its CEO and parent organization Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health, a federal court has ruled. The lawsuit came after an investigation into the alleged actions of William Husel, DO, who was accused of prescribing fatal fentanyl doses to patients and indicted on 25 counts of murder. The lawsuit claims statements released by Mount Carmel in Columbus, Ohio, Trinity Health and former Mount Carmel CEO Edward Lamb about the investigation and people involved were defama- tory toward the nine plaintiffs. The defendants asked the court to dismiss the entire suit, arguing that any statements released should be analyzed as group libel and not be considered to be about the plaintiffs. The nine plaintiffs argue that their cause for filing the suit is not based on group libel, but even if it was, the claims should proceed. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs included 20 statements made by the defendants that they consider defamatory. The court said most of the statements do not make any reference to the plaintiffs and are too deficient to qualify as defamation claims. But several statements made by the defendants were about a plaintiff and can be pursued, the court said. "We are pleased that the court granted our Motion to Dismiss almost all the Plaintiffs' defamation claims against us. We are confident the remaining claims will also be dismissed," a Trinity Health spokesperson told Becker's Hospital Review. n 4 physicians suing their former employers By Laura Dyrda A n Iowa physician filed a lawsuit against Mitchell County Regional Health Center, claiming wrongful termination and breach of contract, accord- ing to a report from the Globe Gazette. Four details: 1. Mark Haganman claimed he was fired Nov. 3 from Osage, Iowa-based Mitchell County after raising concerns about a plan to test COVID-19 patients developed by the hospital's CEO, Shelley Russell, and another physician. Dr. Haganman alleges the hospital's plan violated state law and public health directives, according to the report. He filed the lawsuit March 8. 2. Dr. Haganman worked with community leaders to develop another plan to test patients for COVID-19 and aimed to fund it through philanthropy. 3. After hearing of Dr. Haganman's firing, 1,400 people signed a petition for the hospital to bring him back, and some attended a virtual hospital board meet- ing to express their displeasure. 4. Mitchell County disputed the lawsuit's claims in an email to the Globe Ga- zette, stating that they are unfounded. n Why next flu season may be severe By Gabrielle Masson L ow levels of flu activity amid the COVID-19 pandemic have made it more challenging for experts developing next year's flu shot to predict which strains will predominate next winter, Politico reported March 25. Without a strong enough vaccine, the U.S. could experience a severe flu season. COVID-19 safety measures helped nearly eradicate this year's season, with a flu hospitalization rate for 2020-21 of just 0.7 per 100,000 people, the lowest rate since the CDC began collecting such data in 2005. Without COVID-19 precautions, there could be new flu strains circulating that scientists didn't anticipate, said Cody Meissner, MD, infectious disease spe- cialist and pediatrician at Boston-based Tus Children's Hospital and panelist for the FDA's independent vaccine advisory committee. "We may have a combination of low public health measures at the popu- lation level with a low effectiveness vaccine," said Lawrence Gostin, a global health law professor at Washington, D.C.-based Georgetown University. "So you might have a raging flu season next year." e low levels of the virus this season were still enough for the FDA commit- tee to pick strains for the upcoming vaccine, said Paul Offit, MD, a vaccine expert at Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania and member of the FDA advisory panel. Dr. Offit said he is not worried about the vaccine for next fall. Mr. Gostin said pandemic fatigue could have people ditching masking and social distancing just in time for the flu, refer- ring back to the 1918 flu pandemic. "What happened was the roaring '20s," Mr. Gostin told Politico. "People started congregating, mingling, hugging, kiss- ing. All the things they missed. … at's what's likely to happen this fall and that makes the influenza virus very happy." n

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