This post was originally published on this site
The lead prosecutor in a prospective criminal drug diversion case can’t say today whether the case involves deaths, but he says it involves dozens of victims.
Jackson County Chief Deputy District Attorney Patrick Green is leading the District Attorney’s (DA) investigation into whether crimes were committed tied to allegations of drug diversion at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center (Asante) in Medford.
He says today, “It’s going to go down as the most complicated case our office has ever handled.”
Green says the number of victims, witnesses and documents make the case complex, and more victims still could surface, “If anyone believes they are a victim and hasn’t talked to law enforcement should contact law enforcement, not our office; we don’t conduct investigations. It has to be filtered through the police department first. They do the investigation, then they forward that to us.”
The DA said last week it received results of Medford Police Department’s (MPD) investigation “into the theft and misuse of controlled substances by a former Asante nurse that resulted in serious infections in numerous patients.”
MPD has said it started investigating the allegation December 2023 when Asante reported possible drug diversion there. Central Point-based Idiart Law Firm filed a civil lawsuit in February, seemingly during MPD’s investigation, that accused a now-former Asante nurse of replacing liquid pain medication, fentanyl, with tap water, alleging it led to infection of a patient who died within 30 days of his 2022 admission to Asante.
DA says its review of MPD’s investigation involves tens of thousands of documents, including medical records and interviews with dozens of witnesses.
Yesterday, NewsWatch 12 reported that David deVilleneuve says his law firm is investigating 74 client cases, besides a new case that surfaced this week from a possible client who said Asante had contacted it just this week to disclose that it had a family member who died who could have been adversely affected by infection there.
Green is reviewing the formal police investigation, thanking MPD, “for its diligent and meticulous work on this complex and expansive investigation. I want to assure the community that I am working hard to review the results of the investigation expeditiously.”
Green, who is a political candidate for the Jackson County District Attorney position, said, “If charges are filed, I will remain the lead prosecutor and assign two other senior prosecutors as co-counsel to assist with the prosecution. I share the community’s concern with this case and will ensure it remains a top priority going forward.”
He says the case is very complex, without formal charges filed so far as his team examines the investigatory results.
Green says he understands that public trust relies on the DA, police and justice system just as it does on a reliable and responsible medical system for its health care in this matter.
“Beyond the tragedy for victims’ families in this case, also just the unfortunate part of the ramification in a case like this is it erodes people’s trust in our local healthcare system. I’ve heard people make stray comments when I’ve been around people in public, ‘You know, when I’m sick I want to go to (competing Medford hospital) Providence.’ I think that’s one of the unfortunate things about this case,” said Green.
Green says that trust is a priority for him, and it applies to the justice system, too, “We want people to have faith in the system that it’s being handled the right way, just like they should have faith that when they go to the hospital or their loved one goes to the hospital that they’re going to be taken care of the right way and not be placed in greater harm.”