Two pharmaceutical companies facing charges of supporting off label prescribing: for the elderly

(review the case is a week away now)

Less than two months away from the elder abuse criminal case against three Kern Valley Healthcare District employees, California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., "Jerry Brown" announced just today that California is part of a 520 million dollar settlement against a London based company for promoting off label use of "Seroquel" an anti-psychotic drug, in the elderly with dementia and Alzheimers.

AstraZeneca is accused of encouraging the use of these antipsychotics in the aged and elderly, not approved by the FDA. The years that these practices were supposedly in effect were from 2001 to 2006.
(Gee, that 2006 number certainly stands out, as the KVHD elder abuse case revolves around the use of antipsychotics on it's elderly patients which may have lead to an increase morbidity rate.)
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Abbott Laboratories was doing the same thing with it's liver munching, all around player, Depakote. The use of this drug in the elderly is not approved by the FDA and off label prescribing was encouraged, say federal officials who are on this case.

The timing couldn't be better for a defense

With two large companies under the microscope right now for promoting the utilization of antipsychotics like risperdal, Seroquel, Depakote, for use on combative elderly patients, as these are used more for mood adjustments.

But the side effects are great and the older the person the more likely damage could occur and many safeguards would have to be put in place to ensure the drugs were monitored.

As we know the nursing home business isn't making people rich, and some are barely staffed, so many short cuts are taken to provide care even though the laws state that such treatment is both lacking in dignity and sometimes harmful.

Putting patients who are active, yet not quite coherent, on antipsychotics is called chemical restraining. This is used in the cases of certain classifications of mental illness, they are the very same drugs said to treat everybody. (party drugs?)

This is why the Kern River Valley Hospital has a few dates in the Kern County court, and the preliminary hearing will be coming up on June 23, and the judge will decide if the Department of justice has done it's job and proven such abuse.

But it's not only prosecutors looking at this case, it's the defense, and the families, and certainly the liability company for the hospital.

Whose fault is it anyway? Could a couple good attorneys prove that considering the drug companies were out there promoting the use of these drugs in the elderly, maybe Dr. Pormir was listening, and considering it might be a good idea.

These drugs could possibly make some of these residents tortured in mind and body, feel better. What is wrong with that?

Only one thing: The FDA didn't approve it. So the doctor is risking his own judgment on these drugs. But again these companies may provide a discount as the use of these drugs could in some ways be considered a "test subject group" maybe?

Who is the cause of what happened or do we really even know what happened here at our skilled nursing facility. We do know as a fact, they were short staffed. We do know a year before the chemical restraining occurred, a Director of Nursing, Todd Elkins, left employment over short staffing and pay cuts.

It is not confirmed, but Elkins supposedly works for the agency, Public Health, which surveys these nursing homes to make sure they are following the laws.

And we know there was a lack of ability on the part of the hospital CEO, Pam Ott, to be able to knowledgeably watch over and make sure things were done correctly as she had no credentials that weren't purchased on the back of a pack of matches.

Nurses complained, people were afraid to lose their jobs, but a new way of dealing with patients came about in August of 2006. The use of Depakote, Seroquel, Risperdal, as well as other antidepressants and antipsychotics. The new KVHD nursing center practice.

Who is really responsible?

There are so many people you could point fingers at in this case, but I think we will see them pointed toward pharmaceutical companies as well as possibly the only one that could be prosecuted, the leader who knew there were issues with the drugs, but did nothing to stop it: Pam Ott.

The rest are all contributors, well, except for the board of directors who had the information. Only two took action, the rest hid the truth from the community until today. They would be good for obstruction charges.

Nurses who had careers and plans for retirement found their lives spinning and they found they were doing things they didn't want to do.

But attorney's make all the difference

Defendants Ott and Gwen Hughes have a couple local lawyers from Bakersfield, defending them in the criminal matter, and then there is the long story about how the civil cases are being paid for. Don't ask just vote yes on a multi million dollar bond for the hospital as they are not very good at budgeting, just short staffing.

Enter Donald Etra successful lawyer with Ralph Nader for many years. He stepped into the drama in March when the case was postponed until June so the new attorney for Dr. Pormir could gather up the evidence and decide on a defense.

I had wondered where Etra came from so suddenly and then I heard that Pormir also got another attorney, a pal from college, William Howard Ginsburg, to take on his case with the state medical board.

Dr. Pormir would protect her

In the two years I knew Dr. Pormir he believed strongly in Pam Ott's constant carrot dangling of a new hospital and ER. He backed what she said and did in regards to the 2006 bond measure "m" for... you fill in the blanks.

I do not believe he will tell the authorities all he knows about her and what she did in response to the disaster which took place under her leadership. With questionable deaths, the mistreatment of families with relatives living in the nursing center, Ott needed to be brought out into the sunshine, but was stopped by friends, like Dr. Pormir, radio jock Bob Jamison, and Brad Armstrong.

How strong is the DOJ?

How strong is Jerry Brown and his organization up the state? I get these press releases and white collar crime pays, as he has made some money for the office.

What has he done to foster a sense of justice to the people of this state? Did the Anna Nicole Smith prosecution make any of you feel proud to be an American?

I can tell you the state has missed many good witnesses and found some pleasure in making up their own story in this case.

How will they do against Donald Etra and William Ginsburg though?

Ginsburg hit the limelight when he became Monica Lewinsky's attorney, as the whole country was wrapped around this warped political attack led by a better known attorney, Kenneth Starr.

I was told Pormir went to school with Ginsburg, but that would be odd as one is an attorney and another did much of his medical schooling in his home country of Iran.

Pormir will never testify and he will not rat out Ott either. He will likely with two attorneys on his arms, walk away unscathed.

Many families who lost a member to the KVHD nursing center, will not be happy to hear of recent developments.

And the civil cases are on hold until the court decides if the state has enough evidence to prosecute.

Ott never even was put in jail, as the others were, and she didn't get any bail either. The judge didn't see her as threatening. Ott had that charm at one time and lauded it over this community only to poison us all.

My predictions: the psychic reporter

Both Dr. Pormir and Gwen Hughes are slapped on the wrist, with Hughes getting a few lesser charges and Pormir just promising to be good.

Ott is the wild card. She is the main reason this case should have taken place. Along with several people who aided and abetted her, including the local radio station.

But I see a defense from the two cases cited above. And so do Donald and Bill.

Justice will likely turn into "just us" again

The people that tried to stop this were hurt over and over again, the family members, I apologize that there couldn't have been a better system in place who cared about the elderly and infirm: but there isn't.

The attorney general slash governor to be, will walk away from us as if we never existed, and then sleep at night with the help of some off label barbiturate prescription.

And fired employees, reputations lost, will try to scratch this off their resume and get employed somewhere where nobody knows about what happened here in the Kern River Valley. Our dirty little secrets...

Press control and click on link to open:
http://www.kern.courts.ca.gov/home.aspx