Provide names of other journalists involved.
Patricia Wen
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
11/11/2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
David Kwiatkowski, an athletic, outgoing 33-year-old radiologic technologist, had a double life: To his colleagues, he seemed a hard-working man who enjoyed specializing in cardiac procedures, but behind their backs, he was stealing injectable narcotic painkillers from procedure rooms and, to avoid detection, replacing them with a dummy syringe, filled with saline solution, that he had previously used. He carried Hepatitis C, and traces of his virus were left on the used syringes. Those syringes were used on patients by unknowing doctors. He worked as a “traveller” in his profession, working in 19 hospitals in eight states over eight years. The final tally is still not known, but by November, health officials discovered 39 patients in four states infected with his strain of Hepatitis C — and in the past month, the total has reached 44 patients. His scheme resulted in one of the worst medical crimes in the nation’s history. Patricia Wen’s investigation for the Boston Globe attempted to look at the man behind these crimes, and how this man – dubbed the “serial infector” – was able to get away with this illicit behavior for so long when clear signs existed early in his career that he was a drug thief, and likely an addict. She relied on extensive use of public records, as well as dozens of interviews with those who knew him. She travelled to Michigan where he grew up and where he started showing the earliest signs of substance abuse problems. She found that time after time, over the course of eight years, hospitals turned a blind eye to the long-term danger posed by this deceptively charming technician, allowing him to move from state to state as he adopted more elaborate methods of stealing drugs. When he was finally arrested this past summer while working at Exeter Hospital in New Hampshire, it was only because public health officials discovered clusters of patients there contracting the same strain of Hepatitic C – and began investigating. Wen’s investigation also showed how this medical technician, despite descending into the depths of addiction, still kept getting work. Her investigation took a close look at a growing niche industry in hospitals: The rise of the “traveller” hired by national staffing agencies. Kwiatkowski took advantage of the plethora of short-term assignments available to him nationwide through these agencies, counting, as he moved from job to job, on his well-placed faith that angry former employers were too harried, or legally intimidated, to try to derail his career with damning references. They simply rushed him to the exit door and searched for a new hire. The story is also designed to look at the human side of addiction, and how easily a person can go for the therapeutic use of painkillers to additive obsession. The reporter found that Kwiatkowski, around his late teen years, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and used painkillers to treat abdominal pain. He also frequently pointed to this auto-immune disorder, affecting the intestines, to explain his various early encounters with the law or behavioral problems.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Wen filed dozens of Freedom of Information Act requests, and they went to state regulatory agencies overseeing his profession, and hospitals, as well as police departments and courthouses. They were key to the power of this investigative, narrative piece. Given that this case is part of a criminal probe, as well as numerous civil claims, many people involved in the case were reluctant to speak publicly, or at all, to Wen. By obtaining numerous public records, though diligence and persistence, Wen was able to get at critical information that she stitched together to help produce this powerful piece. The public-records requests also had to be issued with knowledge of what institutions, based on federal or their state laws, had to comply. For instance, a major boost in the investigation came when the University of Michigan hospital — as a publicly-supported hospital, as opposed to a private institution — had to comply with the Globe’s request for many of Kwiatkowski’s personnel records. That enabled the Globe to trace the origins of his drug-stealing behavior to the years while still living near his hometown of Michigan and before he became a busy “traveller.” Wen also travelled to Michigan ultimately, and went to courthouses to personally look up evidence of his substance abuse or drug-addicted behaviors. Only by personally using a computer database in a local courthouse that covers his hometown did she realize he had drunk-driving arrests early on, and through contacts with the local police department, she learned that he once filed a report complaining that his personal stash of painkiller had been stolen, a report he wanted to file to please a doctor in order to get a re-fill. The public records were also invaluable in determining who to further interview. For example, the University of Michigan hospital records gave some names of supervisors and co-workers who reported his alleged drug thefts, and Wen contacted them to provide a more detailed, vivid sense of his early stealth behavior.
Explain types of human sources used.
As mentioned above, many people in Kwiatkowski’s life were fearful to speak publicly — and only spoke if granted anonymity. However, through old-fashioned gumshoe reporting, Wen ultimately spoke to neighbors, childhood friends, former girlfriends, former colleagues, police officers, prosecutors, landlords, as well as baseball coaches and teammates. Repeated efforts were made to reach his parents and siblings – including writing letters sent to their homes – but they declined to be interviewed. Kwiatkowski, on advice of his lawyer, also declined to be interviewed while he is awaiting trial.
Results:
This investigative piece has not led to any specific action by lawmakers, yet, however has shined a bright light on hospital practices that allowed Kwiatkowski to perpetrate his crimes. Numerous reforms are being considered, at the state and national level, to encourage more information-sharing between hospitals about troubled employees, such as Kwiatkowski. They would largely attempt to mimic what is in place already to track disciplinary actions against professions such as doctors and nurses. Some discussion is also underway to lessen the fear among hospitals that they would be sued for defamation if they provided an honest, negative appraisal of an exiting worker.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No corrections or clarifications issued for this story. Since the publication of the article, Kwiatkowski was officially indicted in federal court for his crimes, and five new cases of Hepatitis C infection, linked to him, have been discovered – four were at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and one at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Presbyterian in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Public health officials are still hoping to test several thousand more patients, who were exposed to Kwiatkowski, and indicate more infections are likely to be uncovered.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Public records — including the persistence to keep asking for them when initially denied or ignored — are critical to a story like this, as well as the importance of face-to-face interviews. Many of the best interviews were done in person, knocking on an ex-girlfriend’s door or a neighbor’s door. Given the legal sensitivity of his case, few would give open and thoughtful interviews without a reporter taking the time to show their face.