PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. LUIS V. GUTIERREZ Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to thank the witnesses for being here today. I hope that this hearing will give us the opportunity to find out what transpired at the Veterans Affairs medical center in West Los Angeles and Sepulveda. I am deeply disturbed at the reports of veterans being exploited by staff at VA hospitals for research purposes. These are very serious allegations which suggest that doctors put aside their consciences and medical responsibilities to achieve personal gain. Thousands of veterans in this country rely on the VA for medical care and treatment. I recognize that many important medical advances have come from VA medical research. Many veterans welcome the opportunity to participate in medical research programs that offer them the most advanced treatment available. But if informed consent requirements for veteran patients are not respected and researchers are not held accountable for their unethical research practices, VA research should not continue. Much to my dismay, I believe that the VA is in crisis and that the problems identified at West Los Angeles and Sepulveda reflect larger problems. As we know, the Department of Veterans Affairs is facing severe budget constraints. The lack of proper funding has led to the reduction in medical staff at VA hospitals by the thousands. It is not uncommon for a veteran to wait months to see a doctor for an examination. I also understand that some VA hospital administrators are receiving bonuses for eliminating nurses, physician assistants and other medical staff because they are "cutting costs." I am very concerned that the severe budget crisis the VA is facing is responsible for creating a system where mistakes, abuse and consistent inadequate care is the norm for our veterans. In this specific case, if we find that patients were in fact used for research purposes by their doctors without consent or in violation of strict medical regulations, we must hold those doctors accountable. We must also make every effort to ensure that if illegal and unethical violations were committed by medical staff, such crimes must never occur again at any VA facility. But the work must not stop there. Patient care should be our most important priority. Mr. Chairman, the VA has many doctors and nurses who are dedicated to their jobs and the patients they serve. Perhaps these men and women do not receive the recognition they deserve. However, this specific case should serve as a wake-up call for the entire system. Our VA health care system is failing our veterans. More money, more programs, more oversight and more dedication to our veterans is desperately needed. This transcript may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission. Transcript produced by BURRELLE'S INFORMATION SERVICES CBS NEWS April 15, 1999 48 HOURS DAN RATHER: (Voiceover) 48 HOURS, we take you there. (Footage of Shalmah Prince; ambulance; hospital) Announcer: (Voiceover) When Shalmah Prince got sick, she went to the hospital to be treated. Ms. SHALMAH PRINCE: It was frightening. (Footage of hospital; Shalmah) Announcer: (Voiceover) But instead, they experimented on her. Mr. GASTON COGSDELL: We trusted the doctor. Ms. PRINCE: Did they tell me any of the risk? No. (Footage of Shalmah; documents) Announcer: (Voiceover) She says her life was ruined. Ms. PRINCE: To me, experiments were something the Nazis did. (Footage of Santana family in cemetery; photo of Joseph Santana; Maria Santana and Erin Moriarty; documents; gravestone) Announcer: (Voiceover) And the Santanas say what happened to their brother was even worse. Erin Moriarty investigates. Did he take the ultimate risk without even knowing it? Ms. MARIA SANTANA: They are responsible for my brother's death. (Footage of Susan Spencer and David McLoughlin with paperwork; close-up of paperwork with text highlighted: 2,280,000 present balance; video still of Bruce Diamond; photo of Richard Borison; machine with pills; person counting money) Announcer: (Voiceover) Plus... SUSAN SPENCER: (Voiceover) What is this $2.28 million? Mr. DAVID McLOUGHLIN: (Voiceover) Checking account. Announcer: (Voiceover) These two doctors got rich by running phony drug experiments. Dr. BRUCE DIAMOND: It was almost like an addiction to see how much you can make. (Footage of artwork at auction; photo of Borison; blueprint of castle) Announcer: (Voiceover) How rich? He was building a castle. Mr. McLOUGHLIN: It was gonna have a moat. (Footage of blood pressure measuring device; Bill and Marion Hatcher) Announcer: (Voiceover) Their patients paid a high price for their high living. SPENCER: And you trusted them? Mr. BILL HATCHER: One hundred percent. (Footage of Spencer; Diamond in prison; cell door being closed; Alain Lareau; syringe; documents) Announcer: (Voiceover) Susan Spencer reports they almost got away with it. And this homeless man has been in more than 10 drug studies. Mr. ALAIN LAREAU: There's no other way you can go out and work and make that kind of money that fast. (Footage of document; Lareau; Troy Roberts; pills; sign: Experiment in progress; medical equipment; photo of Joseph Santana; footage of Shalmah) Announcer: (Voiceover) So what could be wrong with that? Troy Roberts has the story. Shocking abuse in human testing. Ultimate Risk. (48 HOURS opening footage) WIRED ERIN MORIARTY: What does it take to get all these drug remedies to your pharmacy? You may be surprised and disturbed by some of the sacrifices that are being made for the sake of medical progress. Good evening. I'm Erin Moriarty. Dan Rather's on assignment. The benefits of all these medicines and treatments are indisputable. But there's growing evidence that the people being used in vital research to develop all these drugs could be at risk, even the ultimate risk. 48 HOURS conducted a six-month investigation of questionable practices in human testing. Tonight, we'll document cases of dangerous abuse, hospitals doing experiments on patients who thought they'd be getting treatment. And then there's the money, lucrative drug company payments that can tempt some corrupt doctors into putting the most vulnerable among us at risk. We begin tonight with Peter Van Sant and one desperate volunteer who claims he never knew what he was walking into. Unidentified Man #1: You got it OK? You ready? Man #1: OK. (Footage of Dan Kemp standing with help of two men) PETER VAN SANT: (Voiceover) It looked like a medical miracle: paralyzed people standing on their own two legs... Mr. KEMP: Ooh. Unidentified Man #2: How does it feel, Dan? Mr. KEMP: Ooh, feels vertical. (Vintage footage of Sam Khawam walking up stairs; Peter Van Sant and Sam watching footage) VAN SANT: (Voiceover)...and then doing the unimaginable, walking, even climbing stairs. A paralyzed man is walking on his own two feet. It's—it's amazing. Mr. SAM KHAWAM: It is. (Photos of Sam; vintage footage of Sam walking down stairs; Sam walking; footage of Veterans Administration Medical Center) VAN SANT: (Voiceover) Sam Khawam was a 22-year-old with a promising engineering career when he was left paralyzed by a stray bullet. Several months after his accident, he became one of the first volunteers in an experimental functional electrical stimulation program, FES. Mr. KHAWAM: (Voiceover) It was like the step on the moon. VAN SANT: (Voiceover) It's a study that began in 1982 at the Cleveland Veterans Administration hospital with the hopes of creating artificial walking for paralyzed people. Mr. KHAWAM: (Voiceover) You hear that there was no hope for you. And to see that working for me then was-was remarkable. Dr. E. BYRON MARSOLAIS: (From vintage footage) We have proven feasibility. (Footage of E. Byron Marsolais; vintage footage of Sam on stairs) VAN SANT: (Voiceover) The lead physician of the project, the man who put Sam back on his feet, is Dr. E. Byron Marsolais. Dr. MARSOLAIS: (From vintage footage) That's the muscle that we want. It goes right down here into the femur. (Vintage footage of Marsolais demonstrating functional electronic stimulation; Sam; photo of Marsolais, woman and Sam; vintage footage of Sam standing in front of crowd) VAN SANT: (Voiceover) Dr. Marsolais implanted thin steel wires in the leg muscles of volunteers and then sent electricity through the wires, causing paralyzed muscles to move. Mr. KHAWAM: (Voiceover) We were going to walk again, so we—you know, we trusted him. VAN SANT: (Voiceover) Dr. Marsolais took his artificial walking subjects on the road, and Sam was his biggest star. Sam Khawam is now back in his wheelchair, unable to take a single step. And he claims that the wires which gave life to his paralyzed legs now threaten his life. Sam and several others among the 63 people who volunteered for the FES program at this hospital now claim they weren't properly warned that the implanted wires could be hazardous to their health. Mr. KHAWAM: Now I would've never, ever joined that program had I known that I would ever even come close to these kind of infections. Surgeries like from there-had two surgeries there. VAN SANT: So these are all related to infections. |