Jeanette White

State social workers are investigating a north Spokane woman after an elderly woman in her care was found so filthy that hospital workers had trouble cleaning her. The patient reportedly had deep bedsores, a urinary tract infection, and crud under her arms and breasts that "couldn't be scraped off in one cleaning," authorities said. "What I think we have here is a situation of serious neglect," said Ben Blake, manager for the state Adult Family Home program run by the state Department of Social and Health Services.

A woman allergic to morphine died after two Spokane doctors approved giving her the pain medicine after surgery, according to a lawsuit. Minnie Pearson, 78, was recovering from abdominal surgery at Deaconess Medical Center when she was given the drug. She died within a half-hour, states the suit filed in Spokane County Superior Court. Before morphine was put in Pearson's IV, her son and daughter told Dr. Steven Beyersdorf she nearly died when given the drug many years earlier, the suit says.

Dr. Henry Foster Jr. says he refuses to waste energy on bitterness. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

A Spokane nursing assistant is being investigated by the state Department of Health after money and clothes were stolen from residents at a South Hill nursing home. Nearly $1,000, clothes and credit cards were among items taken in 33 thefts at the St. Brendan Continuing Care Center, which is run by Sacred Heart Medical Center, according to health department records. Nancy R. Boughter, 21, was fired from St. Brendan's after an internal investigation concluded only she consistently had access to areas where thefts occurred, records show.

It's not too late for Spokane residents to let President Clinton know they disagree with proposed Medicare cuts, the executive director of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging said Tuesday. Even if Republicans manage to push through $270 billion in Medicare cuts, the president still has veto power, Bob Blancato told about 250 people at a Spokane aging conference. "Advocacy may not impact Congress at all," Blancato said. "It may be too late. (But) the president has the last word on this bill."

Enjoying tobacco at the City Ramp Cafe and elsewhere may soon be snuffed out for Tammy Traver and others. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

The Spokane County coroner and the doctor who performs autopsies for him disagree on what caused the death of a 28-year-old man in a jail cell. Forensic pathologist George Lindholm said Wednesday the death certificate filed by Coroner Dexter Amend is so misleading that Lindholm plans to review other death certificates the coroner has filed. "It does not convey what I believe to be the cause of death," Lindholm said. "This to me is not at all precise and to some extent misleading."

Two Spokane doctors have collected signatures from 136 colleagues who want Spokane County Coroner Dexter Amend booted from office. The doctors "strongly endorse" recalling Amend and want to swap the coroner for a medical examiner who is highly trained in death investigation, according to a petition making the rounds at doctors' offices.

A state commission that usually investigates doctors accused of substandard care or misconduct is opening a case on Spokane County's coroner, a retired urologist. While most investigations stem from patient complaints, this one was made by Gov. Mike Lowry.

Unless a family member dies, most people pay no attention to the county coroner. After all, isn't the coroner a behind-the-scenes kind of guy who quietly conducts business in a cluttered office on Broadway?

A retired teacher and a political activist hoping to boot Spokane County Coroner Dexter Amend from office plan to take the first official step this morning. They said they will file paperwork demanding Amend's recall, three weeks after the coroner publicly condemned homosexuality and said only gays engage in sodomy. Amend first made the comments while telling a television reporter that an autopsy revealed murder victim Rachel Carver, 9, was sodomized in the past.

Sacred Heart Medical Center is tightening security over fears that a gunman tried to sneak into the hospital after a gang-related shooting Sunday. "It could be members of the same gang, it could be members of a rival gang. You just never know," said Michael Stultz, the hospital's security director.

The executive director of the Inland Empire Girl Scouts Council is resigning after a year marred by infighting and controversy. A grass-roots organization that wanted Judy Edlund fired is applauding the move, while Girl Scout officials say Edlund is simply leaving to take a better job. "We're real excited for her," said council President Judith Frigon, adding that Edlund wasn't pressured to leave.

In the driver's seat. Pam Popp and her son Reid, 5, explore the cockpit of an F-16 on Saturday. The plane belongs to the Oregon Air National Guard. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

FOR THE REDORD (August 5, 1995): Nine-month-old Ryan Nguyen's doctors did not say his chances of living are slim. His pediatrician said his chances of growing up to be a normal child are small. A headline in Friday's Spokesman-Review indicated otherwise. 1. Love is a full-time job Nghia Nguyen listens to Ryan's lungs with a stethoscope while Darla and her 2-year-old, Austin, watch television. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. For a few hours each day, Ryan can be off his feeding tube and, under his father's supervision, close to his brother. 3. Nghia Nguyen waits with Ryan for a doctor at a Portland hospital. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Two years ago, hantavirus was a rodent-borne infection plaguing the Southwest and mystifying researchers. Now the infamous virus is striking close to home, killing a Yakima man and hospitalizing a Stevens County woman this summer, state health officials announced Thursday.

It takes more than around-the-clock care to keep Baby Ryan alive. It takes a pile of money, too. The tab already has soared far beyond a half-million dollars, not including hefty doctor bills. The meter started running at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, where Ryan was born prematurely Oct. 27. He was there six weeks. The bill topped $181,000. Next stop: Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital in Portland, where doctors took him off kidney dialysis and removed a blockage from his intestines.

Severely injured patients in the Spokane area no longer are guaranteed treatment at their favorite hospital or the one their doctor prefers. Instead, they'll go to the trauma center of the week. At 7 a.m. Tuesday, Spokane's two largest hospitals began taking turns treating trauma patients - one week on, one week off. The plan, which drew strong criticism from the American College of Surgeons, is one of just a few like it in the country.

Spokane Community Mental Health Center will remain the county's top mental health agency for at least a year. Commissioners who favor opening the mental health contract to competitive bidding decided Thursday to delay their plans. "This is a huge contract and anyone who wants to respond to it needs some lead time," said Spokane County Commissioner Steve Hasson.

A Baptist pastor whose 38-year-old wife died in January after exploratory surgery is suing the woman's Spokane obstetrician. Karen Browning, a Shaw Middle School teacher, developed an infection after Dr. Pamela Silverstein perforated her bowel during a laparoscopic procedure, according to the lawsuit. She died three days later on Jan. 16.

Mentally ill people may suffer at the hands of Spokane County commissioners intent on slashing spending, mental health officials warn. Commissioners are considering dropping Spokane Community Mental Health Center as the county's lead mental health service provider and opening the system to other agencies.

Nurses at Spokane's North Side hospital are threatening to demonstrate for pay equal to that of their downtown counterparts. "They're wanting to give us much less," said Dayle Byrnes, a nurse involved in the contract dispute with Holy Family Hospital administrators. If a federal mediator can't settle the tense negotiations next week, nurses plan to hold an informational picket outside the hospital, 5633 N. Lidgerwood.

Susan Wyatt receives a hug from her brother, Michael Wyatt. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Difference of opinion Dexter Amend, right, is having another dispute with the doctors of Pathology Associates Inc., who way the coroner isn't ordering enough autopsies. Photo by Molly O'Hara/The Spokesman-Review