Kim Barker

Michael DeRyan, an autistic man who's worn down the inside soles of his tennis shoes by rocking back and forth like a pendulum, was released Wednesday from Eastern State Hospital. But DeRyan, 36, didn't go far. He moved only two miles, to Lakeland Village, a home for the developmentally disabled. DeRyan has lived at the mental hospital for 16 months. His mother and siblings have been fighting for his release, arguing he doesn't belong at Eastern.

A 61-year-old Spokane psychologist has been charged with unprofessional conduct for having a sexual relationship with a client more than 12 years ago. But Phyllis B. Mast maintains that the six-month relationship happened before she was a psychologist and after she stopped counseling the female client. A hearing before the state Examining Board of Psychology is set for Oct. 10.

The fight to get Michael DeRyan out of Eastern State Hospital heated up after he was injured by staff when he tried to leave his ward without permission. His face was scraped and bruised June 20. An outside investigator found that Eastern staff did nothing wrong.

Washington state doctors are encouraging women to be tested for HIV early in their pregnancies. If the virus is detected early and treated with AZT, the transmission of HIV to the unborn child can be dramatically reduced.

Lakeland Village, a state institution for the developmentally disabled, will lose millions of dollars in government money unless it provides its residents with more active services. The Medical Lake center, which has 286 residents, didn't meet all the conditions required to receive Medicaid payments in its annual survey. Its Medicaid provider agreement will be terminated Dec. 1 unless problems are fixed.

St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute can't find rooms for some patients who are ready to leave the hospital. Those patients are often still on ventilators or using tracheal tubes. They still need help, but not the intensive help available at St. Luke's. Most need a nursing home with specialized care. But nursing homes in Spokane aren't taking the patients. One was sent to Missoula. Two others will soon leave for Seattle. "The nursing homes in this town will not accept them," said Debbie Hanks, St. Luke's administrator. "To be honest, I think it's because of the expense of the care."

Tom McCormick, with stepdaughter Paladie, lost his job at St. Luke's after 10 years. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Wendell Durner, who survived esophageal cancer, addresses other survivors and doctors Tuesday at Sacred Heart. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Dick Oakes, a former firefighter, knew what to do to save his home near Tum Tum. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Spokane hospital officials were all smiles last month when they announced plans for a new cancer treatment center promising the latest in technology and affiliation with one of the world's best-known cancer clinics, Fred Hutchinson in Seattle. But they didn't mention the center would compete head-on with another in the works for nearly two years by local doctors and a for-profit national physician management group.

Bowing to pressure in the health care industry, St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute has cut about 5 percent of its work force. The center, at 711 S. Cowley St., announced Friday that it has eliminated 24 of about 470 staff positions. "This is not easy," said Debbie Hanks, administrator at St. Luke's.

A Spokane man drowned this week after hopping into the Pacific Ocean when he stopped for gas near Long Beach, Wash. Timothy DeRyan, 35, a computer consultant who's been trying to get his autistic brother released from Eastern State Hospital, died Monday.

An autistic man will stay in Eastern State Hospital indefinitely - even though the mental hospital provides no services specifically for people with autism. Michael DeRyan, 36, was sent to Eastern State by Sacred Heart Medical Center about 15 months ago, after he lashed out in an adult family home. Since then, his family and friends have tried to get him released to another home. They say Eastern isn't appropriate for DeRyan, who likes to move around freely. He was injured last month when staff members restrained him as he tried to leave his ward.

Surveillance cameras captured the scene at the U.S. Bank Valley branch during a 1996 robbery. Workers expressed relief Wednesday when three men were convicted in connection with the crime. Fiel/The Spokesman-Review

Representatives from four Spokane hospitals unveiled plans Tuesday to build a regional cancer center offering patients the latest in treatment technology. Backing the project are doctors, educators and Inland Northwest Health Services. The center will provide outpatient treatment, perform cancer research and educate the community from a yet-to-be-determined spot, proponents said. Inpatient treatment will continue to be provided at area hospitals.

Judy DeRyan has been trying to get her son, Michael, out of Eastern State Hospital where he has been for 15 months. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Hepatitis A cases spiked dramatically in Spokane County from the first six months of 1996 to the first six months of 1997. Four people reported the liver disease to the Spokane Regional Health District from January to July 2, 1996. During the same period in 1997, 44 people reported the virus.

Kimberly Kreb, seen here tying a fly, died at 22 last October. Photograph courtesy of family

The day their daughter died, Bob and Deborah Kreb stopped at Safeway and spotted the free issue of "Allergy & Asthma" near the pharmacy. In this pamphlet, they learned things they wish they had known earlier about managing asthma. Doctors, national asthma organizations and government agencies are trying to make sure everyone has the information - before it's too late.

Accused bomber Charles Barbee was no stranger to well-known militia sympathizer Dennis Stucker, prosecution witnesses testified Friday. Documenting telephone conversations and a Hamilton, Mont., jail visit between the pair, federal prosecutors were preparing jurors for Stucker's testimony Monday. Stucker, a retired AT&T; systems analyst who worked with Barbee in Florida, is expected to say that Barbee confessed to being involved in a series of three bombings and two bank robberies in the Spokane Valley.

Using witnesses, timecards and a road-testing FBI agent, federal prosecutors Thursday tried to account for the minutes leading up to the bombing of the Spokane Valley's Planned Parenthood clinic. The prosecutors are trying to pre-empt a key defense witness, Jay Dennis, who in the first trial said he saw accused terrorist Verne Jay Merrell in Sandpoint less than an hour before the clinic was bombed at 1:40 p.m. last July 12. Merrell, 51, Charles Barbee, 45, and Robert Berry, 43, are accused of three bombings and two bank robberies in the Valley last year. The first trial ended in a hung jury when one juror said he couldn't convict the defendants of the most serious charges.

Federal prosecutors are preparing to challenge testimony from a key defense witness who gave accused terrorist Verne Jay Merrell an alibi for one of the Spokane Valley bombings in the first trial. Telephone lineman Jay Dennis, who once hired Merrell to help build his house, said he spotted Merrell in Sandpoint less than an hour before the bombing 75 miles away. On Wednesday, Dennis was called as a witness by prosecutors. He again said he's certain he talked briefly to Merrell on July 12, between 12:45 and 1:30 p.m.

The first time he pointed a gun in her face, the robber said he wanted no $1 bills, no exploding dye packs and no lies. The second time, about 14 weeks later, he seemed to know where he was going, looking for the U.S. Bank teller with "those keys" to unlock money drawers. Again, head teller Tracy Lafayette stared down the revolver's barrel. Again, she was terrified, her heart beating so hard she had to remind herself to breathe.

For the first time, accused terrorist Charles Barbee talked to a jury Monday. Barbee didn't take the witness stand, but he professed his innocence in a 15-minute opening statement Monday in U.S. District Court in Spokane. It's the second time this year that Barbee; Robert Berry, 43; and Verne Jay Merrell, 51, all from North Idaho, have stood trial for bombing and robbing Spokane Valley businesses last year.