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Dr. Eden Wells
Here's more drama playing out in Flint.
Genesee District Judge William Crawford on Friday bound over for trial Dr. Eden Wells, Michigan’s chief medical executive, on charges of involuntary manslaughter, obstruction of justice and lying to a peace officer, Ron Fonger of The Flint Journal reports. Prosecutors allege that there's probable cause to believe a homicide occurred during the Flint water crisis and that she committed it.
Special prosecutors allege thgat Wells is responsible for the death of John Snyder, who died from Legionnaires' disease after treatment at McLaren-Flint Hospital.
Leonard Fleming of The Detroit News covers the preliminary hearing involving Henry Ford System Dr. Marcus Zervos and former state Health and Human Services chief deputy director Tim Becker:
Among the testimony last week, Becker said a January 2015 report showed 45 Legionnaires’ disease cases in the Flint area, acknowledged the form of pneumonia “could kill somebody” and said a public warning could have been issued then about the outbreak. Zervos also said the state needed to give the public and medical providers more notice about Legionnaires’ cases to “save lives.”
Her bio on the state website says:
Eden V. Wells, MD, MPH, FACPM, was appointed as the Chief Medical Executive for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in May 2015, and serves Michigan citizens by providing professional medical leadership, expertise and coordination in addressing public health issues, workforce issues, and health policy development to the MDHHS.
In September, 2016, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder appointed Dr. Wells to serve as a member of the Governor’s Cabinet in her role as Chief Medical Executive. Dr. Wells was formerly with the Bureau of Epidemiology, Michigan Department of Community Health, serving as a medical consultant to the Bureau and as a medical epidemiologist from 2004-11.
MDCH activities included investigation of, and response to, public health incidents and outbreaks, as well as preparedness planning for potential bioterrorism and pandemic influenza events.