Deaths at the Dr. Drew clinic

I am playing a bit of catch-up today with a story about state investigations about three deaths at Pasadena's Aurora Las Encinas hospital. The story made it on the front page of the L.A. Times today, primarily I believe, because it is the hospital where Dr. Drew hosted the VH1 show "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew."

The Times story is extremely well reported, but I am following up on two points that did not receive as much attention as other parts. First, they mention the death of a young man who may have received pharmaceutical drugs from a fellow patient. They do not mention that the Pasadena police is still investigating the case, and awaiting toxicology results from the coroner's office. That could mean some criminal charges against the other patient, who is apparently a former pharmaceutical company representative.

They also talk only sparingly about a rape case that took also place in the hospital that was widely reported on earlier this month. A source close to that case told me that the defense of the accused rapist may hinge on issues about the supervision of the defendant. The deaths also are being investigated by the state largely because staff there may have not done frequent enough check-ups on patients who were on heavy medication doses.

Incidentally, regarding the Dr. Drew connection- he does not own the clinic, and is not in charge of the administration of the clinic. I don't think he is even that relevant to the story, but of course, because he is a celebrity, his connection there will likely turn this into a big story.