TUESDAY,MARCH 1 , 2022 .THEWASHINGTONPOST EZ RE A
BYJOANNASLATERclaremont, n.h.—It was still
darkwhenJocelynCaplepulled
into the parkinglotofValley
RegionalHospitalone morning
in earlyDecember.
Nearly twoyearsintothe pan-
demic,covidhospitalizationsin
NewHampshire wereatarecord
high.Thesmallcommunityhos-
pitalCaple leads was full, its
employeesexhausted.
As soonasCaplearrivedin-
side,acolleaguetold herthat
somethingstrangewas happen-
ing.Calls werefloodingintothe
switchboard,and senior staff
memberswerereceivingaflurry
of voicemessages andemailsto
theirworkaccounts.
Thecallerswereimpassioned
andvehement, demandingthat
the hospital begin treating a
covidpatient in its carewith
ivermectin, an anti-parasitic
drug.Asthe daywent on, the
volumeof callsgrewsolargethat
the hospital shutdownits main
number.
That morningwas only the
beginning.The callsandemails
—mobilizedby agroup calling
itselfthe Truth Seekers 88 —
continuedfor more thanaweek.
Thehospital limited access to
oneentrance,and localpolice
posted acruiser there24 hoursa
day.
Several of the communica-
tions were threatening,Caple
said,includingavoicemailin
whichacallerwarned of a“mili-
taryextraction”ofthe patient
fromthe hospital. Ninedays after
the callsandemails began, she
said, the hospital received a
bombthreat forthe firsttime in
its history.
Capleand her staffwere deep-
ly shaken. “Nomatter what,
whenthingsheatupatwork,we
can’t justclose up shopandgo
home,”said Caple,57,apatholo-
gistbytraining who became
chiefexecutiveof the hospitalin
2020.“I wasangrythatanyone
would endeavor to makemy
staff’sjobs anyharder or more
stressfulthantheyalreadyare.”
Whathappened at the hospi-
tal, located in the townof Clare-
mont,is adramatic exampleof
howhostilitytowardthe medical
establishment has flourished
duringthe pandemic, encour-
aged by misinformation cam-
paigns, anti-vaccineactivists and
conspiracytheorists.
Whiledoctorsandnursessay
they’re accustomed to encoun-
teringanger frompatientsand
theirrelatives,the level of dis-
trustsurrounding covidandits
treatmentrepresentsanew and
disturbingphenomenon.It’san
environment in whichsomefam-
iliesviewclinical decisionswith
suspicion, leading to threats and
lawsuits.
Jack Lyons, acriticalcare
physicianin St. Cloud, Minn.,
saidit’s understandablethatpeo-
ple lashout whenafamilymem-
ber is ill or dying.What’sdiffer-
ent now,hesaid,are the funda-
mentaldisagreementsaboutthe
medical facts andthe outrage
thatsometimes accompanies
suchinteractions.
“Wecan’t even agreethatyour
lovedone has covidor thatcovid
is potentially lethal,”Lyonssaid.
“And that’sbefore you gettothe
ideathativermectin doesn’t
work.”
Themistrusthas led to spiral-
ing tensionsbetweenhospitals
and familiesof covidpatients,
particularlysurrounding iver-
mectin. Thedrug—usedto treat
parasiticinfectionsand headlice
—has beenembracedas amira-
cle cure for covidby manyskepti-
cal of vaccines,despite alack of
evidence for its effectiveness.
Ivermectin is not recommend-
ed for the treatmentof covidby
the NationalInstitutesof Health,
the Food andDrugAdministra-
tionor the World HealthOrgani-
zation.Large-scaleclinicaltrials
of its effectiveness againstcovid
are currently underwayinthe
United States and Britain.
Still,dozensof lawsuitshave
beenfiled against hospitalsto
compelthemto dispense iver-
mectin to patients, sometimes
successfully.InMontana and
Alaska, localRepublican officials
reportedlyintervenedwithhos-
pitals when familymembers
wanted theirrelativesto be treat-
ed withivermectin.
Aspokeswomanfor St. Peter’s
Healthhospital in Montanasaid
in astatementthatits staffwas
“threatenedandharassed when
theyrefusedto administer treat-
mentsfor covid-19 thatare not
authorized,clinicallyapproved,
or withinthe guidelinesestab-
lishedbythe FDAand CDC.”
After publicofficialsbecamein-
volved, “a lawenforcement re-
sponseand alawsuit werethreat-
ened,”the hospital said.
Ivermectin has alsobecomea
focalpointfor conspiracytheo-
rists, including QAnon adher-
ents,leadingto situationssuchas
the one in NewHampshire,and
similarepisodesin Illinoisand
Washington.
In September,alargehospital
in Chicagowas the target of a
coordinated campaignoverits
treatmentof avocal QAnonad-
herentwhowasill withcovid.
Thehospitalreceivedhundreds
of callsand emails,promptingit
to ask policetobolster patrolson
the campus.Whenthe patient
died,policewerepresentto assist
withasmallgroupof peoplewho
gathered outside the hospital,
saidTimothyNelson,the spokes-
manfor AMITAHealthResurrec-
tionMedicalCenter.
Boththe volumeof callsand
the gatheringwereunprecedent-
ed. “This is notsomethingwe
have experiencedbefore,”Nelson
said.
Sometimesthe pressures un-
foldon asmallerscale.Ashley
Carvalho,34, adoctor whoworks
in an intensivecare unitoutside
Boise,Idaho, saidthatlastSep-
temberapatient’s relativegrewbelligerentand threatenedher
whenshe declinedto administer
ivermectin. “Hesaid, ‘I have lots
of ways to getpeopleto do whatI
want,and they’re all sitting in my
gunsafeat home,’”saidCarval-
ho, whocalledhospital security.
Suchincidents exacerbate
whatisalreadyadifficult and
demoralizingenvironmentfor
hospital workers, saidJudithAr-
netz, aprofessor of familymedi-
cineat MichiganState University
whostudiesworkplaceviolence.
“Health-care workers themselves
saythatatthe beginning of the
pandemic,people werebanging
pots and pans and calling us
heroes,”Arnetz said.“And now
theysay,‘Iwillnot walkoutside
the hospital in my scrubs.’”Acalltoaction
Atownthatishometo 13,
people,Claremont sits nearthe
borderof NewHampshireand
Vermont.Ahistorictextile mill
complexbuilt of deepred-brick
towersoverthe Sugar River,a
remnant of the timewhenthe
townwas acenterof industry.
ValleyRegionaltraces its rootsto the sameera. Foundedin1893,
the hospitalhas the onlyemer-
gencyroomin the areaand 21
inpatientbeds.It employsabout
400 people.On arecentmorning,
the helicopterlandingpadnext
to the mainentrancewas covered
in alightlayer of untouched
snow.
Thegroup thattargeted the
hospital calls itself the Truth
Seekers 88. Mike Penny, aleader,
is basedin NorthCarolinaand
regularlypostsvideos andhosts
chats on platformssuchas Face-
bookandTelegram. Thelengthy
videosoffer astreamofQAnon
conspiracytheories claiming
thatformer president Donald
Trumpwill save the countryfrom
the grip of achild-trafficking
cabal and thathis return to
poweris all partofaplan.
“Myspiritis led by God, obvi-
ously,and that’show the group
gotfounded,”said Penny, 53.“Q
has led alot of peopleto Godin
this difficult time.”
Duringthe pandemic, the con-
spiracytheoriesembraced by
groups such as Penny’shave
evolvedto incorporatenot justanti-vaccinedisinformationbut
also falsehoodsabout doctors
andthe medicalestablishment.
Pennyand his group refer to
remdesivir,amedication ap-
proved by theFoodand Drug
Administration,as the “r-devil”
drug and claim, without evi-
dence,thatitkills covidpatients
—while embracingivermectin as
alifesaving treatment.
In an interviewwithThe
Washington Post,Pennylikened
medical professionals to Nazi
war criminals, sayingtheywould
faceanewversion of the Nurem-
bergtrialsfor theiractionsdur-
ing the pandemic.
In early December,Penny’s
groupwas contactedby Janet
Chamberlain,awoman in Clare-
montwhosehusband,Lee, had
justbeen hospitalizedwithcovid.
Pennysaid Janetwas afollower
of his content.
Pennymade Lee’scase the
focus of an hour-longvideo post-
ed on socialmedia,accusingthe
hospital of ignoringJanet’swish-
es for alternate treatmentand
sayingitwas of “utmosturgency”
thathis followers intervene.
“They’re nowconsideredtobe
kidnapping,” Pennysaid of the
hospital in avideo chat posted on
Facebookand YouTube on Dec.8.
“Basically,we’reheadedtowards
attempted murder. Allright?
That’s whatitis.”
Pennyshowedascreenshotof
amessagethathad already been
sharedin the group’s Telegram
channellistingthe mainnumber
of ValleyRegional,together with
the namesand numbersof senior
executivesand several doctors,as
wellas the countysheriff.
Thegroup urgedlistenersto
be “polite,not hateful” in com-
municating with the hospital,
butthe livecomments on the
chat weremarked by anger.
Viewers calleddoctors“medical
tyrants”and“evil,”and accused
thehospital of profitingfrom
eachcovid death. In January,
YouTuberemovedthe videofor
violatingthe platform’s harass-
mentpolicy, acompanyspokes-
mansaid.Facebookreviewedthe
videoand removedit this month
followingaqueryfromThe Post.Abombthreat
After ValleyRegionalwasin-
undated withcalls,officerswerestationed at the premises
around-the-clock,and the hospi-
tal closedall entrancesto the
facilitybut one.Tim McNulty, the
seniordirector of human re-
sources at thehospital,said his
teamquicklydevelopedascript
to respondto the calls,but “our
phonelinesandreception staff
wereoverwhelmedfor days.”The
callsand emails numberedin the
hundreds.
Never in his wildestdreams,
McNultysaid, did he imagine
that“our little communitycould
be the victim”ofasituationlike
this.
On Dec.17,anotewithabomb
threatwas foundat abuilding
nearthe mainhospitalthathous-
es practicessuchas pediatrics,
policesaid.DaleGirard,aClare-
montnativewhohasprovided
the hospital withambulanceser-
vicesfor morethan30 years,said
he cannot recall anothertime
whenabombthreattargeted the
hospital.
All employees and patients
whocouldbesent homewere
evacuated. Theroads to the hos-
pitalwereblocked offbymem-
bersof the county sheriff’sde-
partmentas bomb-sniffing dogs
roamedthe premises, starting
withthe emergencyroom.As the
search unfolded, the locked-
down hospital waseerilyquiet.
No device wasfound.
Mark Chase, the chiefofpolice
in Claremont,saidthe authori-
tiescurrentlyhave no informa-
tionconnecting the bombthreat
to the pressure campaign. A
criminal investigationbasedon
physical evidence collected on
the sceneis ongoing,Chasesaid.
That sameday,Lee Chamber-
lain diedof covidat the ageof61.
Janet, his wifeof morethanthree
decades, declinedin an interview
with ThePosttodiscuss the
details of her communication
withthe Truth Seekers 88 or Lee’s
vaccinationstatus.
“I wasso focusedon Lee,”she
saidthroughtears. “I wastrying
to do everything to save my
husband.”She saidshe wanted
the hospital to stop usingremde-
sivirand startother formsof
treatment. Hospital personnel
toldher thatLee was makinghis
owndecisions,she said,but she
felt unable to judgewhetherthat
was trueand couldvisithim only
twice.
Thehospital declinedto com-
ment on the treatment of an
individualpatientbecauseof pri-
vacy regulations.Caplesaidthe
information disseminated by
Penny’sgroup was“inaccurate”
but did not elaborate.
Pennysaid he doesn’t regret
the group’s actions.“Itimpeded
the hospitalsome,sure,”hesaid.
“But ourgoal was to getour
message out andhelpLee.”He
saidthe groupwas not connected
to the bombthreatand hadno
intentionof harminganyoneat
the hospital.
After the bomb threat, the
medicalpracticesconnected to
the hospitalremainedclosed for
threemoredays. Caplebrought
in counselingteamsto helpher
employees.Duringadebriefing
session,manystaff brokedown
in tears. There was fear,but
anger,too,atoutsiders who
wouldissue threatsasstaff
risked theirown well-being to
carefor covidpatients.
Caplesaid thehospital was
buoyed by behind-the-scenes
support from lawenforcement
agencies, otherhealth-carepro-
vidersand elected representa-
tives.Nearbyhospitalssentaddi-
tional securitypersonnel and
equipment. Onehospital chief
executive even sentcupcakes for
the entirestaffafter the incident
was over.
ForCaple, the episode still
inspiresshockand disbelief.Ulti-
mately,she feelsadeep senseof
disappointment.At atime when
health-careworkers deserve
commendation, she said, they
were“treated likeenemies.”In attempt to save covid patient, hospital endured threats
Callersdemanded
that doctorsuse
unprovenivermectinJOANNASLATER/THEWASHINGTONPOST
ValleyRegional Hospital, in Claremont,N.H.,increasedsecurityafter receivingthreats connected to itstreatment of acovid patient. Law
enforcementofficers were stationedaroundthe hospital. Thehospitalclosed all entrances to thefacilitybut one.0200k400k600k800k1m1.2m7-dayavg.Feb.29, 2020 Jan.2 021 Feb. 2802k4k7-dayavg.Feb.29, 2020 Jan.2 021 Feb. 2801m2m3m4m5m7-dayavg.Feb.29, 2020 Jan.2 021 Feb. 28Asof8p.m.Monday78,982,553,079, 296949 ,70,2,44 8,5 53TotalDEATHSTotalVACCINEDOSESADMINISTEREDNewcoronaviruscases, deathsand
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