Sumith Prasad
Netflix’s crime film ‘The Good Nurse’ centers around Charles “Charlie” Cullen, a serial killer who kills several patients admitted to the hospitals he works in. As the film depicts, Cullen’s killing spree came to an end when his co-worker Amy Loughren suspected his involvement in the unnatural deaths that happened in their workplace, Somerset Medical Center.
Amy teamed up with detectives Tim Braun and Danny Baldwin to bring the serial killer to justice. Before arriving at Somerset hospital and meeting Amy, Cullen had worked in several hospitals in the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. If you want to know more about the same hospitals, let us be your ally!
Charles Cullen’s Work History
Including Somerset Medical Center, Charles Cullen worked in 9 hospitals. After graduating from nursing school, Cullen joined Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, in 1986. In 1988, Cullen committed what’s believed to be his first murder by killing a Jersey City judge named John W. Yengo Sr. However, according to Charles Graeber’s eponymous source text of the film, the serial killer recounted killing an AIDS patient in 1987, but he hasn’t formally confessed to the same to the authorities. He was convicted of only one murder from his five years at Saint Barnabas.
Cullen had to leave Saint Barnabas in 1992 in the wake of an investigation that revolved around contaminated IV bags. His colleagues weren’t informed about the reason behind his departure. He then joined Warren Hospital in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. He continued his murders, especially by killing Helen Dean, who was recovering from breast cancer surgery, as per Graeber’s book. After leaving, Cullen joined Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, New Jersey.
While working at the center, Cullen killed Jesse Eichin with a dose of digoxin. But Eichin may not be the only Hunterdon victim. “He [Cullen] didn’t really remember the names of those he injected and killed [in Hunterdon],” Graeber wrote in his book. He then joined Morristown Memorial Hospital, located in Morristown, New Jersey. “[…] he [Cullen] was certain he must have done [killings in Morristown Memorial], not many, just one or two, he couldn’t say,” as per Graeber’s source text. Liberty Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, became Cullen’s next workplace.
Cullen killed Francis Henry at the health institution. Cullen ended up in Easton Hospital in Easton, Pennsylvania, after his time in Liberty. Ottomar Schramm’s death happened while Cullen was in Easton. An extensive amount of digoxin was found in his body although Schramm’s doctor didn’t prescribe the same. In March 1999, Cullen joined Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. As per Graeber’s book, “Cullen recalled having killed four or five patients at Lehigh Valley” but the authorities identified only Matthew Mattern and Stella Danielczyk.
The nurse then worked at St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. According to reports, he had killed at least half a dozen patients in St. Luke. Cullen joined Somerset after leaving St. Luke, only to kill at least 13 patients, possibly 16, while working with Amy. Somerset is the last hospital where Cullen worked before getting arrested.
Why Hospitals Didn’t Report Charles Cullen: A Breach of Trust
Although Cullen had only formally confessed to killing 40 patients, the actual count of victims is supposedly around 400. Several of his workplaces did suspect him of being involved in the unnatural deaths that happened at the same. However, none of the nine hospitals came forward to report him, as per reports. Not only did they not report him, but they even gave him favorable references to other hospitals to hire him, which paved the way for more killings. But why exactly they didn’t report him? The need to protect the reputation of hospitals is a prominent reason.
The hospitals Cullen had worked might have believed that their credibility and prestige would be affected if the world came to know that they had employed a serial killer. More than the human lives, these hospitals seemingly had prioritized protecting their reputation by hiding the fact that they were also the killing fields of one of the most prolific serial killers the world has ever seen. Even after Cullen’s capture, several hospitals had teamed up to proclaim that they weren’t to blame for Cullen’s murders.
If only they had reported the unnatural deaths of the patients and suspicions of Cullen’s involvement to the authorities without any delay, their claim would have been true. The hospitals must have given favorable references to the others to hire Cullen since a bad reference could have been considered as an admission of wrongdoing/wrongdoings that happened in those hospitals. The hospitals must have decided against reporting Cullen to avoid costly lawsuits from the dead patients’ families as well.
Read More: Is Linda Garran Based on a Real Risk Manager? Did She Really Cover Up Charles Cullen Murders?
