Dr. William “Ed’’ Kois, who prompted scrutiny of veteran hospitals nationwide after he filed a whistleblower complaint alleging substandard care at the Manchester VA Medical Center in New Hampshire, died following a car crash Tuesday.
As the director of the spinal cord clinic at New Hampshire’s only hospital for veterans, Kois, 62, spearheaded efforts to improve patient care. In September 2016, after futile attempts to address the hospital’s shortcomings internally, he and 10 colleagues at the Manchester VA reported numerous complaints to the US Office of Special Counsel, a federal whistleblower agency.
The whistleblowers also contacted the Globe Spotlight team, which published a story in July 2017. The doctors and medical employees said the administrators appeared to be more concerned with performance ratings than with proper patient treatment. They complained about flies in an operating room, thousands of patients waiting for specialist care, and nearly 100 patients suffering from a rare but preventable spinal condition that can lead to paralysis, Spotlight reported.
Veteran Affairs Secretary David Shulkin removed the top two leaders of the Manchester VA and announced a “top to bottom review’’ within hours of the Spotlight story’s publication.
“His legacy, most importantly, is that you can’t expect employees to just ignore substandard care. People can speak up and get something done,’’ Dr. Stewart Levenson, Manchester’s former chief of medicine and Kois’ fellow whistleblower, said.
“He knew what the right thing was to do and he didn’t dwell on the risks,’’ Levenson added. “When we became whistleblowers, we could have lost it all.’’
In 2018, a VA task force released recommendations that included improving organizational culture, stronger accountability measures, infrastructure renovations, and community partnerships.
One of his close friends, attorney Andrea Amodeo-Vickery, first heard of Kois nearly 30 years ago through her personal-injury legal clients. “I had legions of clients who saw him, who would report back to me how much he helped them,’’ she said. “He was considered the best diagnostician in the state.’’
Kois had only just returned to work on Monday, after taking a few months leave due to medical issues, according to Amodeo-Vickery.
Kois, who lived in Newburyport, drove off Interstate 95 in Hampton, N.H., around 4:20 p.m., state police said in a statement.
Kois was taken to Portsmouth Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Officials said they believe a medical problem led to the single-vehicle crash, but the incident remains under investigation.
Many politicians heralded Kois as an important healthcare reformer whose impact will be felt after his death.
“His compassion and conscience compelled him to raise awareness of unacceptable conditions at the Manchester VA, which continues to drive important changes to the delivery of care in Manchester,’’ US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, said in a statement.
