TOMAH, Wis (WSAU) The Tomah VA psychiatrist known as the “candy man” was suspected of abusing prescription drugs himself. One of the revelations in a just-released U.S. Senate report says that David Houlihan appeared to be impaired while he was being questioned by the inspector general’s office. The matter was not investigated further.
The report says Houlihan appeared for a 2012 interview with “constricted pupils and peripheral vasoconstriction … and apparent sedation with small slurring of speech and intermittent eye closings”. The interviewer recommended an investigation into whether Houlihan and his nurse practitioner Deborah Frasher were themselves abusing prescription drugs. The interviewers determined that the issue was beyond the scope of their investigation. They did notify the hospital director Mario DeSanctis that Houlihan and Frascher appeared to be impaired. Investigators did not follow-up on the issue.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigative reporter Daniel Bice reports that other whistleblowers at the Tomah VA also suspected that Houlihan and Frascher of abusing prescription drugs. One investigator recommended drug testing of staff members at Tomah.
Houlihan has since been fired as chief of staff at Tomah and has since gone into private practice. Frascher also no longer works at the Tomah VA hospital.