Over the course of 16 years, registered nurse Charles Cullen murdered at least 40 patients and has been implicated in the deaths of as many as 300 people – making him one of the most prolific serial killers in American history.

Charles Graeber chronicles in his new book, The Good Nurse, how Cullen managed to kill patients right from the beginning of his medical career, and was accused or at least suspected of malpractice on several occasions, yet hospitals let him resign quietly and continue his killing spree elsewhere.

Graeber spoke with reporter Marshall Allen about the chilling details of this case, why “any notion that Charles Cullen was a mercy killer should go out the window,” and how, in many ways, the hospitals that employed Cullen also bear responsibility for looking the other way as the unexplained deaths continued.

You can listen to this podcast on iTunes and Stitcher. Graeber’s book – The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder – is on sale now, and you can read full statements from the hospitals mentioned in this podcast below.

Somerset Medical Center Statement – July 10, 2013

Nearly ten years after Charles Cullen’s unthinkable crimes were brought to light, we remain shocked and saddened by these tragic events. Our deepest sympathies will always be with the families of all of Charles Cullen’s victims, and we hope that his being brought to justice has provided them with some sense of closure and peace.

The recently released book, The Good Nurse, has obviously brought renewed attention and scrutiny to the topic of Charles Cullen and his crimes. The book highlights many of the flaws and inadequacies that existed in the healthcare industry and allowed Cullen to move from one hospital to the next over the course of more than 15 years.

While we disagree strongly with the manner in which our institution and our employees are represented in the book, we believe that the best interests of Somerset Medical Center, its employees and our community are best served by maintaining our focus on continuing to provide the highest quality of care to our patients now and in the future, rather than publicly rehashing the details of this tragic chapter in our history.

Somerset Medical Center was a leading advocate in efforts for legislative reforms to make needed changes to the hiring process for health care workers. These efforts led to significant industry changes, including passage of New Jersey’s Health Care Professional Responsibility and Reporting Enhancement Act. We sincerely hope that our efforts, and the reforms that they have helped to bring about help prevent this type of tragedy from ever occurring again.