Military nurse acquitted of murder

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A military judge in San Antonio acquitted an Air Force nurse of murder. Captain Michael Fontana faced three counts of murder and a single count of conduct unbecoming an officer.

Captain Fontana was accused of administering excessive doses of pain medication to three terminally ill patients at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio.

"I'm not bitter because this was proven and the truth came out," said Captain Fontana. "I would be bitter if we didn't see the truth."

An investigation into Fontana's actions began in August of 2008 and the military filed charges 6 months later. Fontana was moved from the intensive care unit to an administrative job during the investigation and court martial.

Prosecutors painted Fontana as a rogue nurse who encouraged others to be aggressive in their treatment of patients with do not resuscitate orders, a characterization he denied.

"As a critical care nurse, we deal with living and dying every day," said Captain Fontana. "Both when we're saving the patient and when we're allowing the patient to pass peacefully, there's lots of emotion of both sides."

Fontana maintains he does not regret the treatment he gave to end of life patients at Wilford Hall, the Air Force's largest hospital. He said his only goal was to provide "safe passage" for the terminally ill.

"There are so many important points of this case- end of life care, the orders that were followed, specific comments that were made by myself misinterpreted by others," said Captain Fontana.

The court martial brought to light concerns at Wilford Hall like an outdated documentation system and reports of poor communication between doctors and nurses. Fontana's attorneys are focused on those issues now.

Captain Fontana's commitment to the Air Force ends in june of 2010. He said he does not yet know if he will re-enlist.

Fontana worked as a paramedic for Austin-Travis County EMS and at University Medical Center Brackenridge from 2000 to 2006.

He was also deployed to Iraq from August through December of 2007.