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Thursday, December 29, 2005
Open Letter to Barbara Lohr, Deaconess Associations
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
The following open letter has been sent in an attempt to gather information about Deaconess Associations’ current take on the Heimlich Maneuver for near-drowning, particularly given the increasing amount of press investigating the matter…
Dear Ms. Lohr:
I am the publisher of The Cincinnati Beacon, an online magazine. Your response to this letter would be most appreciated for an ongoing series I have been reporting.
In a recent edition of its journal entitled “Circulation,” the AHA (American Heart Association) released new guidelines for first response in the case of near-drowning. These guidelines clearly oppose maneuvers advocated by the Heimlich Institute, which is wholly owned by Deaconess Association.
Concerning near-drowning, the AHA states quite clearly: “Attempts to remove water from the breathing passages by any means other than suction (e.g. abdominal thrusts or the Heimlich maneuver) are unnecessary and potentially dangerous. The routine use of abdominal thrusts or the Heimlich maneuver for drowning victims is not recommended.”
The new AHA findings go on to debunk other claims advanced by the your organization: “There is no evidence that water acts as an obstructive foreign body. Maneuvers to relieve FBAO (foreign body airway obstruction) are not recommended for drowning victims because such maneuvers are not necessary and they can cause injury, vomiting and aspiration and delay CPR.”
Noteworthy in both these phrases are references to Dr. Heimlich specifically: he is named in the first passage, and in the second the word “maneuver” implies the Heimlich maneuver.
Given this context, I hoped you would answer a few simple questions:
1. What is Deaconess Associations’ latest take on the Heimlich Maneuver for near-drowning?
2. Does Deaconess Associations agree with the research of the AHA, or does Deaconess stand by the contrary claims forwarded by its Heimlich Institute?
3. Are Deaconess ER doctors and other medical staff trained to use the Heimlich Maneuver for near-drownings, or do you follow the guidelines set forth by the AHA? (If you follow the AHA guidelines, can you explain why your organization advocates for the Maneuver on the one hand, while not actually implementing it on the other?)
I am only interested in Deaconess Associations’ claims as they pertain to the Heimlich Maneuver for near-drowning specifically, and not its position on other accomplishments for which Dr. Heimlich has been recognized.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. Your clarifications will be most appreciated.
Respectfully,
The Dean of Cincinnati
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31 Dec 2005 at 02:39 pm | #
Are Deaconess ER doctors and other medical staff trained to use the Heimlich Maneuver for near-drownings, or do you follow the guidelines set forth by the AHA?
There’s no way Deaco ER staff would be trained to Heimlich a drowning victim. That’s an invitation for liability lawsuits. Medical staff have to follow established treatment guidelines which in this case appear to be those established by the Heart Association.
If somebody in the ER cowboys it and Heimlichs a drowning victim, then the patient has a poor outcome, Deaco eats it, but bad.
31 Dec 2005 at 03:16 pm | #
Don’t worry about the ER docs at Deaco- they are the old Christ hospital gang that got into a pissing match with the HA. Good set of ER docs living there just staying out of the way of things.
But has anyone called Phil and asked him what he thinks about all of this? I’d love to know.
Peter-you out there in cyberworld- any Merry ChristmaKah from the family in their desperate attempts to reconcile and make the world a better place?
I bet our best friend Barb will ignore this letter or send another- Dr. Heimlich is God letter.
01 Jan 2006 at 12:26 pm | #
If she keeps ignoring the letters, perhaps a phone call will be in order!
01 Jan 2006 at 03:05 pm | #
Didn’t she ignore the last letter?
I don’t understand why they still want to hang on. The Radar article and then the Ciny Mag fluff article was enough to kick up enough crap to raise some eyebrows. Why or why?
Wonder what they have in the infamous “red” files?
01 Jan 2006 at 06:27 pm | #
What are the “red” files, and what is so infamous about them?!
01 Jan 2006 at 08:40 pm | #
Red files are files kept seperate from your common phyician files due to major infractions. Usually kept under lock and key in a seperate file cabinet.
These are the files that lawsuits are drawn from. And are kept there indefinately.
So anything questionable gets a physician file moved there. “For certain Eyes Only”.
01 Jan 2006 at 09:46 pm | #
Hey, would this qualify as a “red file?” From: Playing Doctor, Cleveland Scene, 10-27-04
(Edward) Patrick’s career is made all the more flammable due to the time that’s elapsed since his alleged Jewish residency. If it’s bogus, and if Jewish Hospital has nonetheless been verifying it all these years - even after suspicions were raised - it may be liable for all that Patrick has done in 28 years of emergency-room work….And that could present legal consequences for Jewish Hospital - the expensive kind.
It appears that Health Alliance, the corporate overseer of Jewish and five other Cincinnati hospitals, understands this problem. In September 2002, Gary Harris, general counsel for the Health Alliance, took the Patrick file. Today, Mike Bowen says that file is locked in Harris’s office, safe from the prying eyes of lawyers and reporters. Harris did not return phone calls.
02 Jan 2006 at 10:38 am | #
But who says that the file is still intack from the time it left Jewish Hospital untilt today when it sits in Gary Harris locked office?
02 Jan 2006 at 01:43 pm | #
Too many people have seen the file. Also details of its contents have been disclosed in memos. If Gary “loses” the file, he’ll be in deep do-do. Why should he or any other HA current or former employee take the fall for Jewish Hospital’s decision 30 years ago?
Here’s the $64 question:
Dr. Henry Heimlich got fired as Chief of Surgery at Jewish in 1976, had his privileges revoked, and never again held a hospital staff job. (The public story was that his contract wasn’t renewed.)
In late 1976, Jewish Hospital’s surgery department started verifying a 1975-1976 residency for Edward Patrick, who was then Henry Heimlich’s protege.
Coincidence?
02 Jan 2006 at 09:31 pm | #
Won’t Mr. Harris have to talk to someone eventually? Maybe the press? Maybe another lawyer? Why keep quiet? If this is going to eventually come out like it has in the Radar article and the Cincinnati Magazine Article, why and how can he just keep quiet?Duct tape?