1. Is it ethical for a press agent
to circulate dangerous medical advice?
For years,
Cincinnati press agent Robert Kraft has been paid to promote
my father's crackpot medical theories, theories which have been
associated with serious injuries and deaths, including many children.
A former reporter and editor
whose last
newspaper job ended abruptly in 2001, Kraft ended up working
for Dan Pinger Public Relations and is currently at another Cincinnati
PR shop, the Powers
Agency. (According to Jason Zengerle of The New Republic,
Kraft also promotes car shows.)
In other words, a press agent
with no medical training has been promoting quack medical advice
which has been widely discredited and associated with resulting
in serious injuries and deaths, including many children.
Here's a modest
sample of Kraft's efforts:
"Malariatherapy
was a popular practice through much of the 20th century, said
Bob Kraft, spokesman for Henry Heimlich. Before the discovery
of penicillin, it was used as a cure for syphilis. In 1927, Julius
Wagner von Jauregg won the Nobel Prize in medicine for his work
with malariatherapy." (Source)
Personally, I think the most
effective case that can be made for the maneuver for drowning
is the experience of the Ellis lifeguard organization between
1995-2000. (And yes, I know that they have since changed the
protocol. Why? Dunno. Ask them.) Ellis lifeguards performed the
Heimlich maneuver on 152 UNCONSCIOUS, NON-BREATHING drowning
victims in that period. 147 recovered (I think without any further
therapy, but ask me to double-check that number if you want to
print it.)...I've talked to a handful of these lifeguards who
have saved drowning victims with the maneuver. They offer compelling
testimonials. Peter (Heimlich) would have you believe that Dr.
Heimlich stands alone against a medical establishment that has
closed ranks against him. Not true. Dr. Neal Barnard, the director
of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has endorsed
the maneuver for drowning, as has Dr. Harry Gibbons, the former
safety director in Salt Lake City and a pioneering figure in
his field. The National Aquatic Safety Company, one of the largest
trainers of lifeguards in the country, teaches the maneuver as
the first part of the rescue protocol. (6/9/05 e-mail from Robert Kraft to Jason Haap,
Cincinnati Beacon)
"Heimlich believes that
his maneuver gets water out of the lungs, which is what you need
to do before you can effectively start CPR," says Bob Kraft
a spokesman for the Heimlich Institute.."There are people
that disagree, and thats the extent of debate as I see
it." (Source)
Per this letter published
in the August 25, 2005 Boston Herald in which he identifies himself
as the Heimlich Institute's Communications Director, Kraft has
been doing this work under the auspices of Deaconess Associations
which owns the institute:
In Defense of Heimlich
Dr. Henry Heimlich developed
the Heimlich Maneuver for choking in 1973. Choking was the sixth-largest
cause of accidental death in America, costing nearly 5,000 lives
annually. After testing his theory on anesthetized dogs, Heimlich
published his findings in June 1974. The maneuver has saved many
thousands of lives.
The Herald story ("BU
doc finds Heimlich's role in maneuver hard to swallow,"
Aug. 21) asserts questions have been raised about the origin
of the Heimlich Maneuver. In fact, no such questions have been
raised. False allegations have been made by an estranged son,
mostly under the cover of pseudonyms. He has apparently found
an ally in Dr. Robert Baratz, although your story failed to establish
whether Baratz's so-called "watchdog" group has credentials.
Heimlich and his family are
saddened by the estrangement from their son, but they also feel
it's important to correct the record
- Robert Kraft, Communications
Director, Heimlich Institute, Cincinnati
Back to Key news stories
and documents arranged by subject
2. Unreported &
under-reported Heimlich stories
THE AMERICAN RED CROSS REPLACES THE Heimlich
MANEUVER AS THE FIRST TREATMENT FOR CHOKING So why haven't you heard about it?
WHY IS A $250 MILLION/YEAR CINCINNATI
HOSPITAL CORPORATION PROMOTING DANGEROUS QUACKERY THAN CAN KILL
PEOPLE? Every legitimate medical
authority agrees that my father's crackpot theories are dangerous
quackery that could kill people. So why is Deaconess
Associations,
which wholly owns and controls the Heimlich Institute, promoting the Heimlich maneuver for drowning
rescue, to stop asthma attacks, and to cure cystic fibrosis? What is Deaconess's
role in the Heimlich Institute's violative human experiments
on HIV+ African prostitutes?
DID US SURGEON GENERAL C. EVERETT KOOP MANIPULATE
NATIONAL FIRST AID GUIDELINES AS A "BUDDY FAVOR"? Back blows are "death blows,"
Dr. Heimlich declared long and loud as he lobbied for his maneuver's
acceptance 30 years ago. In 1985, Surgeon General C. Everett
Koop endorsed this view, dubbing backslaps "hazardous."...Peter
Heimlich (says) "Koop was an old friend of my father's,
and he did it as a buddy favor." (NY
Sun, February 21, 2007) Why has Dr. Koop, who now presides
over Dartmouth's Koop Institute, refused to speak about this
to reporters from ABC News and the New Yorker?
BANKERS CLUB 2001 - DR. Heimlich TO THE
RESCUE? My
father fabricated a story that he saved a choking victim in a
Cincinnati restaurant using the Heimlich maneuver. The tale was
published by the New Yorker, the BBC, and the Chicago Sun-Times.
WHY IS CINCINNATI MAINSTREAM MEDIA AVOIDING
THE Heimlich STORIES?
Back to Key news
stories and documents arranged by subject
Copyright @ 2008
Peter M. Heimlich, all rights reserved. Click
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