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How should a mainstream news organization respond after being made aware that a published story contains bad information that may seriously injure babies?

In somewhat identical situations, here's how FOX TV News affiliates in Oklahoma City and Cleveland responded.

One deserves to take a bow.

The other deserves to get sued.

source

On June 13, FOX25 News in Oklahoma City aired How to help someone who's choking by staff reporter Jordann Lucero.

Here's a screenshot from her story with my highlighting:


Via that part of her story, here's an interview with a member of the Oklahoma City Fire Department:


Here's the problem.

No legitimate medical organization or medical expert recommends performing stomach thrusts (aka abdominal thrusts aka the Heimlich maneuver) on babies.

 As I've reported, executives at the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Red Cross (ARC) wrote me that the treatment "may cause injuries" to babies.

(To my knowledge, the only organization that recommends and teaches the treatment is Cincinnati's Heimlich Heroes program, a dubious operation whose charter is to promote my dad's "legacy.")

source

After spotting Ms. Lucero's report I e-mailed AHA and ARC guidelines to Oklahoma City Battalion Chief and Public Relations Officer Benny Fulkerson.

A few hours later I received his reply:

Mr. Heimlich,

Sir, we just want to thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. After review, it has been determined that you are absolutely correct. The treatment demonstrated in the video was not in accordance with the AHA [American Heart Association] standard which we operate under. Please know that we feel terrible that this occurred, and we are working with Fox 25 to correct this information for their viewers. As a public safety organization, we take extremely seriously our role as an authority about all things related to fire and life safety. We do have amazing personnel who work very hard every day to serve our citizens. When we make mistakes, we take every measure to correct them and learn from them.

Again, thank you so much for contacting us about this. We are eager to get this information corrected.

I then received a thank-you from FOX25 New Director Adam Pursch who informed me that the story was being re-reported.

The re-reported story got it right:


I sincerely thanked Battalion Chief Fulkerson and Mr. Pursch for their professionalism and commitment to public safety.

I can't say the same re: the following mess.



Here's a transcript at about time stamp :35 from How to save a life: Help someone who is choking by staff reporter Adrienne DiPiazza, FOX8 News Cleveland, February 13, 2018:

DiPiazza: (The Akron Fire Department's Lt. Joe) Shumaker says don’t be afraid of hurting the baby, and forceful motions are the only thing that will help them breathe again.

Shumaker: “Can you cause some injury? Can you break a bone? Can you crack a rib? Perhaps, but in the end run the child will be breathing which is what we want as a result,” he said.

Who'd be irresponsible enough to stand behind the recommendation that first responders shouldn't worry about breaking a baby's bones?

Among others: Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan, Fire Chief Clarence Tucker, and FOX8 News Director Andy Fishman.

Akron, OH, Mayor Daniel Horrigan & Fire Chief Clarence Tucker (source)

Last February I sent all of them the same information I sent last week to the responsible parties in Oklahoma City

However, rather than fixing the error in order to protect babies from potential injury or worse, they all backed up Lt. Shumaker who, in fact, is certified according to AHA standards:


Here's the grammatically-challenged reply I received from Mr. Fishman at FOX8 which more or less corresponds to the replies I received from the offices of the mayor and the fire department:

From: Fishman, Andy <Andy.Fishman@fox8.com>
To: Peter M. Heimlich <peter.heimlich@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: blogger inquiry
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2018 14:00:09 +0000

Peter

As highly trained first responders, we [sic] trust and stand by the information provided to us by the Akron Fire Department.

Best Andy

I then asked him for the name and e-mail address of his station's general manager to which he responded:

From: Andy Fishman <Andy.Fishman@fox8.com>
To: Peter M. Heimlich <peter.heimlich@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: blogger inquiry
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2018 14:29:54 +0000

Peter

We consider this matter closed

Best Andy

Per the item you're reading, I don't.

After I asked FOX8 Cleveland News Director Andy Fishman to put me in touch with his boss, he Twitter-blocked me

SENT VIA E-MAIL & FAX

February 21, 2018

Stacey Doty
Employment and Selection Manager
Department of Human Resources
The City of Akron, OH

Dear Ms. Doty:

This is a complaint re: questionable, possibly harmful medical recommendations made by Joseph Shumaker, EMS Lieutenant at your city's fire department. I'm requesting that your office investigate the following and to provide me with a determination.

Re: my February 14 blog item, Akron Fire Dept. EMS trainer re: responding to choking infants: Don't worry about breaking the baby's bones or cracking its ribs -- and a question for criminal attorneys, the following is from an interview that Lt. Shumaker, representing your city, gave to reporter Adrienne Dipiazza in a news report that aired February 13 on Cleveland's FOX 8, How to save a life: Help someone who is choking:

DiPiazza: (The Akron Fire Department's Lt. Joe) Shumaker says don’t be afraid of hurting the baby, and forceful motions are the only thing that will help them breathe again.

Shumaker: “Can you cause some injury? Can you break a bone? Can you crack a rib? Perhaps, but in the end run the child will be breathing which is what we want as a result,” he said.

Per my website, in 2002 my wife and I started researching the career of my father, the late Henry J. Heimlich MD of Cincinnati, and the history of his namesake anti-choking maneuver. Since 2003 our work and my outreach to journalists has resulted in scores of mainstream print and broadcast media reports. We have never come across recommendations remotely similar to Lt. Shumaker's.

Further, Lt. Shumaker's recommendations do not appear in the guidelines of the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, the American Academy of Pediatrics, or, to my knowledge, any other legitimate source of lifesaving first aid information. Further, I'd be surprised if his recommendations are part of your city's EMS training guidelines or those of any government agency anywhere in the United States.

To the best of my knowledge, Lt. Shumaker appears to have pulled his recommendations out of thin air. If that's the case, he provided unsubstantiated medical information to a reporter. More seriously, I'm concerned that his recommendations may result in serious injuries to babies or worse.

After publishing my blog item, I brought these concerns to the offices of Fire Chief Clarence Tucker and Mayor Dan Horrigan. The former did not respond to my questions and Ellen Lander Nischt, Mayor Horrigan's press secretary, told me that her office stands behind Lt. Shumaker's recommendations. I consider those responses to be unacceptable, hence this complaint.

In order to address the matter, this is to request that you obtain and review all relevant training materials and provide me with any documentation that supports Lt. Shumaker's recommendations. In the event no such documentation exists, this is to request that your office take appropriate action.

Thank you for your time/consideration and I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Peter M. Heimlich
Peachtree Corners, Georgia 30096 USA
ph: (208)474-7283
website: http://medfraud.info
blog: http://the-sidebar.com
e-mail: peter.heimlich@gmail.com
https://twitter.com/medfraud_pmh

cc: Donald Rice, Director of Human Resources

Clip via How to save a life: Help someone who is choking by Adrienne DiPiazza, FOX 8 News Cleveland, February 13, 2018:



Transcript at about time stamp :35:

DiPiazza: (The Akron Fire Department's Lt. Joe) Shumaker says don’t be afraid of hurting the baby, and forceful motions are the only thing that will help them breathe again.

Shumaker: “Can you cause some injury? Can you break a bone? Can you crack a rib? Perhaps, but in the end run the child will be breathing which is what we want as a result,” he said.

I have an inquiry in to the Akron Fire Department and will report the results.

Tangentially related, one of my research interests is tracking child abuse cases involving the alleged use of the Heimlich maneuver as an alibi.

I've compiled a number of media reports in which defendants claimed that severe or fatal injuries sustained by a baby or child in their care resulted from the adult supposedly responding to a choking emergency.

I shared my research with reporter Justin Strawser at the Sunbury, PA Daily Item who reported this November 13, 2015 story, Suspects often claim abuse injuries stem from CPR, Heimlich effort.

Here's a question for any criminal attorneys reading this: Can Lt. Shumaker's advice benefit a defendant in such a case?

Click here to e-mail me.