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Sounds nice except for this big problem.

Heimlich Heroes teaches the public to perform "the Heimlich" (abdominal thrusts) on infants.



To my knowledge, no legitimate medical organization or medical expert recommends the treatment for babies.

Why not?

According to e-mails I received from executives at the American Heart Association (Greg Donaldson) and the American Red Cross (Don Lauritzen), performing abdominal thrusts on infants "may cause injuries."

Further, to my knowledge there has never been any published research on the subject.

In other words, Heimlich Heroes has apparently taught 100,000 people that, when confronted with a life or death situation with your baby, you should perform an unapproved, experimental, potentially-harmful medical treatment.

Who would be reckless enough to recommend that?

As widely reported, my wife Karen and I helped expose my dad as a dangerous quack who, after he was fired for misconduct at his last medical job, spent the rest of his career as a celebrity doctor who used the press to circulate unfounded, experimental medical treatments that put lives at risk.

One was "the Heimlich" for choking infants, a claim he apparently pulled out of thin air.

Here's one good question.

Why is Cincinnati's nonprofit Deaconess Associations Inc. (DAI in the above graphic) funding and promoting this dangerous hokum?

Here's another.

Will a mainstream news outlet report this story before someone's baby is inadvertently injured or worse as a result of the Heimlich Heroes program?

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According to a press release they issued about a year ago, the Cincinnati-area American Heritage Girls is the "premier national character development organization for young women that embraces Christian values...Currently, American Heritage Girls has over 43,000 Members [sic] located in every state..."

According to a 2014 press release, the American Heritage Girls formed a "National Cooperative Venture" with Heimlich Heroes,  a "Deaconess Associations, Inc. and Heimlich Institute initiative that teaches kids as young as seven how to become a hero by learning to perform the Heimlich Maneuver correctly in order to save a life. Both organizations are based in Cincinnati."

Via American Heritage Girls Adult Training, Heimlich Heroes blog, December 12, 2017:

In honor of Heimlich Heroes week American Heritage Girls corporate office trained their staff using our Teen and Adult program!

Kristi Tatro, National Director of Girl Impact, spearheaded the training to set an example for their members and community.

AHG staff members went through the Heimlich Heroes Teen and Adult training using our new training video...

Tatro said, “AHG highly endorses and encourages this program. It’s easy and fun to learn!”

Via this clip from the Heimlich Heroes "new training video," here's the problem:



I'm unaware of any medical organization or medical expert that recommends performing "the Heimlich" (abdominal thrusts) on choking infants.

Why not?

According to recent e-mails I received from executives at the American Heart Association and American Red Cross, doing so "may cause injuries."

Further, I'm unaware of any published research on the subject.

In other words, the American Heritage Girls "highly endorses and encourages" teaching the public to perform an unapproved, potentially harmful medical procedure on babies.

I'm e-mailing this item to Ms. Tatro with an invitation to respond.