The Sidebar

UPDATE: Son of famed New Rochelle doctor asks for Walk of Fame reconsideration by Lisa Reyes, Local12 TV News (Westchester, NY), May 8, 2017:

The son of a New Rochelle doctor credited with creating the Heimlich maneuver says inducting his father into the New Rochelle Walk of Fame would be a mistake.

Dr. Henry Heimlich, part of the New Rochelle High School class of 1937, is world-famous for developing the anti-choking method that bears his name. This year, the city is honoring him by inducting him into its Walk of Fame.

Dr. Heimlich's son, Peter, sent a letter to the city urging officials to reconsider the designation.

"My father was involved most of his career promoting a bunch of crackpot medical ideas that resulted in the significant loss of life," he says.

Click here to direct download a copy of my letter.

source

On January 31, the Washington Post ran Media outlets choke on Heimlich obituaries by Erik Wemple about my string of successful requests for published corrections for errors in obituaries about my father.

He suggested that the corrections/amendments I got "from some of the biggest names in the news business, over a single news topic" may be a record.

Needless to say, journalists can be reluctant to publish corrections, therefore I was impressed by the professionalism and courtesy I experienced at most of those news outlets.

Then there's the New York Times.

Robert D. McFadden's December 17, 2016 Times obituary about my father included some factual errors along with what I considered to be some reportorial errors.

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In response to polite, thoroughly-documented inquiries and my patient follow-ups that dragged on for weeks, I got the bum's rush, first from standards editor Greg Brock and then from public editor Liz Spayd, both of whom refused to discuss any of the facts. They both just told me to take a hike.

So I hiked over to Mr. Wemple at the Post.

After he followed up on my behalf, Mr. Brock was shamed into doing his job -- at least part of it.

That is, the Times published one correction, but failed to address another factual error as well as some reportorial concerns I brought to their attention.

According to the paper’s Guidelines on Integrity: 

Reporters, editors, photographers and all members of the news staff of The New York Times share a common and essential interest in protecting the integrity of the newspaper. As the news, editorial and business leadership of the newspaper declared jointly in 1998: "Our greatest strength is the authority and reputation of The Times. We must do nothing that would undermine or dilute it and everything possible to enhance it."

...(It) means that the journalism we practice daily must be beyond reproach.

Corrections. Because our voice is loud and far-reaching, The Times recognizes an ethical responsibility to correct all its factual errors, large and small. The paper regrets every error, but it applauds the integrity of a writer who volunteers a correction of his or her own published story. Whatever the origin, though, any complaint should be relayed to a responsible supervising editor and investigated quickly. If a correction is warranted, fairness demands that it be published immediately. In case of reasonable doubt or disagreement about the facts, we can acknowledge that a statement was "imprecise" or "incomplete" even if we are not sure it was wrong

Re: the processing of my corrections request, I wanted to learn if Mr. Brock, Ms. Spayd, or others had violated those or other employee guidelines, so today I sent this inquiry to Marcijane Kraft, an attorney at the paper who handles concerns about employees.

After I receive her response, I'll report it.

Via Heimlich`s Latest Maneuvers by Dan Oldenburg, The Washington Post, October 31, 1989:

NASCO's Brian Cole "Heimlichs" a lifeguard trainee. (Photo via website of now-defunct Century Pools Management. Unrelated to NASCO, see Lifeguards Stranded With No Pay by Lori Aratani, Washington Post, September 19, 2008, about  U.S. Department of Labor investigation of Century Pools Management.

Via Lagoon lifeguards will no longer use Heimlich maneuver by Mark Saal, Standard Examiner, Ogden, Utah, May 8, 2014:

Beginning this year, lifeguards at Lagoon-A-Beach will not use the lower abdominal thrusts as a resuscitation method, after the State of Utah determined the technique didn’t meet required standards.

Late last year, the Utah Department of Health denied an application from the National Aquatic Safety Company to continue to train and certify lifeguards at two Utah parks — Lagoon-A-Beach, in Farmington, and Cowabunga Bay, in Draper.

After NASCO agreed to exclude abdominal thrust training for its Utah clients, the state again certified it.

Via public records, the correspondence is posted below -- click here to download.

Of related interest via my website:

Statements and reports by medical and water safety organizations regarding the use of the Heimlich maneuver (abdominal thrusts) to revive near-drowning victims.

"These so-called medical experts. Screw 'em," my compilation of media reports about NASCO training lifeguards to perform abdominal thrusts (aka "the Heimlich maneuver") to revive near-drowning victims.

From NoVa parks authority teaches lifeguards discredited Heimlich maneuver by Tom Jackman, Washington Post, June 3, 2011:

(The Heimlich maneuver has) been utterly discredited as a way of rescuing a person who is drowning, and can actually do serious harm to someone who has just been pulled from the water, numerous experts say. 

Still, one aquatics company, National Aquatic Safety Company of Houston (NASCO), is training lifeguards to use the Heimlich maneuver. And the Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority enthusiastically continues to use NASCO to train lifeguards at its five waterparks...

...The list of experts who reject the Heimlich maneuver (to revive drowning victims) is lengthy: The American Red Cross; the United States Lifesaving Association; the American Heart Association; the Institute of Medicine; the International Life Saving Federation and many experienced doctors and academics have strongly inveighed against doing “abdominal thrusts” for drowning victims.

...Dr. James Orlowski said he has documented nearly 40 cases where rescuers performing the Heimlich maneuver have caused complications for the victim. Orlowski is chief of pediatrics and pediatric intensive care at University Community Hospital in Tampa.

Later that day:



Fast forward to a few weeks ago.

On July 10, WWOR-TV broadcast this report by investigative reporter Brenda Flanagan about four Jersey shore water parks whose lifeguards were trained by NASCO. The story included interviews with representatives of the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association warning against performing the Heimlich maneuver to revive drowning victims.



The next day, one of the water parks - Breakwater Beach in Seaside Heights - posted a statement on their website that included:

On Tuesday night, Channel 9 NY News ran a story on waterpark safety and the training of lifeguards in rescue methods...Some of the points made in the story are categorically untrue...

...Another issue raised in the story was the use of in-water abdominal thrusts. Our guards are taught to give five and only five quick abdominal thrusts to an unconscious victim in the water as the victim is being extricated to the pool deck.

...Please know that while media attempts to sensationalize a story for their benefit (their “experts” in the story of course sided with them, however there exists experts on the other side of the argument as well who were not interviewed for this story) , that Breakwater Beach is committed to ensuring the absolute safety of our guests.

I wanted to learn the names of the "experts on the other side of the argument...who were not interviewed for this story," so I asked Breakwater Beach.

Per the e-mail exchange below, the only name they provided was NASCO who, according to Flanagan's report, "refused to discuss anything with us." (time stamp 3:30).

Lou Cirigliano, Jr. (source)

Lou Cirigliano, Jr., Breakwater Beach general manager, defended the use of abdominal thrusts to revive drowning victims and suggested I contact NASCO president John Hunsucker PhD:

(He) might be able to refer you onto any other expert who agrees with his data. We do not specifically have anyone we know to recommend to you as we are not part of this “fight” but as I mentioned earlier, I am positive if all knew the data and the actual rescue (sic), you’d easily find people on both sides of the aisle.

I also asked him for a reaction comment to this quote from a May 2012 editorial in Aquatics International magazine:

(There) are times when science must be paramount, particularly when going with our gut means using people as guinea pigs. That is essentially what (NASCO) has decided to do in its use of the Heimlich maneuver for drowning rescues.

Cirigliano replied that he didn't wish to comment.

My father and Dr. Neal Barnard at a 25th Anniversary gala of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), West Hollywood, CA, April 11, 2010; click here for video in which my father appears at timestamp 1:45

HERE IS THE REST OF THE STORY REGARDING DR. NEAL BARNARD AND DR. HEIMLICH, Letter to the Editor, The Forum, Fargo, North Dakota, June 16, 2012