August 20. 2012 James M.

Sullivan Office of the Inspector General Chicago Public Schools 850 West Jackson Boulevard, suite 500 Chicago, Illinois 60607 Inspector General Sullivan: Please amend my January 5, 2011 investigation request to you to include the following information. Per the attached August 17, 2012 article I reported on my blog, 1 according to a number of records dating from year 2000 including the attached February 9, 2004 official statement I received from Carol J. Spizzirri, founder/president of the Save-A-Life Foundation (SALF), her organization's first aid training program taught and recommended that near-drowning victims should be revived by the use of the Heimlich maneuver (a/k/a abdominal thrusts). Years earlier, preeminent medical and water safety organizations including the American Red Cross (2000); the United States Lifesaving Association (1996); the American Heart Association (2000); the Institute of Medicine (1995); the International Life Saving Federation (1998) determined that the treatment was ineffective and potentially lethal since it wastes time and may cause vomiting leading to aspiration. (The listed years following the names of the organizations are links that lead to reports and statements issued by those organizations.) According to a June 3, 2011 article in the Washington Post: 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. According to an October 11, 2009 Chicago Tribune article by reporter Lisa Black: (Spizzirri) estimates 2 million children took the classes, many of them from the Chicago Public Schools. If that figure and other published claims are accurate, the Save-A-Life Foundation may have trained hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Chicago Public Schools students to perform an unproven, unapproved, thoroughlydiscredited treatment that could result in serious injuries or death. Thank you for your continued attention. If you require more information, please don't hesitate to contact me. Sincerely,

Peter M. Heimlich 3630 River Hollow Run Duluth, GA 30096 ph: (208)474-7283 website: Medfraud blog: The Sidebar cc: Jean-Claude Brizard, CEO, Chicago Public Schools Jesse Ruiz, Vice President, Chicago Board of Education Lisa Black, Chicago Tribune

1 CDC, National Guard, Illinois agencies awarded millions of tax dollars to Chicago nonprofit that taught unapproved,
thoroughly-discredited, potentially-lethal medical treatment by Peter M. Heimlich, The Sidebar, August 17, 2012

the-sidebar.com

http://w w w .the-sidebar.com/2012/08/cdc-national-guard-illinois-agencies.html

CDC, National Guard, Illinois agencies awarded millions of tax dollars to Chicago nonprofit that taught unapproved, thoroughly-discredited, potentially-lethal medical treatment
Video clip from SALF's 1/19/05 presentation to US Conference of Mayors. Features kissy intros by SALF executives Rita Mullins (former mayor of Palatine, IL) and Carol Spizzirri. SALF is now reportedly under investigation by the IL Attorney General. According to a January letter from IL State Senator Tim Bivins, Spizzirri celebrated Xmas 2011 at Mullins's home in Palatine. From Save-A-Life Foundation in limbo, an October 11, 2009 Chicago Tribune article by staff reporter Lisa Black:

(Carol) Spizzirri launched a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching children emergency response techniques, raising at least $8.6 million in federal and state grants for her Save-A-Life Foundation...(Spizzirri) estimates 2 million children took the classes, many of them from the Chicago Public Schools.

If that's accurate - according to a number of records, including an official statement I received from Carol Spizzirri - a generation of Chicago students were taught to perform the Heimlich maneuver on drowning victims, an unapproved treatment that preeminent medical and water safety organizations had already determined was ineffective and potentially lethal since it wastes time and may cause vomiting leading to aspiration. The millions of public dollars that funded SALF came from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Guard, and numerous Illinois state agencies. The following is from last year's Washington Post. In parentheses, I've added dates with links to the supporting documents.

(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.

...The list of experts who reject the Heimlich maneuver (to revive drowning victims) is lengthy: The American Red Cross (2000); the United States Lifesaving Association (1996); the American Heart Association (2000); the Institute of Medicine (1995); the International Life Saving Federation (1998).

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

Via a Cleveland Scene cover story by reporter Thomas Francis that references the IOM's 1995 benchmark report rejecting the use of the Heimlich maneuver to revive drowning victims:

"The Institute of Medicine is the crown jewel of medical intelligentsia in the United States," says (drowning expert and retired Coast Guard Admiral Alan) Steinman. "They look ed at this issue and said, 'Bad idea.'"

Five years later, SALF's medical director ignored the IOM report and the other organizations. From Water Rescue Sequence: The Controversial Role of the Heimlich Maneuver (in drowning rescue) the year 2000 article by Pamela Mills-Senn which was the Rosetta Stone for much of my later research:

Form er SALF m edical director Stanley Zydlo MD at a 2009 book signing (source)

Since there are no published studies supporting the use of the Heimlich maneuver for drowning rescue, it's unclear what "documented literature" Dr. Zydlo researched. His time might have been better spent researching SALF's founder/president.

From Where Did the Save-A-Life Money Go? by Don Bauder in the November 17, 2010 San Diego Reader:

(Carol) Spizzirri was a darling of politicians and bureaucrats, although it was a matter of record that she had been convicted twice for shoplifting. Save-A-Life began rak ing in money from government grants. ...(Spizzirri) had told (ABC I-Team reporter Chuck Goudie) that she was a registered nurse. But the station reported that the institution from which she had claimed to receive her nursing degree had never given her one. A hospital in which she had claimed to be a transplant nurse said she had been a patient care assistant, which is ak in to a candy striper....

...On May 18, 1992 - four months before the fatal accident - Christina filed for an order of protection against her mother...The complaint stated that Spizzirri had struck Christina on several occasions and threatened her on many occasions.

Per the May 30, 2000 Los Angeles Times, Ellis & Associates, the lifeguard training company discussed in Mills-Senn's article, dumped the Heimlich-for-drowning protocol shortly after her article appeared. But SALF continued to teach and promote the treatment. Here's a May 3, 2001 workshop held at the Illinois PTA's annual convention:

A year later, my father told reporter Angela D. Sykora of the Grayslak e Review (IL):

SALF executives Rita Mullins (in the red turtleneck) and Carol Spizzirri (seated) w ith Mike "Heckuva job, Brow nie" Brow n at January 23, 2003 signing cerem ony w hen SALF becam e a FEMA m em ber organization, US Conference of Mayors annual m eeting, Washington, DC. Six years later, as first reported by The Sidebar, FEMA kicked SALF out.

Astoundingly, in January 2003 SALF became a member organization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. My father marked the occasion with a joint letter to FEMA chief Mike Brown and Carol Spizzirri (page down) that included:

In other words, FEMA was fully aware that SALF's training program was putting the public at risk as the agency provided SALF access "to train and educate children and families in basic first aid through the Citizen Corps network of state and local councils." Two years later, from SALF's annual "Bridge the Gap" convention in 2005:

Here comes the clincher. When I started researching my father's career in 2002, I already knew he hadn't held a hospital job since he was fired for misconduct in 1976 by Cincinnati's Jewish Hospital. But I quickly learned that for decades he's been persona non grata in the medical profession. Besides his crackpot claims that the Heimlich maneuver can revive drowning victims, stop asthma attacks, and cure cystic fibrosis, the Heimlich Institute conducted a series of notorious offshore experiments in which US and foreign nationals suffering with cancer, Lyme Disease, and AIDS were infected with malaria. (For more details, watch Brian Ross's ABC 20/20 report, Is Dr. Heimlich really a savior?) Sure he has a famous name, but what legitimate organization would want him as a medical adviser? And what reputable first aid training group would teach the public to perform the Heimlich maneuver on drowning victims, as reported by Pamela MillsSenn? I wanted to find out for myself so in early 2004, using a pseudonym, I emailed SALF and asked for a position statement. In a chirpy, solicitous February 8, 2004 e-mail, Carol Spizzirri sent me the following. (Page down to view the entire letter which, incidentally, is littered with grammatical errors.)

My father and SALF's second-in-com m and, form er Palatine, IL m ayor Rita Mullins

Were the CDC, the National Guard, and the Illinois government agencies aware that they were providing millions of dollars to an organization that was teaching and promoting an unapproved, long-discredited medical treatment that might seriously injure or kill people? Did any of these agencies ever review SALF's training protocols? Did any of them ask the American Heart Association, the

American Red Cross, or independent medical experts to evaluate SALF's program? What about the prominent public officials from Illinois like Arne Duncan, Senator Dick Durbin, Congressman John Shimkus, Paul Vallas, Gery Chico, and others who promoted and/or helped fund SALF? Were they even aware what SALF was teaching to students in their state? In days to come, I'll try to get answers to those questions and will report the results here. This item has been slightly revised.

Subject: RE: Author Inquiry: Heimlich maneuver for near-drowning From: "Carol" <carol@salf.org> Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2004 22:03:58 -0600 To: (REDACTED) I apologize that there was no one here to take your call today and for the tartness of responding to your email. As to making an official statement in using the Heimlich maneuver for near-drowning victims, Save A Life Foundation (SALF) does recognize the use of the Heimlich maneuver for near-drowning rescue and makes reference to this in our class training. SALF's official training is based on Life Supporting First Aid, as defined by Dr. Peter Safar, and in concurrence by Dr. Henry Heimlich who both are founding members of SALF's Medical Board. "When a life is threaten, one must do anything possible to save it." stated to me by Peter Safar, Father of CPR, 2000. Researchers as Dr. Heimlich and Dr. Safar have dedicated their lives for man-kind. The countless lives that have been saved by both of these individuals will never be truly recognized until we embrace these skills as part of our life style and incorporate them in our school curriculum, giving future citizens the ability to save a life. Americans stand tens of years behind other countries in requiring these skills as part of driver's education. Isn't is sad, that with these brilliant humanitarians in our midst, we have denied our own people their talents and continuously question their research, even though we witness people's lives saved with their use. Dr. Heimlich himself would be more than happy to provide you with any data confirming his findings on the use of the Heimlich maneuver in near drowning rescue, including a statement by Dr. Peter Safar, deceased 2003. Please contact him at Heimlich Institute 513-559-2391, 311 Straight Street Cincinnati, OH 45219. If I can be of further assistance, do not hesitate to call me at 847-928-9683 or email me again. Thank you for taking the initiative to bring this topic to light. Warmest regards Carol J Spizzirri Pres/Founder Save A Life Foundation O'Hare Aerospace Center 9950 West Lawrence Ave Ste #300 Schiller Park, IL 60176 www@salf.org carol@salf.org

Carol Spiz7irii President Save a Life Foundation (SALFj Mike Brown National Director FEMA's Citizen Corps Dear Ms. Spi2-orri and Mr. Brown:

January 20.2(H)3

HEIMUCH IMSTlIllfE
311 STRAIGHT STREET
CNCIWJATI

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*571S 613*S-Z39i

I wish to congratulate you on the establishment of a partnership between SALF and FEMA to prepare citizens to help assist in limes of disaster. This affiliation has the potential to save thousands of lives. As you know, from my lectures at SALF national conferences, I am the discoverer of the Hcimlich maneuver. I am gratified that your organizations will tench the Maneuver in your program. Be assured that the Hetmlich Institute and I. personally, will collaborate with you in this effort Tens of thousands of choking victims are saved by the Hcimlich maneuver because it is known throughout the world. Yet. as the public was informed. President Rush fell unconscious when aJone in a room in the White House* a* he choked on a pretzel. His lite was saved because as he fell, his abdomen struck the floor, apparently performing ihe effect of a Hcimlich maneuver. Everyone must be laugh! how to perform the Maneuver on themselves. SALF has been leaching lhat the Hcimlich maneuver be used lo sa\c drowning victims. Drowning occurs because the lungs fill with water. The Maneuver clears the water from the lun(js. saving 97% of unconscious, non-breathiny drowning persons Outdated methods resulted in ihe death of 50-60% of such victims. Though lifeguards know to use the Maneuver, one thousand children, especially toddlers, die of drowning in their home every year in bathtubs, pails of water, toilets, and pools. Only theparen; or baby siller are present and must save these children. Lastly, 5*000 Americans die annually during an asthma attack, a quarter of them arc children The Hcimlich maneuver expels trapped air and mucous plugs, stopping the attack and saving these lives. Your cooperative effort will be successful and save many lives because SALF has the experience of leaching lifesaving measures to masses of people school children. police, firelighters, and the public.

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Benefiting Humanr Through Health ana Peace

Henry J. Hcimlich. M.D., Sc.lX President, Hcitniwh Institute

AttihaiBd with Deaconess Assocrauotis hie.