Cincinnati post

SALF Retires Dr. Henry Heimlich

Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati

The Save A Life Foundation (SALF) recently came under attack when Chicago’s Chuck Goudie mounted this two part investigative report in November, 2006. The report pursued Carol Spizzirri, founder of SALF—reporting that her credentials appear to be faked, that the story she tells about her own daughter’s death appears to be fabricated, and that some of the lifesaving techniques her organization teaches school children have been discredited by the medical establishment. Specifically, SALF was helping push the Dr. Henry Heimlich medical agenda—and Heimlich was a member of the SALF board.

In a statement issued yesterday, SALF announced that they were retiring Heimlich from his position on their board:

On January 4, the Save A Life Foundation Executive Board of Directors announced its decision to retire SALF’s affiliation with Dr. Henry Heimlich, from its Medical Advisory Board, effective immediately. The Executive Board has initiated this action to allow Dr. Heimlich to focus on personal matters that would prevent him from serving as an effective representative of SALF’s mission, goals and objectives.”....Since its inception in 1993, SALF has taught more than one million children in Life Sustaining First Aid skills including, scene safety, bleed control, rescue breathing, opening an airway, CPR, and abdominal thrust.

Notice that last moniker? “Abdominal thrust.” Not only has SALF “retired” Henry Heimlich, they have also dropped his brand-name. Also notice that Heimlich did not initiate the split from SALF—the board “initiated this action to allow Dr. Heimlich to focus on personal matters that would prevent him from serving as an effective representative of SALF’s mission, goals and objectives.” One must wonder what kind of personal matters might prevent him from pursuing SALF’s mission.

Consider this excerpt from Part 2 of Chuck Goudie’s investigative work given this new context of SALF retiring Heimlich from his advisory position:

The Red Cross recommends Heimlich’s abdominal thrust only if back slaps fail. That is the opposite of what the Save-A-Life Foundation continues to teach to thousands of school children in Chicago and several other states.

“We have trained this year alone, in the Chicago Public Schools alone, 67,000 children,” said Carol Spizzirri, Save-A-Life Foundation.

Spizzirri is the founder of Save-A-Life. She claims to have a nursing degree and be a registered nurse, but state officials say their records show that neither is true. When the I-Team challenged her qualifications, Spizzirri walked out on our interview and has since declined numerous offers to supply evidence of her medical training and licensing.

A Spizzirri spokesman did e-mail a statement fully supporting the Heimlich method, which is hardly surprising, because Spizzirri enlisted Dr. Henry Heimlich as the medical advisor of Save-A-Life.

Heimlich has rejected the Red Cross’ downgrading of his maneuver for choking and continues urging that it be used for other things as well, including drowning.

“The Heimlich maneuver can drive the water out. The Heimlich maneuver will stop an asthma attack,” said Heimlich.

Heimlich also urges the maneuver be used on cystic fibrosis victims, all claims that have stunned the medical community and major medical organizations, which warn that the use of the Heimlich maneuver in those situations could be fatal.

The American Lung Association asked Chicago respiratory expert Dr. John Shannon to speak with us.

“It shouldn’t be used at all in asthma in cystic fibrosis or any chronic inflation disorder in the lung passages,” said Dr. John Shannon, Stroger Cook County Hospital ."There is a good possibility of making a person with asthma substantially worse.”

Did Carol Spizzirri know how controversial Henry Heimlich’s medical theories were when they first linked together? Did Spizzirri know she was teaching such controversial methods to schoolchildren? Or, did SALF only learn the truth when Chuck Goudie mounted his report? Did SALF retire Heimlich because his medical advice is unsound? What “personal matters” would stop Heimlich from advising an organization on how to save lives?

The recent announcement from SALF catalyzes more questions than it answers.

Tell us what you think!

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1. Christopher P. Fanny says:
09 Jan 2007 at 11:04 am | #

Quite a season for the Heimlichs. Dr. Hank gets “retired” by this organization and Phil got “retired” by the electorate!
2. Wandering Mind says:
09 Jan 2007 at 11:05 am | #

So just how do you “retire” an affiliation? Don’t you sever or break an affiliation? Don’t you retire when it is voluntary? Strange choice of words.
3. Renee says:
09 Jan 2007 at 11:08 am | #

Another “proof” that the Cincinnati media is IGNORING this entire mess.
How much more does there have to be before someone picks up on this disaster? When is the Enquirer going to publish a correction to their story? When is the broadcast media going to do something like Chuckie did? The story is there for the picking.
And with Phil still on the Board of the Institute and now unemployed, I bet there is more to the story that we don’t know about.
4. Coconutnoodle says:
13 Feb 2007 at 04:38 pm | #

I was so happy to hear about this! I used to work for SALF, and I always thought something was fishy. She would constantly be gone on “business trips”, and they were for weeks at a time. From experience, I know that business trips are usually for 1-2 days, not weeks. They would always seem to be to “plush” locations - Florida, California, etc.. Plus, she would always bring her constant companion, Rita Mullins, the Mayor of Palatine.

Carol would always be dressed to the hilt, everything was top of the line, right down to her designer bags. You would think that a founder of an organization would be humble, and not dress like she did. It just looks bad. She was always complaining that she never got enough money from the government “for her organization.” Hmmm… I think the organization she used to speak of was her own pocket.

She has an exceedingly psycho personality. Carol would be nice one moment, then snap at everyone the next. Everyone that worked there thought Carol was bi-polar. Her daughter Ciprina, who used to work there with us, even stated that her mother should be on medication. Carol even went as far as firing a girl that worked there with us because she didn’t invite her to the wedding. With a temperament like that, who would want her at any wedding?

I hope she gets what she deserves - time in prison!
5. Alice B. Toke-less says:
14 Feb 2007 at 10:05 pm | #

They would always seem to be to “plush” locations - Florida, California, etc.. Plus, she would always bring her constant companion, Rita Mullins, the Mayor of Palatine...Everyone that worked there thought Carol was bi-polar.

Bi-polar? With all those long trips with her constant companion, sounds like she’s also bi-something else.
6. anon says:
15 Feb 2007 at 09:52 am | #

Attn: Coconutnoodle and others with information about SALF and Carol Spizzirri

Suggested contacts:

Chuck Goudie, ABC News Chicago, did the recent exposes on Spizzirri and on the Heimlich Institute: (312)650-7777

Dr. Robert Baratz, president of the National Council Against Health Fraud, was featured in Goudie’s reports. He may also be interested in follow-up information about SALF or Heimlich. Click here for contact info.
7. doodle says:
01 Jun 2007 at 10:12 am | #

I would LOVE an update on this situation.
8. toronto wedding says:
22 May 2008 at 12:17 am | #

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