Elaine Hopkins recent article contained information that the Peoria Journal Star did not want Peoria to know. The article has scared off alot of other people as well.
The Peoria City Council recently voted unanimously to approve the PFD contract. Part of the new contract allowed the PFD to provide Paramedic care for the first time ever.
This was historic news for Peoria regarding a topic that has been called "closed" by Peoria's leaders.
Consider this paragraph in Elaine's article:"Carroll’s complaints to hospital ethicists, the Peoria Medical Society, the Christian Medical Society, the Peoria Catholic Diocese and other organizations have all been ignored or brushed off, Carroll said".
What does this paragraph mean and why is it so intimidating?
On three separate occasions, I let Joe Piccione, OSF Corporate Ethicist, know of my concerns regarding the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) monopoly. He told me that I was mandated to report this. However when I did, Piccione, Sister Judith Ann, Jim Moore, and Dr. Gerry McShane did not respond. In my opinion, OSF ethicists did not want to debate the ethics of an issue like this that was being sustained by OSF (and others) for economic reasons.
I contacted the President of the Peoria Medical Society (Dr. Rich Anderson) and let him know of my concerns. Dr. Anderson e mailed me and told me that the EMS situation in Peoria was fine...and also told me not to reproduce any of his e mail. Why would he not want his e mail reproduced? And as it turned out, it does not appear that everything regarding EMS was "fine" in Peoria, as evidenced by the policy change.
The Catholic Diocese of Peoria didn't want to deal with Peoria's ambulance monopoly either and threatened me if I got involved. Monsignor Steven Rohlfs, who was Vicar General of the Diocese, and Patricia Gibson the Canon Law Lawyer for the Diocese, told me in Monsignor Rohlf's office that if I petitioned for a Canon Law Tribunal regarding OSF and ANY ISSUE, the Diocese would come out in the media against me and Haitian Hearts. And when I did file the petition with the Diocese regarding the EMS monopoly sustained by OSF, Monsignor Rohlfs wrote me back to take the ambulance monopoly issue to Rome. He said that Bishop Jenky had no jurisdiction regarding this issue generated from the largest Catholic hospital south of Chicago located about six blocks from the Diocesan Chancery.
These are three big reasons that the Journal Star and others did not want to print the news. Who would want to alienate these three powerful institutions?
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