Afflict the Comfortable

I submitted this article to the Forum at the Journal Star on July 3.

I was told that Mike Bailey, editor of the Opinion section, killed my article. I e mailed Mr. Bailey and asked him why he decided not to print my article. I also asked him what I could do to revise it to survive his review.

I never received a response.

"The job of a newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."
--Finley Peter Dunne

Face of Peoria Diocese Changing

The Peoria Catholic Post editorial on June 15, 2008 was titled “Face of Diocese Changing”. The article focused on the massive amount of construction that is occurring within the Peoria Diocese.

“As the sounds of construction echo this summer heralding wonderful, anticipated projects such as expanded Catholic Newman Centers at the University of Illinois and Illinois State University, the Milestone Project at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, and the Diocese of Peoria’s own pastoral center, we have another reminder that everything in this world is passing.”

Tom Dermody, editor of the Catholic Post, ends his article with, “The true face of this diocese will always be Jesus, gloriously the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Who can disagree with this last statement but it just did not seem to go along with the article.

I am sure Tom means well. However, the Publisher of the Post is Bishop Daniel Jenky and Tom isn’t naive.

I think that the "face of Jesus" would have been more real if the OSF Milestone Project, which is costing about $500 million dollars, were less expensive and more Haitian Hearts patients were alive today. OSF is turning away dying Haitian children while they construct the largest private construction project in Peoria history.

Much of the same issue of the Catholic Post concerns the poor of the world and programs like Catholic Charities and JustFaith. There was also an article regarding a Peoria diocesan priest and his two children who he supports in Mexico through the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (“We don’t see poverty. We see potential".) I wonder what OSF would say if this good priest tried to bring one or both of his “children” from Mexico for medical care?

The actions of the leaders of the OSF and the Catholic Diocese of Peoria seem to be opposite to many of the themes of the articles written about the poor in the Catholic Post. That can leave the laity confused.
-------------------------------------

I love Peoria Notre Dame High School. My family runs on the beautiful Mervyn Haycock Athletic Field track and we pass the football on the adjacent green soccer field. Both of these fields are next to the school. The other night two rainbows were in the sky and the moon was coming above the ND goal post as we played on these fields.

The Catholic Post’s top story on June 22, 2008 regarded a feasibility study planned to determine the level of financial support for the construction of a new Peoria Notre Dame High School to be built on donated land off Willow Knolls Road in north Peoria.

Do we really need a new Catholic High School in Peoria? I realize that the high school is more than just athletic fields, but is a new campus necessary?

The full construction cost for the proposed new facility is $60 million dollars. Tuition will most likely go up at the new facility. What about kids in the future that want to go to Notre Dame. Will their parents be able to afford it? Will they be able to find the new school on the north side of Peoria?

The article named and quoted a lady who had a positive reaction to building a new school. Interestingly, the article also stated that, “A man in attendance who asked not to be named expressed concerns about fundraising in the present economy, and noted area parishes with capital campaigns already under way or planned in the near future.”

Why do you think that the man wished to remain anonymous? Because he doesn’t want to publicly disagree with Bishop Jenky and other powerful people. I am sure he thinks that the school will be built and his public disagreement or caution would and could hurt him and his family. (Notre Dame has been working with the diocese on this project and has the blessing of the bishop.)

I have no doubts either that the new high school will be built and there will be many good aspects. But is the greater good served in Peoria with the construction of this school?

I have also seen Saint Joseph’s Home on Heading Avenue open in the 50’s and close in the early 2000’s. Old people are just not viewed the same as constructing a new $60 million dollar high school, Newman Centers in two cities, and a one-half billion dollar medical center expansion. And the elderly obviously did not have the support of Bishop Jenky.

My view is probably myopic. But I have seen up close and personal what OSF’s administrative philosophy and expansion efforts, backed by the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, have done to Haitian Hearts patients. Staring at the body of a young Haitian patient and friend of mine lying on the autopsy table is a sobering experience and made me realize how powerful and wrong OSF really is. He had been a patient at OSF but was denied care at OSF when he needed repeat heart surgery.

And with the support of the Diocese, OSF has partially forgotten why they were founded 130 years ago.

So big building projects scare me especially when the Catholic Diocese of Peoria and OSF are involved.

Peoria Public Transportation Provides Medical Transportation

I submitted the following article to the Journal Star Forum on July 3, 2008...several days before the Peoria City Council voted to allow the Peoria Fire Department to provide Paramedic services.
------------------------------

Journal Star Forum Article Submission:

A recent Journal Star article reported an accident in Peoria where a CityLink bus was rear ended by a car. According to the article, at least 13 people were "sent to the hospital" for evaluation. The accompanying photo showed the Peoria Fire Department (PFD) rescue firefighters caring for the injured bus passengers that they had placed on stretchers.

According to the article accident victims sat on the sidewalk waiting for additional Advanced Medical Transport (AMT) ambulances to arrive. The reason these people had to wait, is that the PFD is not allowed to transport emergency patients. The PFD had their own rescue vehicle several years ago but were not allowed to use it for transport…so they sold it.

What was not reported in the article was that AMT asked CityLink to help out. CityLink graciously sent a van and transported injured victims to the hospital.

Isn't this amazing when CityLink needs to transport patients who may have broken necks while the PFD cannot? And unless the policy has recently changed, if any of the bus accident victims were seriously injured at the crash scene, the PFD paramedics could not have provided paramedic support for the victims if AMT was not present.

As reported by the Journal Star a couple of years ago, when no other transport agency was quickly available, the Dunlap Fire Chief transported one of his own Dunlap firefighters who had lost consciousness at the scene of an emergency. To protect his firefighter, he had used common sense but crossed the powers that be who control our local Emergency Medical Services. Because of his action the Dunlap Fire Chief came very close to losing his job.

Something seems wrong here.

The paramedic and ambulance transport monopoly in Peoria, fueled by conflict of interest and the mighty dollar, is not patient friendly. This bus accident helps show Peoria is not ready for a more serious mass casualty.

John A. Carroll, M.D.

haitianhearts@gmail.com

Finally, a Small Step...

The Peoria City Council voted unanimously last night to OK the new Peoria Fire Department contract.

See Journal Star article below.

For the first time ever, the Peoria Fire Department firefighters will be able to act as paramedics (without the oversight of Advanced Medical Transport) and provide advanced life support at the scene of a medical emergency.

Over the last few years the Peoria Medical Society told me that they did not see a need for this change to be made in Peoria, the Catholic Diocese of Peoria referred me to the Pope regarding Advanced Medical Transport and their "alleged monopoly" of local pre hospital care, and the OSF Corporate Ethics Committee and the OSF Compliance Officer refused to hear my concerns over this dangerous issue. And Dr. George Hevesy, who was receiving salaries from OSF-SFMC and Advanced Medical Transport when he was director of ambulances (Project Medical Director), told the Peoria City Council years ago that allowing the Peoria Fire Department to get involved with advanced life support was "duplication of services".

Many patients that have called 911 in Peoria and had to wait long periods of time for paramedic care probably would disagree with the above statements.

Obviously everything is not transparent here and OSF and their present Project Medical Director (who works under Dr. Hevesy in the OSF Emergency Department) had to agree with this policy improvement, or it would not have happened.

The Peoria Fire Department still cannot transport patients to local hospitals, so Advanced Medical Transport will not lose their income in transportation.

And most importantly many patients will be treated earlier when precious minutes can mean the difference between life and death. Too bad this common sense decision took so many years to occur.
---------------------------

By John Sharp
of the Journal Star
Posted Jul 07, 2008 @ 10:04 PM

PEORIA — The City Council will vote on a three-year contract that affects 198 Peoria fire union employees tonight, less than 24 hours after the union had a chance to ratify it.

Mike Morrow, vice president of Fire Fighters Local 50, said Monday that union members were voting on the contract throughout the day and evening. A final vote would not be known until early this morning.

The union leadership recommended approval of the contract, which covers the period of Jan. 1, 2008, to Dec. 31, 2010.

"We anticipate ratification by the union," said Kimberly King, a city attorney who participated in negotiations between the union and the city. "The negotiations really did go well in terms of folks being reasonable on their requests."

Major contractual provisions include the following:

- Wage increases of 3 1/2 percent each year retroactive to Jan. 1.

- The establishment of Advanced Life Support (ALS) engine companies at two stations in the north end of the city.

According to the city, there will be a 2 percent paramedic pay incentive given whenever a union member becomes ALS licensed by the state. The incentive pay is limited to 16 paramedics on staff. Fire Chief Kent Tomblin said there are about 10 union members who are certified.

King said having two ALS engine companies allows firefighters who respond to emergency calls to be better equipped to handle a "higher level of medical support to a distressed individual" before Advance Medical Transport (AMT) arrives.

Right now, firefighters trained as paramedics provide basic life support services, King said. She said there are no engine companies directly assigned for this type of emergency service.

- New firefighters' starting salary will remain $43,427, although the pay steps will change. It takes a union member eight years before topping out on the salary pay schedule, Tomblin added.

"It's a very good contract," he said.

Morrow said he will be able to comment more about the contract after the union's vote.

The contract is the result of six to seven months of negotiations. Local 50 members had about two weeks to review the agreement before Monday's ratification vote.



John Sharp can be reached at 686-3282 or jsharp@pjstar.com.

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Copyright © 2008 GateHouse Media, Inc. Some Rights Reserved.
Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.

Abandonment

Dear Bishop Jenky and OSF-Saint Francis Medical Center,

"We are guilty of many errors and faults,
but out worst crime is abandoning the children,
neglecting the fountain of youth.

Many things we need can wait.
The child cannot.

Right now his bones are being formed,
His blood is being made and his senses are being developed.

To him we cannot answer "Tomorrow".
His name is "Today".

---Gabriela Mistres,
Chilean Nobel Prizewinner

ER's Reflect Health Care System

I think that Mr. Steffen should have listened more closely in 2001 regarding overcrowding in the ER at OSF. When I wrote him the letter, the system at OSF was dysfunctional and old people were waiting in the ER much too long. I thought that it was a very dangerous situation for patients at OSF.

See JAMA article from June 11, 2008 describing what has been going on for years.

"One does not have to be guilty of a crime to be ethically challenged." (Commenter on Tribune John Kass article.)

OSF Doesn't Care

See Peoria Heights post on this blog from last year.

OSF Acquires "High Profile" Practices

OSF Expansion (06/09/08)
By FRANK RADOSEVICH II
Journal Star
Posted Jun 09, 2008 @ 10:53 PM
Last update Jun 09, 2008 @ 11:41 PM


PEORIA — Citing stiffer competition and a desire to make itself a household name, OSF Healthcare System is looking to increase its market share by expanding its reach throughout a wide swath of the state.

The not-for-profit organization that operates six Illinois hospitals, including flagship facility OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, announced last week it would add three high-profile private medical practices to its fold in an effort to boost its regional presence.

The three doctor groups, specializing in heart care, children's health and neuroscience, were chosen for their high volume of patients and the fact that hospital officials see the need for those specialties growing in the future.

Keith Steffen, St. Francis CEO, said in the last 12 to 14 months more health care facilities have popped up - ranging from hospitals to private clinics - especially around Chicago and its suburbs, eroding sections of OSF Healthcare System's reach. By adding the specialist groups, the health care company hopes to flesh out and cement its status as an area player in the medical field.

"If you look at what Chicago's doing, they're moving west and south. There's no question about it. They're building new hospitals, they're putting up physician clinics," Steffen said. "So for us and for the city of Peoria, it's defending our peripheries. If we're not out there, somebody else is going to be out there."

Hospital officials said their objective is not to compete with local facilities but instead eventually vie for customers who usually seek treatment in larger cities such as Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Indianapolis. The goal is to turn the health system into a regional draw for patients who will know it for its highly specialized and unequaled care, they said.

Since the early 1990s, St. Francis has served 34 Illinois counties and currently sees more than 30 percent of its patients coming from outside the Tri-County Area. Steffen hopes to increase that number.

Observers of the health care industry said the move likely will bolster OSF Healthcare System's bottom line as well. Doctors who specialize in certain fields typically rake in more money for health care facilities than general or family practitioners.

"They are one of the highest revenue-producing services," said Bettina French, a spokeswoman with the Illinois Hospital Association. "They offset losses."

French said the strategy of shoring up specialists is not unusual and is turning into a nationwide trend as hospital try to set themselves apart from each other. Though in the future, she said, the rankings given by patients on a Web site may one day serve as the litmus test for a facility's level of care.

Jim Farrell, director for marketing and communications for OSF Healthcare System, said the move also will help the organization enlist more specialists by offering prospective recruits a high number of patients and strong infrastructure from the hospital. Costs also are expected to decline since consolidation will keep services under one roof.

George Geagea, chief operating officer for Associated University Neurosurgeons, one of the groups bought by OSF Healthcare System, said the group sees the deal as a chance to create a destination for health care in the Midwest.

"We want to build an institution reputation," he said.



Comments (11)

1. Why do you need to compete, spread your range and attract new business if you are non-profit? People will continue to buy into this until we have no choice but OSF. Charities don't vie for customers to take their services. People don't buy stock in a corporation unless they plan on making money. Private clinics should not be a problem if you aren't trying to attract their customers who are willing to pay extra dollars for health care.

2. It has been rumored for many months that Heart Care Midwest was in financial problems. This may be their only way of staying afloat.

3. Heart Care Midwest has always been tied with OSF. Their doctors practice there. They have an OSF lab in their basement. I would imagine their "financial problems" is the same as OSF, the desire to make more money. They are about as non-profit as the OSF corporation.

4. there is not an osf lab in the basement of hcm alot of healthcare providers are losing money due to change in insurance, medicare is not paying for alot of the procedures that these patients need and the physicians do what is best for the patient,whether they get paid or not. besides that with our economy so screwed right now who doesn't have "financial problems"?

5. oh yeah the HCM physicians go to all of the hospitals in our area this includes osf, methodist,pekin,bromenn,cCanton-Graham Hospital
cottage,st. josephs,st mary's. they also go to satelite clinics which include
Carthage-Memorial Hospital
Kewanee-Kewanee Hospital
Macomb-McDonough District Hospital
Monmouth-OSF Holy Family Hospital
Ottawa-Community Hospital of Ottawa
Pontiac-OSF Saint James - John W. Albrecht Medical Center
Peru-Illinois Valley Community Hospital
Princeton-Perry Memorial Hospital
Spring Valley-St. Margaret's Hospital
so there is no favortism here. Osf is grgowing so HCM is going to grow with them.

6. saint francis makes a lot of money tangentially by having all the foundations that everyone contributes into that feed right back into the hospital. what a racket.
every time you give in this town it goes back into the same system

7. They can afford it
$80,000.00 for 3 days

8. John A. Carroll, M.D.
www.peoriasmedicalmafia.com

Will Peoria’s population be better off with OSF’s acquisition of three high yield specialties? Were OSF's motives to improve the health of people or to improve OSF's bottom line?

Why didn’t OSF direct its attention to promote primary care, preventative medicine, and psychiatric care for the people of Peoria? Quite simply, these areas don’t make enough money for OSF.

The OSF Health Care System CEO’s annual salary exceeds 1 million dollars in large part due to "not-for-profit" OSF-Saint Francis Medical Center. Something seems wrong here...

And what do Mr. Steffen’s comments about “defending the peripheries” have to do with the OSF founding Sisters philosophy of serving the needy with the “greatest care and love”?

Peorians are being duped again by OSF.



9. Agree
That Dr Carroll knows what happens when you are on the wrong end of this christian organization.
I am not sure who this neurosurgeon is he sure is not any one I hav ever heard of and I have been in the medical community for 22 years here in town.
I do know that Dr Carroll has always spoke the truth.
when they take away your choice what do you have to gain.
By state statute they can not restrict the physicians that come to the hospital but they will strangle them by dictating the referral patterns of the physicians they own.
What a sell out for heart care and for the neurosurgeons.
if they could run their businesses well they would not be joining but cojmpeting
they are weakly managed

10. Reply to agree
The person who made a comment from the neurosurgery office is the chief operating officer, not a neurosurgeon. That is probably why you have not heard of him.

Also it is true Dr Carroll has always spoken what he perceives to be the truth, but many would say his perceptions are not accurate.


11. The people who disagree with Dr. Carroll are tied with OSF. If something is non-profit they don't compete, they don't advertise except for contributions. If you are really non-profit you don't go out looking for people to give your service to, you let them come to you. Here is a novel idea, operate our medical system on totally a break even basis. The people who take home a salary should be those who directly provide, or oversee, patient care. No more corporate hospitals, no more big profit insurance companies. Instead of getting a 50% return on your health care dollar how about 75 to 80 percent going directly into patient care. That 50% going into the pockets of speculators could pay every physician, and cover the shortfall on hospital bills. Our emergency services, schools, libraries, highways etc work like this. Suggest this and Insurance companies, and corporate hospitals, wave the awful "socialism" flag. How long are we going to be stupid enough to fall for their scare tactics. My neighbor was an OSF employee, I was amazed at the lies her employer filled her head with in the 90's attempt for public operated health care. Best one was the aides would be doing surgery. What a hoot.

Rezko Thoughts

See Rezko Thoughts on the Capitol Fax Blog.

Rezko Guilty

Well, Tony Rezko was found guilty last week on 16 of 24 counts. Not real surprising although I think he had a good lawyer (Joe Duffy).

The Peoria Journal Star had an editorial on June 5 which is copied below. The editors wonder how far Rezko's ring of corruption travelled in Illinois. I think they are holding their collective breath that it does not involve Peoria.

See this conversation between Thomas Beck and Stuart Levine in 2004 from the Tribune. They were both on the Illinois Health Facilities Board and rigging the voting for Rezko. It is very interesting and one can see that they are hiding quite a bit in this conversation that they did not know was taped by the FBI.

Interestingly, Rezko checked himself into jail after the guilty verdict. I bet he feels safer there after the feds shook him down for names many months ago.

Below is the Journal Star editorial:


By
Journal Star
Posted Jun 05, 2008 @ 08:32 PM
Last update Jun 06, 2008 @ 11:18 AM


Everybody in Illinois is asking the same questions following Wednesday's conviction of Tony Rezko, the governor's friend and former fundraiser, on corruption charges. Who's next? Will "Public Official A" get his turn?

Of course, "A" is Gov. Rod Blagojevich, outed as being under investigation a few months ago by a federal judge at the onset of Rezko's trial. The revelations coming out of that deliberation - in testimony from the likes of Stuart Levine, Ali Ata, others - have been very damaging to this governor's reputation, which was not so great to begin with.

There is no debate about how influential Rezko was in this Blagojevich administration. Now a jury has taken Rezko's crimes out of the realm of "alleged," saying he essentially put Illinois government, its jobs and its business, up for sale to the highest bidders, while extracting his own cut. Officially, it's called fraud, bribery, money laundering, etc., though the popular term is "pay to play."

Sadly, we've become conditioned in Illinois - it's practically Pavlovian - to think this means another governor is going down, though Blagojevich has not been charged with any wrongdoing. Nonetheless, federal prosecutors have more than hinted whom they're after. "This is a crime that involves the highest levels of power in Illinois," one said in his closing argument before the Rezko jury.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's team may have a ways to go before they reach such altitude. Illinois government is an onion. Not only can it produce a pungent and unpleasant odor, not only does it often make you cry, but there seems no end to its layers of corruption. Peel back one, and there's another, and then another.

That's why we were surprised to hear Fitzgerald call the Rezko conviction "an antidote to the poison of corruption." Well, isn't he the optimistic one? Indeed, we're not so confident. Nor is former Fitzgerald assistant Patrick Collins, who wrote in the Chicago Tribune that "Illinois' bipartisan corruption virus is a particularly resistant strain." He should know, as he helped put former Gov. George Ryan away.

So embedded is this crooked political culture that the FBI has provided Illinois an extra public corruption unit. Its members have their hands full. We trust Fitzgerald will make his way down their list, one by one, until he gets to the bottom of it. Looks like he'll get the opportunity, as both presidential contenders, Barack Obama and John McCain, have said they intend to keep him in Chicago.

Fitzgerald's pattern is now so familiar - circling at first in a wide arc, then tighter and tighter until he pounces on his primary target - that we have a pretty strong feel for what happens next. Rezko will get a choice of two potential prison sentences. The shorter one will be in exchange for any information he has about others now under investigation, and of course for his cooperation in truthfully testifying to what he heard and saw. Rezko will have to decide what he values more - his professional relationships and loyalties, or his freedom and family. If past is prologue, few of these felons fall on their swords.

You'd think that eventually, those on the take in Illinois would get the message that certain political behaviors have just become too risky.

For his part, "Public Official A" says he's saddened by the verdict, but that he has work to do "for the people" of Illinois. We'd suggest that work has already been compromised by this trial and the possibility of more to come. Arguably there is no capital bill in Illinois because too few legislators trust the money to be spent honestly. Talk has picked up of the Illinois House pursuing the governor's impeachment.

None of this was unpredictable, but voters did what they did anyway. For all the talk of Eliot Ness-like federal prosecutors and stronger ethics legislation, Illinois also needs its voters to wake up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 2008 GateHouse Media, Inc. Some Rights Reserved.
Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.

Think of That...by Tonya Sneed

On Sun, Jun 1, 2008 at 10:56 AM, Tonya Sneed wrote:

a friend from haiti
writes me about being hungry
i imagine that he is
about not having school fees for his son
i imagine that he doesn't
about his wife
wanting to start a little charcoal selling business
i imagine that she does
i think what it must be like
to be poor in haiti
where the price of spaghetti and rice has doubled
and here i sit
with so much power
i get to choose
to
help
or
not
how will i decide
maybe we'll go with my mood today
a flip of the coin
whether or not i feel
generous
or
stingy
or
merciful
or
suspicious
or
open
or
???
his hunger pains are
in my hands
think of that

(Pictured above is a doll in the pediatric clinic in Cite Soleil, Haiti. To the right is a "human mule" pulling sacks of charcoal, the remnants of Haiti's forests.)

CPAP Fails in Peoria

In November, 2007 I asked the Peoria City Council to consider discussing Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) for the Peoria Fire Department(PFD) to help people who call 911 in respiratory distress (such as heart failure).

CPAP is used by prehospital providers (ambulances) in numerous cities with excellent results for the patient. See article.

In order to use CPAP, the PFD would have to have this cleared by OSF.

I spoke to a fire fighter who told me that the PFD is not using CPAP.

I guess OSF did not like the idea for some reason.

Catholic Diocese of Peoria Ignores My Brother's Letters

My brother Tom wrote the Catholic Diocese of Peoria multiple times in the early 2000's. His letters were logical and Tom asked excellent questions.

Tom never received an answer to any letter from Bishop Daniel Jenky.

After watching Haitian children die terrible deaths in the last two years, Tom's letters proved to be prophetic.

My brother and I have a new understanding how the Catholic Church was able to keep the clergy sex abuse scandal quiet for so long. We have lived through the Diocese of Peoria's malignant silence over dying Haitian kids that they could have helped if they really wanted to.

See this letter written by Tom in 2003.

"Readers, I need your help..."

I have constructed a letter (below) to people in the Peoria area that may have influence with the policy makers at OSF.

If any of you have contacts with other medical centers around the U.S. that would consider operating on these girls, please notify me.

Pictured is Katina with her father. I will post pictures of Jenny and Heureuse also.

Thank you.

May, 2008

Dear ------------,

Since 1995, Haitian Hearts has brought over 125 babies, children, and young adults to the United States for surgery. Most of the surgery has been cardiac surgery. Haiti does not have the technology to consistently and reliably support cardiac patients who need sophisticated heart-lung bypass capabilities.

OSF accepted Haitian Hearts patients in the 1990’s and their young lives were made better with the skilled nurses, perfusionists, and physicians in Peoria.

OSF was following their mission statements while Haitian Hearts donated over 1.1 million dollars to OSF-Children's Hospital of Illinois for the medical care offered the Haitian children.

After I was fired from OSF in 2001, the medical center spokesperson informed the Peoria community that Haitian Hearts would continue even though I was terminated. However, in 2002, all funding from OSF for Haitian Hearts was stopped by OSF and the American Consulate in Haiti was notified by OSF to deny any further visas for Haitian Hearts children with cardiac conditions to come to Peoria’s OSF.

In 2003, I was notified by OSF’s legal counsel (Hinshaw-Culbertson) that OSF would not accept any further patients referred by me and this included Haitian Hearts patients. (I was notified again by the same lawyer in 2006 that OSF would continue their Haitian Hearts embargo.)

Unfortunately, two young Haitian men that were operated at OSF in the late 90’s and returned to Haiti, became ill in Haiti. I treated both in Haiti for extended periods of time but both needed further heart surgery to stay alive. Both were denied care at OSF in spite of the wishes of their local central Illinois host families and physicians that advocated for them.

Both patients died without heart surgery. Their Haitian and American families were devastated.

How could this happen?

Now I have three young women Heureuse, Jenny, and Katina that were operated at OSF. All need further heart surgery. If Heureuse dies, she will leave two children less than 5 years old in one of Haiti’s worst slums with no support. (Their father is dead.)

I have the girls on medications that Haitian Hearts brings to Haiti to keep them alive while they await surgery. They are in Haiti awaiting word from me now.

I have not been able to find other medical centers around the United States to accept these patients. Since they have been operated at OSF other medical centers believe that OSF should continue care for their patients. Many reasons are obvious why OSF should allow these girls to return to OSF.

Their Haitian families and American families are praying that OSF will make the beneficent decision for these girls.

Haitian Hearts can offer 5-10,000 dollars for the care of each girl. (A smaller charge by OSF will allow Haitian Hearts to bring further children to the United States.)

Last weeks issue of the Catholic Post in Peoria has two very timely quotes from Pope Benedict that OSF should read carefully:

“Within the community of believers, there can never be room for a poverty that denies anyone what is needed for a dignified life.”

“The responsibility of Christians to work for peace and justice, their irrevocable commitment to build up the common good, is inseparable from their mission to proclaim the gift of eternal life to which God has called every man and woman.”

I respectfully ask you to do all you can to convince OSF to allow their Haitian Hearts patients mentioned above to return to OSF, allow them to have surgery by Peoria’s specialists, and receive a new chance at life.

If you were these girls doctor, mother, or father, would you not be insisting that they receive the best care possible? The best care for them is right here in Peoria at OSF.

Please let me know.


Sincerely,

John Carroll, M.D.

haitianhearts@gmail.com

What is Required

"It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what is required."

Sir Winston Churchill

(Haitian Hearts patient Heureuse, holding her little girl. Heureuse is being denied repeat heart surgery by OSF-SFMC in Peoria and is contemplating her imminent death. When she is gone Heureuse will leave two little children alone in a slum in Port-au-Prince. She asked my wife and I if we would take her little girl.)

Keith Steffen and Hospital Rounds

See the revised Conversations with Keith at Peoria's Medical Mafia.

Political Contributions

At the website Illinois State Board of Elections one can see who makes political contributions, where the contributions go, and the amount of the contributions. After arriving at this site, just click "contributions search" on the left hand side of the screen and follow the easy instructions.

Since the mid 1990's the following (close approximations) has been donated by the entities and people listed below:

1. OSF--$232,000.00

2. Keith Steffen, CEO OSF-Saint Francis Medical Center, individual private contributions--$13,025.00

3. James Moore, CEO OSF,Inc.--$18,385.00

4. Advanced Medical Transport Board of Directors, Executive Director, and Corporate Medical Director (given as individual private contributions):

1. Andrew Rand, Executive Director--$8,400.00
2. George Hevesy, M.D., Corporate Medical Director--$2,250.00
3. Robert Viets--$27,050.00
4. Brock Hessing--$3,100.00
5. Robert Klaus--$3,100.00
6. Carol Shields--$8,378.80
7. Don White--$3,305.00
8. Sue Wozniak--$1,250.00

5. Wayne Baum--Peoria Heights business man and supporter of Advanced Medical Transport--$54,365.39

Pay to Play in Illinois

The Tribune published an article on April 30, 2008: State Targets "Pay to Play".

Below are some excerpts:

Last week Illinois lawmakers took a step toward barring companies that want state business from showering politicians with cash. It is a renewed effort aimed at ending Illinois "pay to play" culture.

The renewed effort aimed at ending Illinois' pay-to-play culture comes days after a Tribune examination revealed Blagojevich received 235 contributions of exactly $25,000. Most of the donors got something from the administration, whether it was contracts, appointments on boards, or favorable policy or regulatory action.

Former Gov. George Ryan, a Republican, is in federal prison in Indiana, convicted of corruption charges in a federal probe where his campaign fund became the first in the nation's history found guilty of racketeering.

Three years ago, Blagojevich vowed to "rock the system" with sweeping reforms to impose tough limits on donations, but he has done little to advance the proposal.

Since then, the Tribune has reported Blagojevich's campaign fund has been subpoenaed by federal authorities.

At the federal corruption trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, one of Blagojevich's fundraisers, testimony emerged linking the governor himself to efforts to trade contracts for campaign assistance. Blagojevich has denied the allegations, saying his administration does not do business that way.

See next post to see a partial list of who contributes in Peoria.

Rezko and Peoria...Connect the Dots (Updated 12/29/2008)

People in Peoria need to keep an eye on the Tony Rezko federal fraud trial occurring now in Chicago. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is the lead prosecutor.

Attorney Fitzgerald, the current U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, was the special prosecutor investigating the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame, prosecuted former Illinois governor George Ryan, and built the first criminal indictment in 1998 against the world’s most hunted terrorist, Osama bin Laden.

Anything can happen in this trial in Chicago which is far from over.

Mr. Rezko is a defendant in the current case in which he is charged with exploiting his Blagojevich administration clout to influence actions of Illinois state boards in a scheme to extort millions of dollars of kickbacks.

One of the boards involved is the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.

The Board was created in 1974 to slow down health care cost increases resulting from unnecessary construction by health care facilities. The Board issues certificates of need that allow health facilities to modify or construct facilities. The Health Board reviews large construction projects proposed by hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers.

This Board was corrupted years ago as will be explained.

Stuart Levine is a lawyer from upstate Illinois. He is the star prosecution witness in the trial of indicted political fixer Tony Rezko. On March 10, 2008, Levine told the jury that even before he got involved with the Blagojevich administration, he used to funnel campaign contributions to Democratic candidates through straw donors at the request of former Chicago Alderman Edward Vrdolyak, who has also been indicted on federal fraud and bribery charges in a related case.

Levine’s term on the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board was set to expire in 2004, but key people and politicians involved in the Rezko indictment (and in big trouble with the feds now) made sure Levine remained on the panel. It appears that Levine’s appointment on the Board had a wide array of support, including Mr. Rezko of course.

Also, Senator Barrack Obama’s name showed up in the email exchanges as reviewing the recommendations to appoint Levine and others to the Board. While all this was going on, as a state senator, Senator Obama was the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. As such, his name also appeared in the email exchanges as a member of a team working on legislation to keep the Board from expiring under a sunset provision of Illinois law.

In other words, they wanted to keep the Board alive.

Well the political leaders, including Senator Obama, were able to keep the Board alive and, in the end, changes made by lawmakers in 2003 dropped the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, making it much easier to stack the panel, and by the summer of 2003, all they needed was a 5-bloc vote.

In 2003, Thomas Beck, an Illinois businessman, was the chairman of the Board and Levine was the vice-chairman. Beck testified, under a grant of immunity, and told the jury that he took a $1,000 donation for Blagojevich when he (Beck) met with Rezko to seek reappointment. Prosecutors in the ongoing Rezko trial say Levine used his position on the health facilities planning board and a state pension board to pressure companies for payoffs.

So Beck and Levine would be good for 2 votes on the Board. The persons chosen to guarantee the remaining 3 votes were Drs. Imad Alomanaseer, Michel Malek, and Fortunee Massuda. All was good. The 5-bloc vote was guaranteed.

Why does a politician have an interest in who sits on the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board? Because it’s important to hospitals who want to build and expand, and it’s important to politicians who want to raise money from hospitals.

OSF Inc. in Peoria has donated a known $230,000 dollars to Illinois politicians since the late ‘90’s.

Last month, in March 2008, during an interview with the Tribune, Senator Obama was asked if he had discussions with Mr. Rezko about recommendations for the Board.

“I did not have any formal discussions with Tony (Rezko),” Obama said, “beyond one individual, and that was Dr. Eric Whitaker, who ultimately became the head of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and who had been a longtime friend of mine, who I had known since he was getting his master’s at Harvard and I was at the law school there.”

“He had expressed an interest in that post (Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board), Obama told Rezko, “I think this guy is outstanding and is certainly somebody who is worthy of an interview.”

However, as it turned out, Tony Rezko must have been under impressed with Dr. Whitaker. He was not appointed to the Board but, as noted above, Dr. Whitaker was appointed as director of IDPH.

Prior to being appointed as Director of IDPH, Dr. Whitaker worked at the Cook County Bureau of Health Services in Chicago, which again has been described by many as the most corrupt and inefficient taxpayer supported public health system in the entire country.

So Dr. Whitaker became part of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s administration, which many observers have tagged as the most unethical if not the most corrupt administration in the history of Illinois. Dr. Whitaker voluntarily stood in pictures with Blagojevich through many of Blagojevich’s medical fiascos in Illinois.

This is the same Dr. Whitaker who I wrote and informed of my concerns regarding Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the monopoly of care in the Peoria area. (Dr. Whitaker responded to me that I needed to contact the EMS division of IDPH, which of course was not helpful.) See Peoria’s Medical Mafia.

This is the same Dr. Whitaker who was privy to the Peoria Area Emergency Medical Services written statement regarding OSF-SFMC’s Dr. George Hevesy’s conflict of interest in Peoria. The written statement said that even though Dr. Hevesy was Vice-Chairman of the OSF-SFMC Emergency Department, Project Medical Director (the physician controlling ambulances and pre hospital care) for the Peoria area, Director of Region II for IDPH, and was receiving a salary from Advanced Medical Transport (the only paramedic agency in Peoria), this did NOT constitute conflict of interest or even the "POTENTIAL" for conflict of interest in Peoria. (The Peoria Fire Department and many other of the 70 EMS agencies controlled by Dr. Hevesy disagreed.)

Interestingly, Dr. Whitaker had nice awards for OSF-Emergency Department in Peoria during his tenure as Director of IDPH.

A news release from May 19, 2005 from Dr. Whitaker, presented Dr. Rick Miller, a physician at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, with the Ron W. Lee, M.D. Excellence in Pediatric Care Award for his contributions to Pediatric medicine. (As many people in the Peoria area EMS circle know, Miller was the Director of OSF-Emergency Department for many years and Project Medical Director, and worked with IDPH regarding EMS in central Illinois.)

The following year, 2006, another press release, this time from the office of the governor. Governor Rod Blagojevich presented John Hafner, Jr, M.D. with the Ron W. Lee. M.D. Excellence in Pediatric Care Awards for his contribution to childhood care.

(In 2007, Dr. Whitaker left IDPH and is now an executive vice-president of the University of Chicago Medical Center. That would be the same employer that pays Michelle Obama a salary of close to $350,000 as a vice president.)

And yet, readers, we are not done with the benevolence and love from the State of Illinois for OSF and Peoria.

Another news release on September 4, 2007 from Governor Blagojevich was titled: “Governor Blagojevich Announces Support for OSF Saint Francis Medical Center Expansion in Peoria that will Create Nearly 1,000 Jobs---Illinois Finance Authority Issues $460 Million in Bond Financing to Build New, State-of-the-Art Patient Tower.”

What this means is that the corrupt Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board had given a Certificate of Need for the OSF Milestone Project in September 2006 and now the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) will issue $460 million in tax-exempt bonds for OSF's largest private expansion in Peoria history.

This was IFA’s second largest financing in ITS history.

Unfortunately, like other Illinois state affairs, the IFA has not been without its serious problems.

The Tribune published an article a week ago, “The Governor’s $25,000 Club”. It is another incredibly embarrassing chapter in the history of pay-for-play in Illinois politics.

Stay with me for another minute…here is how it goes:

Among the $25,000 donors to governor Blagojevich in 2003 was Ali Ata, who Governor Blagojevich later picked to become director of the IFA. Ata pleaded guilty last week to lying to federal agents when he denied his two $25,000 contributions helped get him his $127,000-a-year job. Ata’s plea came amid the federal corruption trial of top Blagojevich insider Tony Rezko, who is accused of extorting bribes and campaign contributions from people seeking state business.

Ata is now cooperating with federal prosecutors and faces up to 18 months in prison on charges that include lying to investigators about a conversation he had with Blagojevich about joining Blagojevich’s administration.

When Ata left his post at the IFA in 2005 he was replaced by the former executive of a Downstate bank whose parent company also contributed $25,000 dollars to Governor Blagojevich. Jill Rendleman took over as director of IFA after two years on its advisory board, a 2003 appointment she received the same month as her parent company’s $25,000 donation.

And remember IFA (and its pay-for-play director?) is helping OSF in Peoria to the tune of $460 million so OSF can expand its campus which is located one block from another major medical center (Methodist Medical Center) in Peoria.

Isn’t that great?

Just think if Attorney Fitzgerald really looked into OSF’s contacts with the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board (and good old Stuart Levine) as OSF built its opulent OSF Center for Health in the 90’s on the lucrative north side of Peoria. And what would Attorney Fitzgerald find when OSF obtained its certificate for need from the Board for the current 500 million dollar medical campus expansion program in downtown Peoria?

What would Attorney Fitzgerald find if he looked into OSF’s contacts with IDPH and its Emergency Medical Services (EMS) division? Would Attorney Fitzgerald think that there was negative conflict of interest in Peoria and a monopoly in Peoria regarding paramedic care and transport of the pre hospital patient?

Corruption doesn’t just happen in Chicago. And I don’t believe that Attorney Fitzgerald, who extracted a guilty plea from Mafia capo John Gambino, would be shy about looking at Peoria’s “leaders” if need be in the interests of the Rezko trial.

I think Peorians need to follow the Rezko trial closely in Chicago as Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and his team do their thing. This fraud trial has far reaching tentacles. Even though we are downstate Illinois, if the feds want it, the arrows may indeed point here someday.

UPDATE:

See this article by Lynn Sweet. Note that it is written in October. It is about Eric Whitaker and his ties to Rezko.


References:

Some sentences and quotes above are directly from the following sources:

www.washingtonpost.com
www.chicagotribune.com
www.peoriasmedicalmafia.com
www.pmmdaily.blogspot.com
www.rezkowatch.blogspot.com
www.wherethemoneygoes.com
www.elections.il.gov
www.sj-r.com

Death Zone

The New York Times recently ran an article regarding Haiti’s food crisis. As the author walked through Cite Soleil he noted people making mud patties to eat. He noted that most of the “poorest of the poor suffer silently, too weak for activism or too busy raising the next generation of hungry”. The Times article ended with a young mother from Soleil offered one of her five children to the author and said, “Take one. You pick. Just feed them.”

After working in Haiti since 1981, being offered a child is almost an everyday experience. When I tell people at home that Haitian women frequently attempt to give their babies away, it is hard to believe. The quality of the Haitian mother can be questioned by people that have not been in Cite Soleil, but her offer of her child is a real act of love. She is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. She wants the child to live and is willing to give her child to someone she doesn't know while realizing that she will never see her child again.

Who can blame her?

Haitians have been hungry and malnourished for along time. With the recent press of Haitians eating mud patties and the food riots last week, the world has focused on Haiti and many other countries suffering similar circumstances—high food prices and not enough money.

The United States started selling Haiti rice in the mid 1980’s at prices much less than the Haitian farmer could sell his rice. So the Haitian farmer went out of business as irrigation systems became dysfunctional, fertilization of land became problematic, and the once rich Haitian countryside was allowed to deteriorate. It became necessary for Haiti to import 80% of its rice.

Farmers in the United States are making a huge surplus of rice today. But the price of rice has gone up for all of us, including Haitians, because of energy reasons. It costs more to get the rice from the U.S. to the hungry mouths waiting for it in Haiti. And Haitians can’t afford much.

To work in Haiti is truly an embarrassment for me. The vast majority of diseases that I see are brought on by poverty. And when people are poor, their water and food supply is inadequate. Parents have very little to give to their children. And their children become malnourished and enter the downward spiral…

With this latest crisis in Haiti, hundreds of people are fleeing Haiti’s shores for the United States. According to the Washington Post, the U.S. State Department warns Americans who are visiting Haiti about the “chronic danger of violent crime,” all the while repatriating Haitians to a “death zone”. President Preval of Haiti recently requested Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians who are unlawfully in the United States. TPS designations have been given to Somalia, Burundi, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Sudan. The last time Haiti applied for TPS was in 2004 and was denied for undisclosed reasons.

Obviously Haiti has to begin to produce enough of its own food again. President Rene Preval has lowered the price of “Miami” rice. The Haitian farmer needs a good price for fertilizer. Poor Haitians in the province need to be put to work repairing the irrigation systems. This would improve the fields, rice and other foods would grow, and Haitian women wouldn't be offering their starving babies to strangers.