Letter to Children's Hospital of Illinois Advisory Board--2003

 

Letter to Children’s Hospital of Illinois Advisory Board—2003

December 15, 2003

Dear CHOI Board Members,

I want to summarize some areas of concern that I have with OSF. These issues occurred mainly during the last two years.

Haitian Hearts had another successful year. In 2003, we procured 18 surgeries and four cardiac catheterizations (diagnostic and therapeutic) for Haitian children suffering from heart disease. These procedures occurred in five different states. We also evaluated multiple new patients with either congenital or acquired cardiac defects at clinics and hospitals in Haiti. Seven trips to Haiti were made this year by Haitian Hearts to work in medical clinics. 

I write this letter with such a “heavy heart” that Haitian children have been banned from CHOI. The medical personnel at CHOI provided excellent care the children. Despite the medical miracles that occurred over the years at CHOI with my Haitian kids, in July of 2002 OSF administrators decided not to continue the program at CHOI and at the end of 2002 Paul Kramer contacted the U.S. Consulate in Port-au-Prince to tell them OSF -CHOI would care for no more Haitian children. The American Consulate officials in Haiti were stunned relaying this information to me in January of this year. The Consulate knew what the consequences of OSF's actions would be. 

This is all so sad. How and why did this happen? Haitian Hearts even offered OSF 100% full charges for a Haitian patient, and we were denied. When was the last time you can recall any patient at OSF being denied treatment, regardless of their ability to pay? When was the last time that you can recall a patient being refused treatment when they offered 100% charges PRIOR to their treatment? This scenario probably never occurred before at OSF

.

Obviously, the issues seem greater than economic when 100% full charges are offered and denied. (Haitian Hearts donated $445,000 to OSF-CHOI during 2002 to help defray inpatient expenses.)

Why are the Sisters’ mission statements and mission philosophy being ignored?

In addition to numerous Haitian children suffering unnecessarily, medical students from UICOMP, OSF's young resident physicians, attending physicians, and nursing staff no longer have the opportunity to learn from these Haitian children with their cardiac pathology. It is very likely that taking care of these Haitian kids would improve the medical care of American children. The physicians at CHOI enjoyed caring for the Haitian children over the years and they learned from their experiences with them. Is discontinuing Haitian Hearts a good idea for Children's Hospital of Illinois? 

More concerning issues include:

1. A high-ranking employee at CHOI-Foundation requested that Lyn Banta, from Rotary Club North, turn over $12,500 to CHOI. This money was collected by RCN for Haitian Hearts to be used for outpatient expenses (travel, visas, medication, lodging). This was well known to RCN, Haitian Hearts, and CHOI. Mr. Banta informed me that “Haitian Hearts would never have seen this money if "I turned it over.” He did not release it to CHOI. The employee at Foundation was told to request this money by the executive director of CHOI. This is just not how a Catholic hospital should function.

2. Haitian Hearts has not received any funds that were sent to OSF-CHOI since we became a tax-exempt organization in October 2002. Haitian Hearts wouldn’t have even known about these funds without taking extraordinary measures to find this out. An Illinois State Senator has been in contact with the Director of CHOI and a private lawyer has been in contact with OSF’s attorney. Should more Haitian children suffer due to dedicated funds that are being withheld from them?

3. The Executive Director of CHOI helped delay the cardiac catheterization and subsequent surgery of a Haitian child. Is this precedent healthy and consistent with the Sisters’ mission statements? Is this a good idea for the children in central Illinois if this practice was continued? Why would an administrator have the power to do this? Where are the checks and balances at OSF? If this were your child, grandchild, or you were guardian of this child, would you have been happy that your child's heart surgery had been delayed for non-medical reasons?  Did he do this with the medical concern for the child as his primary concern? Were any other surgeries delayed for any other Haitian children, and did they suffer from this?

These are a few concerns of mine and I have many others.

As the recently deceased Senator Paul Simon stated, “I want to appeal to the best in us.” I know you want the best for children. But many things happen that you as board members are not told. Boards are given the sterile picture for obvious reasons. Just a few people have done so much damage. Please give me the opportunity to address the CHOI Board regarding these concerns.

Sincerely,

John Carroll

cc: Board of Directors, OSF Healthcare System Corporate Division Directors

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I did not get the opportunity to address the CHOI Board regarding these issues.

Doug Marshall, OSF attorney, sent me a letter three months later stating that my letter “contained a defamatory statement concerning delay of care”. He was referring to statement number three above. He went on to write that, “…republication of that statement, if deemed defamatory, may result in legal action.”

So OSF was threatening to sue me for reporting the truth to the OSF-CHOI Advisory Board. This action by the Executive Director of CHOI (Paul Kramer) was indeed embarrassing for OSF, and when I reported this negligence to the OSF Pediatric Resource Center, the Haitian child was put on the schedule immediately.

Shortly after this letter was sent, Keith Steffen signed a check to Haitian Hearts for approximately $8,343.43. We have no idea where this came from and whether OSF was cashing checks that were coming to OSF for Haitian Hearts. We received no donor lists from the general public since December, 2002. Thus, we have no idea who to thank and how much is being donated for Haitian children. Interestingly, OSF-CHOI does use the Haitian Hearts donor list to send out literature for Children’s Hospital of Illinois to raise money for Children’s Hospital, not for Haitian Hearts children who they have banned from the hospital.

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In early 2004, I received a certified letter from Doug Marshall, OSF's attorney, that OSF would not accept any patient referral from me in the future. And this meant that even Haitian kids who had been operated at Children's in the late 90s, and needed repeat heart surgery, would not be able to come back to Children's for repeat life-saving surgery. 

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For context, the following is an email I sent to the Advisory Board after OSF stopped all funds for Haitian Hearts children who needed surgery--

I sent the letter below almost four years ago to the Children's Hospital Advisory Board--

Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2002 10:06 PM Subject: Haitian Hearts

July 25, 2002

CHOI Board Members,

Two weeks ago, Haitian Hearts’ worst fear was realized when an announcement was made at a Haitian Hearts committee meeting that all funds for Haitian Hearts from OSF Saint Francis Medical Center were to be terminated. This is a lethal action for many Haitian children waiting to come to Children’s Hospital of Illinois for surgery.

Even though this news was shocking, it was not unexpected. Last year, OSF SFMC administrator, Keith Steffen, had privately stated he intended to cut all funds for Haitian Hearts. Apparently, now is the time. My question is why? How could this action have happened at CHOI with the Sisters’ Mission statement so integral? I can’t believe the Sisters or Children’s Hospital of Illinois Board of Directors would agree with this action. Why was another marginalized group, this time very poor children, denied access to our wonderful medical system? Economic woes and limited resources are expressions central to the lexicon of our times. But is the economy really the issue with Haitian Hearts?

As a “rag-tag” volunteer fundraising team, Haitian Hearts has raised (with the sale of the Haitian House) more than one million dollars in four and one-half years. Every cent went to Children’s Hospital of Illinois to help cover inpatient costs for Haitian children making us second only to Children’s Miracle Network in financial support. OSF SFMC spun to the media that they need to balance the medical needs of local patients with those of Haitians. We all know this may sound logical to the general public, but in reality neither a sick American or Haitian child would be turned away at CHOI. In addition, try to convince any one of the Sisters that a sick child anywhere in the world does not merit care.

It is truly amazing to realize how Haiti’s political future is decided in hallways in Washington, D.C. and at the same time, the lives and futures of individual Haitian children are decided at OSF SFMC in corporate boardrooms by a few OSF administrators. It is a shame that these same administrators did not take the opportunity to visit, touch, or be touched by Haitian children at Children’s Hospital of Illinois for the past seven years. This might have made a difference in this tragic decision.

The presence of Haitian children at CHOI guarantees that the Sisters’Mission is alive. Nurses become better nurses. Doctors become better doctors. Resident physicians and medical students from UICOMP can hone their clinical skills that only patient/victims of the developing world can provide.

Why did all of this good need to be destroyed? For 125 years, OSF SFMC has done tremendous good for this community. Its technology and talents are present in a world where the divide between rich and poor has never been greater. Will OSF be proud of their actions in years to come regarding these economic cuts? I implore you to reevaluate this action - an action which does not in any way speak for social justice, personal worth or the dignity of these children.

Children are children. The Mission mandates you to act benevolently towards all.

John A. Carroll, M.D.