HAITI NEEDS OUR HELP>GREATNESS OF A SOCIETY IS BEST MEASURED BY HOW IT TREATS ITS LESS FORTUNATE NEIGHBOR
News from the island nation of Haiti continues to dominate the front pages of the newspapers and television broadcasts. We are
inundated with the faces of boat people attempting to escape, and we catch glimpses of the Haitian military who ruthlessly maintain the status quo. Should we really care about Haiti's problems considering all of our own? What should be done? During the last 12 years I have had the opportunity to travel to Haiti multiple times to work in hospitals and clinics located in the capital city of Port-au-Prince and in the countryside. The people's buoyant spirits and eternal optimism in the face of tremendous hardships compel me to return.
Since the coup d'etat in September of 1991, Haiti is a police state run by fear. Repression and violence are institutionalized here. Nighttime is particularly haunting, with the piercing sounds of automatic gun fire echoing through the capital. Bodies littering the streets at dawn are a common sight.
Freedom of speech and assembly are nonexistent for anyone questioning the military junta. Right-wing paramilitary groups wage a campaign of terror directed at the poor because it is these very people who have the strongest resolve to see their democratically elected president returned to Haiti. When these hardships are combined with the fuel and economic embargo levied against Haiti, a nation that was once poor and stumbling is now barely crawling.
Environmental conditions are abysmal. The mountains have been deforested as a source of fuel and the soil has eroded. Daily existence is geared primarily for survival; nature is viewed strictly from a utilitarian perspective. To see a bird is a rarity; most have been eaten.
Because of the infrastructure collapse in Port-au-Prince, hundreds of tons of garbage accumulate each day in mountain-like heaps in the streets. Raw sewage flows down the same streets and into the ocean. In this city of 2 million, the stench, heat, flies, and general chaos make for squalid living conditions.
Lack of potable water breeds much illness, such as intestinal parasites and typhoid fever, which cause severe dysentery and dehydration. This, combined with malnutrition, naturally attacks the weakest members of a population -- its children. A recent study conducted by researchers from the United States concluded that 5,000 Haitian children under the age of 5 die each month. These silent deaths in our own back yard do not make the nightly news, but do directly reflect the severe conditions that exist in Haiti today. This should be a huge source of embarrassment for the entire world. Dirty water, malnutrition and poverty to such a degree are all preventable in this day and age if we just cared enough.
The Haitian medical system is broken and floundering also. In this country of 7 million people, overcrowded hospitals have little fuel to power generators for electricity, and basic medical supplies and medicines are pathetically scarce. Paramilitary groups roam menacingly close to hospitals and treatment centers with their automatic weapons, intimidating hospital employees. The valiant and persistent efforts of the Haitian medical community are just not enough at this point.
In recent times the United States and the Organization of American States have levied an economic and fuel embargo against Haiti. The idea behind the embargo was to create so much misery for the poor and bourgeois that it would hopefully cause these people to rise up and pressure key members of the Haitian military and the elite to resign. However, the embargo had been so porous that until now it has been ineffectual in affecting the displacement of the military. The elite and the military control the drug trade on its way from South America to the United States and also the black-market gasoline that streams in from the bordering Dominican Republic. The embargo has been diluted in favor of the oppressors and misrepresented as too cruel a burden for the poor to bear.
The United States' position regarding repatriation of the Haitian boat people has been ambiguous at best. I have known many Haitians living underground in Port-au-Prince, many of whom are open supporters of the deposed Haitian president. Their efforts to obtain asylum in the United States are usually unsuccessful. In Peoria are several young Haitian men who, through their own immense courage, escaped in wooden boats and eventually made their way here. These men are political refugees and should be treated as such, as are thousands of other Haitians who have been interdicted at sea and returned to Haiti to an uncertain fate.
As recently as May 8, President Clinton himself commented that "the repression and bloodshed in Haiti have reached alarming new proportions" and described Haiti's government as "brutal. " Yet he continues to preside over a refugee policy which blatantly discriminates against Haitians. (Why are not thousands of Nicaraguans, Cubans, and Jewish and Christian immigrants from the Soviet Union forcibly repatriated?) The entire concept regarding Haitian refugees would become inconsequential if there were any quality of life for them in Haiti. The debate about "political vs. economic refugees"' would disappear if Haiti offered these people anything. Americans would not have to worry about yet another poor group of people coming to our shores for help. Many prominent Haitians who live in the United States now would likely return to Haiti to offer their skills in rebuilding their decimated country.
So what is to be done? I have asked this question of many Haitians, and they almost unanimously look me in the eye and say the same thing: "If your president really wanted to restore democracy in Haiti, he would do it today. " (It is common knowledge that the CIA ran the disinformation campaign against the deposed Haitian president.) This is a very humbling experience for me, realizing that I come from a country that is so beautiful, powerful and rich, yet inextricably linked to the Haitian misery that is unfolding daily. The concept of "global village" is alive and well here.
Yet as long as the lives of U.S. citizens living in Haiti are not in imminent danger, I do not believe the United States should invade Haiti. The Haitian Constitution already in place should be allowed to function, and Haiti's autonomy as an independent nation should be respected.
However, I do feel that the United States needs to do the following: *The economic and fuel embargo already in place needs to be strictly enforced. The border of the Dominican Republic must be sealed to stop the flow of gasoline to the Haitian military and elite. Travel visas for Haitians should continue under suspension and their assets and foreign bank accounts continue to be made inaccessible. Also, the drug traffic entering Haiti needs to be stopped before the Haitian military can profit even more from this illegal commerce. *We should immediately end the degrading debacle of interdiction and forceable repatriation of Haitians attempting to escape a lifetime of poverty and oppression. The senseless and discriminatory classification of political vs. economic refugees needs to be abandoned. International principles of refugee protection should be followed. Support for other Caribbean basin nations should continue as they become sites for processing and relocation of Haitian refugees. *We should clearly state our opposition to any amnesty that would prevent the Haitian military from being held accountable for their human rights violations. The existing de facto government must not be recognized on any level as legitimate. *The United States should support the return and full deployment of the United Nations/Organization of American States international civilian mission in Haiti. This mission was instrumental in documenting human rights abuses before being driven out by the military.
The greatness of a society is best measured by how it treats its less fortunate neighbors. It is our moral imperative to help Haiti now. I am convinced that the proud Haitian people do not want charity but do demand justice. The power of darkness in Haiti can no longer be ignored or underestimated. And for me, I can no longer hide behind the German phrase after World War II: "Ich hatte keine ahnung"' (I had no idea). John Carroll is a physician working in the emergency department at Saint Francis Medical Center. He most recently was in Haiti in February.
HEALING HEARTS>PEORIANS REACH OUT TO THOSE WHO NEED MEDICAL HELP IN HAITI
It was a warm, tropical Haitian February.
Word spread quickly through the rural areas of the coastal town
of Cayes Jacmel. Americans had arrived, looking for sick people, particularly people sick with heart problems.
Rosemariette Jerome's sister told her she should go to the clinic. But there would be so many people there, Rosemariette told her in Creole, "Why would they choose me? " Her sister persisted.
The long walk to the clinic was tough for Rosemariette. Her heart and lungs were always working overtime. The long wait and lines of people pushing and shoving for health care discouraged her sister, Rosemariette says. But when the scene evolved to near-riot pitch, she stepped aside, folded her arms across her chest and started laughing.
One of the Americans, also surveying the chaos, noticed her.
She knew the Lord must have directed the attention to her.
A few miles away, in Jacmel, Livi Joseph lay on a cot, panting for breath, joints aching. She was at Missions of Charity, a branch of Mother Teresa's mission work to the abandoned and dying. Her parents took her there after a long trip from her home in LaMontagne, she says, and the nuns told the Americans about her.
By June, two very sick Haitians -- Rosemariette, 21, and Livi, 15 -- arrived in Peoria for corrective heart surgery, followed soon by six more very sick Haitian children.
By August, Rosemariette and Livi were on their way back to Haiti, happy, healthy and probably wiser.
The simple version: They would have died, most likely -- Livi for sure due to congestive heart failure -- if Americans hadn't gone to Haiti, found them, brought them here and donated medical care.
"But the real question is, why is this even necessary? " asked Dr. John Carroll, an emergency room doctor at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. "Why do we have to transport children from their country to get surgery years after it should have been performed?" Rosemariette Jerome's surgery, to correct a congenital heart problem, should have been performed when she was an infant. Meanwhile, surgeons replaced Livi Joseph's scarred heart valve, which had been caused by rheumatic fever.
"The way I see it, her surgery came too late," Carroll said. "This started with strep throat."
The answers are as tortured and complex as Rosemariette's faith is simple and strong.
She didn't know what to expect the day of the surgery. Strange place, strange people, strange language.
"I was so afraid something would go wrong," she explained through an interpreter. "It would break my heart to die in a foreign land without my family."
So she clutched her ever-present Bible and prayed. * * * How Rosemariette, Livi and the others got here and what happened afterwards is a slapdash pastiche of unlikely elements.
Cutting-edge heart surgery and Saturday night bingo; hand-to-mouth Caribbean poverty and basic U.S. blue-collar affluence; a passionately political emergency room doctor and a devoutly Catholic, but apolitical, church deacon; a hospital that took in children without insurance, without money; all bound together by a loose network of Peoria-area volunteers called Friends of Children of Haiti.
Friends, or its predecessor, has organized medical missionary trips to rural Haiti for more than a decade. Last February, some 50 volunteers treated more than 7,000 Haitians during a two-week period.
Carroll of St. Francis has gone on many of the trips. But he has also independently arranged for a number of Haitian children to come to St. Francis for operations.
But the Friends group had never brought Haitians to Peoria. And, whether brought in by Carroll or Friends, the network has never hosted so many Haitian children at one time.
The visitors forced them to look at Haiti, forced them to look at America through Haitian eyes.
For some, it was an enlightening view of privileges taken for granted. Running water and regular electricity, for instance.
Vicky Stewart unexpectedly ended up with a 9-year-old girl for the summer. And at her first sight of a lawn sprinkler, Stewart said, Elizabeth put on her bathing suit, got her shampoo and washed her hair.
Others found it a good deed, frustrated by small conflicts deeper than language barriers.
"It was a good experience for them, good for us, but it's not one I'd want to repeat tomorrow," said Dick Hammond, who shared his Bartonville home with Rosemariette and Livi during their three-month stay.
Ironically, Haiti is an integral part of Hammond's life. As director of Friends and a deacon of St. Anthony's Church in Bartonville, he has organized medical missionary trips since 1985. He is on the phone to Haiti regularly dealing with the church's parish partner in Marigot, Haiti, or making arrangements for medical care and supplies. And he spends most Saturdays operating bingo games at Community Bingo Center along Dries Lane, which has become a profitable fund-raiser for Friends.
But he and his wife, Barb, struggle to understand why Rosemariette and Livi seemed less and less eager and willing about their stay as time went by, whether it was a clash of culture or personality.
"Honestly, I was surprised they were so excited when I told them they were going home." * * * Americans, Rosemariette and Livi were led to believe, are people who wear clothes once and throw them away.
Both from large families, they hadn't met before the trip.
They were told not to pack much for the trip to Peoria, that everything they needed would be provided. They learned they would fly on an airplane, when Rosemariette had never even seen a plane.
Small points, but to them, corroboration of the notion that all Americans are rich, Rosemariette explained to interpreter Micheline Pascall, a Haitian-American who works at Valeska Hinton Early Childhood Development Center.
"Sad to say, we're finding that's not true," Rosemariette said.
The three laugh richly at the shared experience of newcomers and immigrants.
The differences between Rosemariette's home, Cayes Jacmel, and Peoria are too numerous to mention. It is the difference between walking miles for water three times a day, carrying it home in a bucket on your head, and the luxury of running hot and cold water.
Everyone they've met has been so friendly and open, Rosemariette said, erasing her fears that she might not be accepted.
But there had been difficulties on their part as well as the Hammonds' -- like the funny ways she found to avoid wearing the Sunday shoes Barb Hammond gave her or her surprise at meeting other Haitian children, some of whom didn't want to speak Creole to her. She didn't understand, she said, and that hurt.
This meeting was one of the few times during the trip that Rosemariette did not need her battered Creole-English dictionary, did not need to hesitate her way through a sentence or simply smile to communicate.
It had been almost a month since their surgeries. Their original fear of death has been replaced by memories of the comical sight they made in hospital gowns, shower caps and surgical bunny slippers. They were so scared they'd die that day, Rosemariette said, but they nearly died laughing when they saw themselves.
Rosemariette is the talkative one, and her animated Creole conversation drew a crowd, intrigued by the rhythm of her speech, over lunch at Long John's, a soul food restaurant on the South Side. Rosemariette and Micheline, engrossed in home talk, ignored them while Livi looked on, occasionally joining with a doe-eyed smile.
"Livi is so calm, so quiet," Rosemariette joked. "Sometimes she makes me think she doesn't understand Creole, English, anything."
Though quiet, Livi can be the mischievous prankster.
Rosemariette ambitiously absorbed all she could about American culture and language. Besides her dictionary, she carried her notebook almost as religiously as she carried her Bible. Every time she saw or heard something she didn't understand, she wrote it down so she could ask someone later.
When she went to market with Barb Hammond, she said, she saw the word `K-R-O-G-E-R. ' "What does that mean?" However, beside their families, they missed mangoes most -- though Livi replaced that with a love for melons.
Livi was simply anxious to see her family. Though Rosemariette wanted to see her family, she would like to return to the United States for more education. She has already had about seven years of school in Haiti and has learned to become a chef. She can cook dishes such as spaghetti and meatloaf, she said proudly.
But in Haiti, two pounds of rice costs about $9, Rosemariette said. More education costs also. The choice, obviously, is between food and school.
For Rosemariette, at least, her family may already be making choices for her. As the only one of 10 children to visit the United States, they may have greater aspirations for her, Micheline said, after they leave Peoria. "I'm sure they think she has opened the door, a crack, to the U.S. " Whatever the future holds, Rosemariette made one plan clear during her Peoria stay. When Friends of Children of Haiti returns to her country, she will help them at each clinic site. @ART CAPTION:The Rev. Mike Bliss prays with Dick and Barb Hammond for the health and well-being of Livi Joseph, 15, who is waiting to be wheeled into the operating room for potentially life-threatening heart surgery at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in June. On the gurney at right is Rosemariette Jerome, 21, who also is being prepared for heart surgery but for a more routine condition. Both young Haitians were brought to the United States in May through the effort of Friends of the Children of Haiti, a local group of volunteers who travel to Haiti to provide medical care. @ART CAPTION:Livi cries as student nurse's aid Melissa Haworth wheels Rosemariette out of their shared hospital room. Looking on is Dick Hammond of the Friends of the Children of Haiti. Although she was doing well, Livi stayed an extra day to be monitored by the hospital staff because of the seriousness of her operation. @ART CAPTION:Jan McFadden, a friend, and nurse Tonya Khoury look expectantly at Rosemariette after asking her a question in Creole they had looked up in a Creole/English dictionary. Since communication is key to caring for a patient, nurses spent a lot of time looking up key phrases in the dictionary. @ART CAPTION:Rosemariette Jerome, center, says grace in Creole over a freshly prepared Haitian feast at the home of Barb and Dick Hammond, left, as sponsor Wendy Behrens, second from right, and fellow Haitian patient Livi Joseph, listen. The young Haitians spent most of their time in the United States living at the Hammonds' Bartonville home and Behrens' West Peoria home. @ART CAPTION:With her new possessions scattered across the room she shares with Livi at the Hammonds' home, Rosemariette laughs at a joke while packing her suitcases in preparation for the trip back to Haiti. Rosemariette took home about four times as much as she brought, collecting items for herself as well as family members and friends. @ART CAPTION:Dick Hammond hugs Rosemariette while Wendy and Eric Behrens say good-bye to Livi shortly before they boarded a commuter plane to Chicago at the Peoria airport Aug. 11. After changing planes in Chicago and once again in Miami, the young women flew into Port-au-Prince, where they later boarded a bus to take them to their homes on the southern coast of Haiti.
FED UP?HELP HAITI SICKEN HALE
Disgusted about living near such a loathsome slug? Tired of seeing his Alfred E. Neuman "What Me Worry? " grin every time you
turn on the TV? Fed up with nonstop news reports slurring Peoria as the cradle for this abomination of humanity? Well, a doctor has a cure for your sickness.
John Carroll, an emergency-room physician at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, has had it up to his eyebrows with all this Sig Hale hullabaloo.
Yesterday, Carroll, 45, read the Journal Star editorial page, which urged Peorians to make symbolic gestures to repudiate Hale: marches, speeches, prayers and the like. That's all well and good, thought Carroll, but why not make a concrete commitment and hit back at Hale where it hurts? That is, why not love some of the people Hale hates? A little background: For years, Carroll has made medical missions to Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, which sits 90 miles from Miami. Three-quarters of the population lives below poverty level, and the lucky few who work average $3 a day. Life expectancy is 54, but a quarter of children die before their 5th birthday.
A disease like strep throat -- curable with a $2.50 prescription -- goes untreated for a lack of money. Then strep begets rheumatic fever, which causes damage to heart valves, which leads to an almost certain death -- unless folks like Carroll step in.
About four years ago, he got St. Francis to start a program that allows him to bring in Haitians (children, mostly) for major surgeries (hearts, mostly). "I felt we owe the Haitians, because we have played a large role in making Haiti poor," Carroll says. "We propped up the dictators, and this (poverty) is the fall-out."
Since 1995, St. Francis has spent about $500,000 a year treating nearly 40 Haitians. Last year alone, Carroll brought 18 patients into Peoria; this year, he's already had seven treated at his hospital.
The problem is, he's spent St. Francis' "Haitian Hearts" budget until the autumn of the year 2000. The bigger problem is, he has 24 children in dire need of help.
Carroll is heading to Haiti next week to check on these youths. He already has procured 10 passports -- no easy task in the bureaucratic Haiti -- for the children he deems most needy of surgery.
The Friends of the Children of Haiti, a Bartonville-based not-for-profit group that I've assisted in a couple missions, picks up the tab for the patients' travel. Plus, it finds volunteers to host patients in their homes before and after surgery.
Surgeons, nurses and other medical personnel donate their time to perform operations. The only expense left -- the one for which Carroll has exhausted his St. Francis funding -- is for "direct costs": blood, IV bags and the like.
He's cajoled a couple of other Midwest hospitals to take on some surgeries, but he can't fill the demand. To locally treat 10 Haitian children, Carroll must raise about $250,000. So far, he's approached some local bigwigs, who have expressed interest but no commitment. That perplexes Carroll, especially when he reads about Peoria companies that eagerly pledge money for ballparks and other bricks-and-mortar projects.
"They're good projects," he says, "but we're talking about human lives here.
"People are talking about millions of millions (of dollars for a ballpark). But we have Haitian kids who will get new hearts for a relatively small amount of money."
Indeed, $25,000 per life doesn't sound like too much. And to Carroll, the timing couldn't be more perfect, what with Matt Hale and Ben Smith making central Illinois seem like a haven for racists.
To fight that perception, Carroll says Peoria should help some poor Haitian kids, who are invariably black-skinned.
"I think this is a really concrete way to show what central Illinois is all about," he says.
You might ask, why help foreign kids? Why not aid Peorians? To that, Carroll says locals already get help: "St. Francis turns no one away. We don't do a billfold biopsy. The people in central Illinois are taken care of very, very well."
Still, I was a bit leery of one outcropping of the program. Hale could drum up a standard argument: blacks always need handouts.
For one, it's not like these kids asked for help, Carroll offered. Besides, he adds, "We are taking care of people . . . and putting them back into their society and making them productive members of their society."
If his plea sounds self-serving (after all, he's pushing for his own program), ask yourself this: How can you fault a guy for pitching to save kids' lives? Better yet, by aiding Haitian kids, you get the potential fringe benefit of sticking a burr in Hale's backside.
Maybe Hale doesn't care one whit what Carroll does. But my guess is, it bugs the heck out of him that Peorians -- Peorians of every color and creed -- would help black foreigners.
"This would say to Matt Hale that the last thing Peoria people are trying to become is separatist," Carroll says. "With everything that God's given us in central Illinois, we're doing our best to help those living on the world's fringes."
If you want to lend a hand, send what you want to Haiti Hearts, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, 530 NE Glen Oak Ave., Peoria, IL 61637. Corporate contributions would go a long way to hitting that $250,000 mark.
"There's just so much good will in the area," says Carroll, "I know it could happen. " *Phil Luciano is a Journal Star columnist. Write him at 1 News Plaza, Peoria, IL 61643, or call (309) 686-3155 or (800) 225-5757, Ext. 3155. E-mail him at pluciano@pjstar.com
My Comments in 2021--
The numbers in Phil's article which were quoted to him by OSF mean close to nothing. They are most likely from the "chargemaster" that hospitals use to charge patients. These figures are made-up figures, at best.
We had a good thing going in the Peoria area. In fact, I think it was too good. And OSF's Keith Steffen felt he needed to stop it. The fact that "Haitian kids make me want to puke" may have had something to do with me getting fired and Haitian kids subsequently dying.
And regarding numbers, we had to watch OSF very carefully regarding money donated to Haitian Hearts for kids' surgeries. Caterpillar donated 10,000 dollars for several years that was never credited to Haitian Hearts. And in 2002, money that was coming to Haitian Hearts that went to the CHOI address, were not given to us until I went to Children's Foundation and told them that OSF was taking Haitian Hearts's money. At the end of 2002, Keith Steffen gave Haitian Hearts a check that was due us.
So Matt Hale was the least of my worries. The administrative environment at OSF was toxic, especially for my little Haitian patients.
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HAITI VOLUNTEERS BATTLE THROUGH FRUSTRATIONS
To prepare for her first trip to Haiti, Jane Gray studied Haiti's history. She knew she would see poverty rivaled by nothing in America. She braced herself for miserable conditions.
But she wasn't ready for the garbage.
Haiti's lousy public-health system includes almost no trash collection. In the crowded capital of Port-au-Prince, debris often rots in the streets or huge dumping grounds that not only smell horrendous, but breed disease.
''The whole city was filled with garbage,'' says Gray, 51, of Peoria. ''You did not see any development. Kids were walking in garbage, pigs were walking in garbage.''
On the island's southern peninsula of Haiti, the home of the new clinic run by Friends of the Children of Haiti, a less-dense population means fewer garbage-born problems. Yet the rural region offers far fewer jobs and doctors, leaving peasants as bad off as the citydwellers.
Though the countryside peasants now have a permanent medical clinic dedicated to serving them, FOTCOH volunteers, especially first-timers like Gray, can become frustrated by an effort that can seem like a spit in the ocean: Regardless of the medical treatment provided during the annual twoweek mission, the locals will remain destitute.
''I felt helpless,'' said Gray, who has no medical training but helped prepare patients for exams and make them comfortable. ''I know we were giving them (health) care. But I wanted to give a belt to the guys whose pants were falling down. I wanted to give bras to the ladies whose own were rotting off, they were so old.''
She sighs. ''It's so far removed from our lives.''
Dr. John Carroll, who spends upwards of six months a year in Haiti, urges volunteers not to let their enthusiasm become crushed by the overwhelming poverty.
''We're not trying to save Haiti as a country,'' says Carroll, 47, an emergency-room physician at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. ''We're trying to help each person.''
Haitian doctors ($12 a visit) and prescriptions (usually $2 apiece) cost too much for most peasants. The few who scrape together enough money often are treated brusquely by impatient Haitian doctors, many poor themselves, who realize that peasants do not make for a lucrative practice.
''They don't care about people; they care about money,'' says Jean Michel Cyprien, 34, of Cyvadier, a full-time interpreter and assistant for the group. ''The way (volunteers) smile, the patients already feel better.''
Carroll and other volunteers emphasize the human element in their treatment.
''With every patient, they look at you and thank you for listening to them,'' Carroll says. ''Most likely, it's the first time they've been listened to in a situation like that.''
Aided by Haitian interpreters, nurses and doctors treated patients at exam rooms inside the crowded, sweatmusty building; a few set up makeshift medical stations outside, under the shade of palm trees. Nurses and nonmedical volunteers smeared scabiesfighting solutions over naked bawling babies standing atop fold-out tables behind the clinic. Pharmacists worked like mad to fill an endless flurry of prescriptions, ranging from simple vitamins to blood-pressure medications. Other helpers kept the long lines moving and manageable.
Often, a lack of proper equipment prompts volunteers to think on the fly. One sick toddler needed a medicine usually given in pill form to adults, so pharmacist Warren Smith decided to grind one and mix it with water to create a drinkable prescription.
However, Smith, 52, of Lacon could not find anything in the way of a mortar and pestle. So, he poked around until he found a sledgehammer, which he used to gently grind the pill against the concrete floor.
''That'll work,'' he said, smiling at the sledgehammer as he walked to the pharmacy to mix the solution.
Not only do such challenges let volunteers test their mettle, but medical personnel can glean once-in-a-lifetime glimpses of medical conditions found only in the Third World, such as tuberculosis advanced to the point of turning a lung X-ray completely white, or a goiter swelled to the size of a basketball.
''Unfortunately, Haiti is a great lab,'' Carroll says. ''You see things you'll never see at home.''
But not all patient encounters prove so daunting. Midway through the mission, Rosemariette Jerome, 22, of Cyvadier arrived for her yearly check-up with Carroll. Five years ago, she could barely reach the clinic, as a blocked artery had weakened her to the point of neardeath.
At that time, Carroll just had started a program now known as Haitian Hearts. After years of seeing Haitian patients with treatable coronary problems, he decided to shake down St. Francis cardiologists for help. Soon, the hospital began funding heart surgeries (often $25,000 apiece plus aftercare - one case hit $750,000). After word got out about the program, donations began pouring in from central Illinois.
Rosemariette Jerome came back to Peoria with Carroll, and St. Francis surgeons fixed her artery. Now her health is fine, though, like most Haitians, she is looking for work.
''I'm very happy you come here,'' she shyly tells Carroll and other volunteers. ''Everyone who comes to the clinic, you give them consideration.''
A slight smile cracks the face of Carroll, and oft-dour man troubled by Haitian politics. He believes that the country's long-standing problems are not rooted in economics, but politics - namely, the government's pocketing of foreign aid and tax revenue.
The capitol needs to spend money on better public-health polices, he says. ''The government doesn't take care of its people.''
For instance, he says, if the government were to dig wells away from garbage dumps, the water would not carry worms and other disease-carrying organisms. If the government were to improve nutrition - such as by funding public-works projects to boost employment (and uplift the sagging infrastructure), Haitians' immune systems would grow strong enough to fight off tuberculosis without medical treatment. If the government were to make cheap medicine available for common infections, Haitians would not later endure more debilitating maladies, such as heart problems caused when strep goes untreated for the lack of a $2 antibiotic.
Carroll also blames the U.S. government for historically supporting despots like the Duvaliers, who plundered the country without lifting a finger for its people. He wishes Washington would become more involved with a country just 750 miles - a 1 1/2-hour plane trip - from Miami.
''The U.S. helped dig Haiti this hole,'' he says flatly. ''It would not hurt to dig them out.''
CAPTION: First-time volunteer Jane Gray of Peoria assists a Haitian man who was going to receive an intravenous treatment for malaria. ''I felt helpless,'' said Gray, who has no medical training but helped prepare patients for exams and make them comfortable at the medical clinic. ''It's so far removed from our lives,'' she said.
Caption:
First-time volunteer Jane Gray of Peoria assists a Haitian man who was going to receive an intravenous treatment for malaria. ''I felt helpless,'' said Gray, who has no medical training but helped prepare patients for exams and make them comfortable at the medical clinic. ''It's so far removed from our lives,'' she said.
Haitian airlift 'truly a miracle' -- Seven ailing children to receive emergency care at OSF Saint Francis
Had she remained in Haiti, 1 1/2-year-old Ledy Cram may have never lived to see her second birthday.
With just one - not two - pumping mechanism in her heart, the amount of oxygen in her bloodstream is dangerously low - a third of what a healthy baby's should be.
With no Haitian doctors qualified for the complex heart surgery Ledy requires, the young girl and her parents are relying on Peoria doctors as their only hope.
Ledy was one of seven children between the ages of 8 months and 16 years who were flown via private jet Thursday from Haiti to the Children's Hospital of Illinois at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria for medical care.
The eight-seat jet was donated by Rockford-based Rubloff Aviation in response to a nationwide emergency request by Haitian Hearts, a Peoriabased volunteer group that's transported 72 ill Haitian children to Peoria for treatment.
''It was truly a miracle,'' said Anne Wagenbach, a local Haitian Hearts volunteer who had unsuccessfully tried to arrange a commercial flight for the children. ''People opened their hearts. They packed lunches for the children. It's neat to see the human compassion in it all.''
On Friday morning, nurses at the Children's Hospital's pediatric cardiology unit sorted through a stack of passports to fill out paperwork for their new Haitian patients.
Several children were already being hooked to machinery for complex tests - EKGs, or electrocardiograms, and echocardiograms, which are like a sonogram of the heart. And doctors were beginning to speculate about how to best correct the children's lifethreatening heart problems.
Although none of the children were critical enough to require immediate heart surgery, all likely will undergo surgery in weeks ahead, once their conditions are fully diagnosed.
''I think the sooner, the better,'' said Dr. Doug Schneider, one of the doctors involved in the initial examinations. ''They've lived with this most of their life. They're getting to the point that they don't have many weeks or months left.''
In Ledy's case, he predicts she'll need at least two surgeries.
''In the situation she's in now, she's not going to survive very long like this,'' said Schneider, who explained Ledy's condition to a member of her local host family: Mimi Ardis, an intensive care nurse at St. Francis and wife of Peoria City Councilman Jim Ardis.
While surgeries won't cure Ledy's problems, they should extend her life by decades, he said.
Coming to America
For Dr. John Carroll - an emergency-room physician at St. Francis who's been caring for Haitian children for 20 years and led Thursday's transport - the private jet was a little bit luxury and a little bit necessity.
On a commercial flight, Carroll may have spent as many as 15 hours en route to Peoria, including lengthy stops at airports in Haiti and Florida for immigration purposes. Thursday's trip to Peoria lasted just five hours.
He also wouldn't have had pilots willing to fly at the lowest possible altitude to provide the maximum amount of oxygen for children like Ledy, who are struggling for survival.
''They saved me and these seven children an enormous number of hours. It saved moving around some very sick babies. It was very touch-and-go for two of them on the plane. A couple of them were quite sick,'' Carroll said.
The donated jet represents about $15,000 in operating costs for Rubloff Aviation. The accounting firm Arthur Anderson covered $10,000 in fuel costs. OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford provided oxygen tanks to aid the children's breathing during the flight.
Those left behind
Back in Haiti, 43 sick children remain on a waiting list for transport to Peoria, Carroll said. They come from families who make about $250 a year and live in two-room, mudwalled houses, many of which are falling down.
Likewise, seven sets of parents are anxiously awaiting the return of their sick children.
''These mothers are giving up their children (to American doctors) not only out of trust but out of sheer desperation,'' Carroll said.
Kathy Gmeiner of Maryland, a Haitian Hearts volunteer who help coordinate Thursday's emergency flight, flew down to help take the children from their parent's arms.
While the language barrier kept them from speaking to one another, Gmeiner said feelings were exchanged with facial expressions.
As mothers handed over their children, their eyes pleaded for the care and safety of their young loved ones. In return, she tried to send a message that everything will be OK.
''In mom-to-mom communication, I knew what she was telling me and she knew what I was telling her back,'' she said Friday morning, as she cradled Ledy in her arms.
While in Haiti, Carroll places announcements on national radio, asking for the parents of specific children to show up at specified places and times for medical check-ups.
''The parents don't know how to read or write, but they're good parents because they persevere up mountains and down mountains to try to get their children to medical care,'' he said.
When it's determined that a child might only be cured in America, paperwork for the transports is immense. Getting a passport takes anywhere from 48 hours to more than a year, Carroll said. Then it's another hurdle to get a visa to leave the country.
CAPTION: Pilot Tom Shover of Rockford, center, holds 5-month-old Moise Richardson after landing a private jet Thursday at the Greater Peoria Regional Airport with other Haitian children and Peoria-area volunteers. They are Richard Mandelson, 15 (seated far left); Daniel Descardes, 19; Dr. John Carroll (holding Ledy Cram, 18 months); Caleb Derestil, 14, (standing behind Carroll); Phillipe Lonnie, 5; and volunteer Kathy Gmeiner of Maryland (holding Adonis Aguste, 8 months.)
CAPTION: Dr. John Carroll leads a group of Haitian children off a private jet Thursday night that carried them to Peoria. The kids are in Peoria for medical treatment unavailable in their homeland. For information about Peoria's Haitian outreach, see A8.
Caption: Pilot Tom Shover of Rockford, center, holds 5-month-old Moise Richardson after landing a private jet Thursday at the Greater Peoria Regional Airport with other Haitian children and Peoria-area volunteers. They are Richard Mandelson, 15 (seated far left); Daniel Descardes, 19; Dr. John Carroll (holding Ledy Cram, 18 months); Caleb Derestil, 14, (standing behind Carroll); Phillipe Lonnie, 5; and volunteer Kathy Gmeiner of Maryland (holding Adonis Aguste, 8 months.) CAPTION: Dr. John Carroll leads a group of Haitian children off a private jet Thursday night that carried them to Peoria. The kids are in Peoria for medical treatment unavailable in their homeland. For information about Peoria's Haitian outreach, see A8.
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Haitian Hearts turns to church congregations for help
PEORIA - Haitian Hearts wants a few - or many - congregations to open their hearts.
The group raises money to help pay for heart surgery for children from Haiti at Children's Hospital of Illinois at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. Those children are brought back by Dr. John Carroll, a St. Francis emergency room doctor who spends three months a year in Haiti offering free health care. Some children, though, need heart care that can't be performed in the extremely poor country.
After the free care offered by Children's Hospital and St. Francis, a cost of about $25,000 per child remains, according to Paul Kramer, executive director of Children's Hospital, and Linda Kepple, Children's Hospital board chairwoman.
The Haitian Hearts board talked in July about finding different ways to raise money to defray that remaining cost, Carroll said.
One method they came up with was finding religious congregations willing to help out.
''We suggested it would be great if we could get multiple churches involved in central Illinois,'' he said.
The congregations would ''financially support that kid's medical care here in Peoria,'' Carroll said. ''All the money raised would go directly to Children's Hospital of Illinois for the Haitian child.
''I would think that the church and its people would see a very tangible product of their efforts. It would be a wonderful stewardship of their money. I would think it would be money well-spent. It wouldn't be spent on bricks and mortar, but it would be spent on a human being who would directly benefit.''
Kramer said that ''it's an opportunity for local churches who want to extend their ministry.''
Many Christians in the area already are involved, either in helping raise money for the Haiti trips, going along on the trips or opening their homes to Haitian children here for surgery and recovery.
''It's a story of the Christian community extending itself in a terrific way,'' Kramer said. ''It's a lot of work taking sick children into their home.''
Any churches wanting to get involved in this effort to save the lives of children should contact Haitian Hearts in care of Children's Hospital of Illinois, 530 NE Glen Oak Ave., Peoria, IL 61637, or by calling the hospital at 624-8789. E-mail can be sent to Paul.S.Kramer@osfhealthcare.org, drjohn@mtco.com, or wagenbacha@aol.com.
St. Francis quietly fires doctor -- Renowned Haitian Hearts founder will keep healing children
PEORIA - A prominent OSF Saint Francis Medical Center physician who founded the Haitian Hearts program has lost his job at the hospital.
Dr. John Carroll, whose program brings sick children from Haiti to Peoria for treatment, said he was fired from St. Francis on Tuesday. ''I was told to leave the premises,'' he said Thursday, adding the ''situation had evolved over a number of weeks.''
St. Francis spokesman Chris Lofgren said the hospital cannot comment on why Carroll lost his job as an emergency room physician.
''This was not done lightly,'' Lofgren said. ''it was done thoughtfully over a long period of time.''
Carroll said he was not sure of his long-term plans, but he is planning to leave for Haiti on Jan. 9 for a monthlong stay.
He wants to bring back more children, he said. Without advanced medical care, these children will die, he said.
''The main thing to me is the future of Haitian Hearts,'' Carroll said. He would not discuss the reasons for his job loss, but said he regretted leaving.
Carroll, 48, worked in the hospital's emergency department and has been at the hospital for 21 years. A Peoria native, he did his residency there and never has worked anywhere else.
Carroll has won numerous awards and brought national publicity to St. Francis and its Children's Hospital for the Haitian Hearts program, and also raised money for the program.
He said he has raised $819,000 in donations and pledges for the Children's Hospital of Illinois at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in the past three years.
''We're the single-highest private donor to OSF Children's Hospital,'' he said.
Carroll still has hospital privileges to practice medicine at St. Francis, Lofgren said.
Asked about the Haitian Hearts program, Lofgren responded, ''as it stands right now, it's unaffected by John's departure.''
Carroll will have to discuss future treatment of the Haitian children with the staff and physicians who treat them, Lofgren added.
Heart surgeon Dr. Dale Geiss, who has worked with Carroll and donated his services for the Haitian children, termed Carroll ''an outstanding individual and superb physician.'' He said he was not familiar with the issues leading to Carroll's job loss.
Saying he hopes Carroll stays in Peoria, Geiss added, ''I've been assured that Haitian Hearts will continue to be supported by St. Francis if that is what Dr. Carroll wants.''
Other physicians also support the program, he said.
Dr. Greg Tudor, who worked with Carroll, said hospital employees were told not to comment on Carroll's departure. Carroll is ''a community icon and nothing short of that. I can't believe it,'' he said.
Karol Holmes of Tremont is caring for a 1-year-old Haitian baby who has been treated at St. Francis since May.
''Everybody in Haitian Hearts is devastated,'' she said. ''I can't begin to understand it.''
Carroll has given ''his whole life for this. The emergency room and Haitian Hearts is his whole life. His compassion is incredible. I've never known a man like him,'' she said.
She told of Carroll fighting to save the baby's life, and at one point, personally carrying the infant to the pediatric intensive care unit without prior approval, saying ''I hope I don't get in trouble for this.''
She and others described Carroll as a perfectionist and a fighter for his patients.
''He's pretty strong willed. That's not a bad thing. If I'm sick and dying, I want him on my side,'' Holmes said.
Holmes is planning to accompany Carroll to Haiti in January, where they will seek the mother's approval for the Holmes family to adopt the baby, who will need medical care for years.
In the months before that adoption can take place, she said, the family will be dependent on Haitian Hearts and St. Francis for medical care for the boy. Carroll's situation has her worried, she said. ''What am I going to do without Carroll?''
Geiss said that Carroll's use of expensive medical resources for the Haitian children is not an issue for St. Francis, whose officials have often expressed support for Haitian Hearts.
About 75 children from Haiti have been treated since 1995, Carroll said.
''A lot of families are involved,'' he said. ''I don't think it's done anywhere else in the U.S., and I don't think the generosity of hospitals anywhere in the U.S.'' can match the generosity at St. Francis.
CAPTION: Dr. John Carroll
CAPTION: OSF Saint Francis Medical Center emergency room physician John Carroll leads seven Haitian children off a private plane that carried them to Peoria in May. Carroll, who has brought numerous patients to Peoria for life-saving surgery through his Haitian Hearts program, was fired by the hospital Tuesday.
Caption:
Dr. John Carroll CAPTION: OSF Saint Francis Medical Center emergency room physician John Carroll leads seven Haitian children off a private plane that carried them to Peoria in May. Carroll, who has brought numerous patients to Peoria for life-saving surgery through his Haitian Hearts program, was fired by the hospital Tuesday.
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Haitian Hearts should continue its life-saving work
Whatever the professional differences between OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and Dr. John Carroll, and we may learn more about that later, they shouldn't get in the way of saving the lives of Haitian kids. Haitian Hearts, the program conceived and run by Carroll to rescue desperately ill, desperately poor children, is too important to disappear.
St. Francis says the program will be ''unaffected'' by Carroll's departure from the hospital's payroll. That's a positive sign.
Since 1995, 75 critically ill Haitian children have been brought to Peoria for delicate heart surgeries. Most have been saved by medical expertise and equipment available here, but unimaginable on the Caribbean island country. The unusual program does not leave its Peoria-area benefactors unrewarded.
Doctors an nurses who have joined Carroll in Haiti have gotten tremendous experience in treating critically ill patients, experience that can only strengthen Peoria's healthcare community. Carroll says he's raised $819,000 the last three years for the Children's Hospital, enough to offset some of the medical expenses.
Beyond that, Haitian Hearts and its sister program, Friends of the Children of Haiti, have been tremendous outlets for central Illinoisans, including the families that take these kids in, to learn about difficult cultures and different problems. They are important weapons in the battle against the disease of self-centered small-mindedness, a condition which poses its own danger to civilization. Haitian Hearts makes the Peoria area a fuller, richer place to live.
The heart of this is worth saving.
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Haitian Hearts can't keep beating without Carroll
It was comforting to see St. Francis Medical Center spokesman Chris Lofgren quoted in Friday's paper saying the Haitian Hearts program ''as it stands right now, it's unaffected by John's departure.'' It was comforting in the same way as if an auto mechanic said that though the engine of your car has departed, it will continue to function as usual, or a physician, upon discovering that your heart has somehow departed, said you will continue to lead a normal life. Lest there be any doubt, John Carroll is the engine and the heart of Haitian Hearts.
For those at St. Francis who would like to maintain the fiction that Haitian Hearts will continue unaffected by Dr. Carroll's departure, my question for them is a simple one: how? True, they have the medical facility and the administration, and even sources for some of the funding, but they are now short a vital ingredient - someone who will do the hard part.
And what comprises the hard part? Here is a partial list: going to Haiti to identify children who need advanced medical help; keeping them alive until they can get it; translating for children and communicating with their parents; arranging passports and visas, a process which can take up to a year and a half; accompanying the children to the U.S.; finding homes for them while they are here; providing them pre- and post-op care; networking with colleagues who are medical specialists to provide free services; and awakening in the middle of the night to handle the many unexpected crises which inevitably arise.
It leaves one wondering how St. Francis plans to find a replacement for Dr. Carroll. Perhaps with an ad in the paper: Wanted: Highly competent doctor looking for a position involving great personal sacrifice and out-of-pocket expense. No doubt that will cause a line extending around the block.
Meanwhile in Haiti, there are small hearts now beating, which by this time next year may not be without John Carroll's help. The powers at St. Francis should take a long look into their own hearts and then give close scrutiny to the motives of an administrator who would dismiss a man like Dr. John Carroll.
Ron Everts
Peoria
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Carroll's firing raises questions for St. Francis
It is very puzzling that the administrators at OSF St. Francis Medical Center would quietly fire the finest and most caring doctor in the emergency department. Was this done to intimidate other employees of the department so they would kowtow to administrators?
To me, the fact that Dr. John Carroll's dismissal was done quietly indicates guilt. I am not surprised that the administration did not want publicity for their action, given Dr. Carroll's sterling reputation in our community.
Dr. John Carroll wanted improvements made in the ER, but his suggestions were apparently rebuffed - probably because his ideas were superior to those of the administration. Dr. Carroll's dissatisfaction with the ER is certainly understandable given its recent rating of 25 out of a possible 100. Is this the kind of health care you want for you and your family?
The last time I was in the ER at St. Francis, I had to wait more than an hour before seeing medical personnel. During that time, I was left in a hall, and I felt like a spectacle for all to see. The two doctors I finally saw were not able to give a diagnosis. However, several days later, Dr. Carroll diagnosed my problem and proper medication was given.
By the way, who owns St. Francis? Why do the sisters allow situations such as this to occur? Do they ever observe procedures in the ER? Do the sisters attend meetings when important decisions are made? Do they know how the unfortunate situation created by uncaring administrators is affecting the reputation of their hospital? Why are they allowing the administrators to make important decisions that should not be made without the approval of the sisters? Did they approve the firing of Dr. Carroll?
Geraldine DuMars
Peoria
CAPTION: Dr. John Carroll has cared for the poor children of Haiti for more than 15 years
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Caption:
Dr. John Carroll has cared for the poor children of Haiti for more than 15 years
St. Francis must keep supporting Haitian Hearts
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center has been very generous to Haitian Hearts. The sisters' mission needs to be preserved; Haitian Hearts is an excellent example of their love, compassion and devotion. They have supported Dr. John Carroll in his work for over six years. We want to thank the Sisters of St. Francis for their incredible generosity.
Dr. Carroll will not comment on his firing and he will not brag about his accomplishments. His patients from the emergency room and the host families of the Haitian patients are quick to tell everyone they know how he has selflessly devoted himself to their care. He has often met extended family members and others in emergency situations and made sure that we were taken care of. We are all stunned that he has been fired, because we have received such good personal care from Dr. Carroll and the other doctors in the emergency room.
The week before he was fired, he went to New Orleans and spoke to help raise money for Haitian Hearts and Children's Hospital. He knew he was going to be fired, but he went anyway. Nothing will stop him from helping those who need him. Those of us involved in Haitian Hearts hope and pray that his firing will not affect the future care of these very needy children.
There will be some financial difficulties, but we know that the sisters have been good to us in the past, and they will continue to be charitable and live up to their mission statement.
Dr. Carroll and his Haitian Hearts supporters have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in the last three years for Children's Hospital, and we will continue to raise funds for this cause that we so deeply believe in.
Mary Kay Hersemann
Washington
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Dr. Carroll remains true to a higher calling
I have three brief thoughts regarding the article on physician John Carroll and his commitment to the Haitian Hearts Program.
First, how fortunate Dr. Carroll is to have found his true purpose. His passion to provide care for these Haitian children shows how one person can make a difference in the world.
Second, I applaud his courage to step out of the comfort zone and keep his passion first in his life.
And lastly, hurrah for Dr. Carroll for being a real world role model and giving us all an example of first finding and then keeping true to a higher calling!
Tom Howard
Peoria
Haitian Hearts skips beat
Haitian Hearts still beats, but time will tell how long or how strong.
Its founder, Dr. John Carroll, was fired by OSF Saint Francis Medical Center last month. Since then, this newspaper has been deluged by calls and letters, most of them confused about the future of Haitian Hearts.
The official line from St. Francis: The hospital will keep donating its services. But Dr. Carroll says he has been told St. Francis will stop assisting Haitian Hearts as early as this year - a move that would greatly reduce the number of children the group saves.
''The last thing we'd like to see is the demise of Haitian Hearts,'' says Carroll, 48.
Before we get to the nittygritty, let me make a disclosure: I've known Carroll for years and have worked with him at medical missions in Haiti. I'd consider him a friend, though I see him at most maybe three times a year.
I don't aim to vindicate John Carroll. I honestly have no idea why he was canned from St. Francis after 21 years in the emergency room. Maybe he doesn't brush his teeth enough, or he wears bunny slippers. But he did nothing nefarious: His termination had something to do with professional differences between Carroll and hospital poo-bahs.
The hospital refuses to discuss personnel matters, and Carroll won't talk about his firing. He doesn't want to burn any bridges that remain between St. Francis and Haitian Hearts, which he started in 1995.
Years before, Carroll had begun making medical missions to Haiti, the poorest county in the Western Hemisphere, where medical care is almost nonexistent for 95 percent of the population. During his visits, Carroll would examine children with severe ailments, many of them heart-related, that are treatable in the United States but fatal in Haiti.
Carroll began to bring back one or two kids a year, beg his cardiac colleagues for help and lean on St. Francis for assistance. Carroll began spending six months a year at Haitian medical clinics, and he'd find more and more kids with bum tickers.
St. Francis donates bed space, nurses and other services; it won't reveal the worth of its donations, but Carroll estimates the figure at about $257,000 a year. Cardiac surgeons and other specialists donate their time. Carroll himself covers many extraneous costs, such as air fare.
But those donations don't cover everything. Haitian Hearts treats about 10 children a year, at an average of $25,000 per hospital stay. However, complications can prompt overruns; one lad needed some $750,00 worth of care before returning to Haiti.
So Carroll created Haitian Hearts to help raise money. It's part of St. Francis's Children's Hospital of Illinois. Over the past three years, Haitian Hearts has raised nearly $600,000, with about $275,000 pledged for this year.
So what's the problem?
Lately, this newspaper's letters-to-the-editor have railed against Carroll's dismissal. Some question whether Haitian Hearts can survive.
Chris Lofgren, spokesman for St. Francis, wants people to understand that the hospital hired Carroll as an ER doctor, not as administrator of Haitian Hearts. The group is independent of the hospital, he says.
Carroll's termination had nothing to do with Haitian Hearts, Lofgren says. Further, he says, the hospital will continue to support the program as it has in the past, regardless of Carroll's firing.
''John's leaving (St. Francis) really doesn't change Haitian Hearts at all,'' Lofgren.
Not so, says Carroll. Though he won't talk about the explicit reason behind his termination, he says St. Francis CEO Keith Steffen wanted him to somehow change his ways.
''Haitian Hearts was held over my head by Keith Steffen,'' Carroll says. ''The implication was, Haitian Hearts would survive if I survived (at St. Francis).''
Hospital spokesman Lofgren says Steffen never tied Carroll's job to the future of Haitian Hearts. Yet Carroll says that after he was fired, St. Francis sources told him Haitian Hearts funding would be discontinued - part of a hospitalwide cost-cutting measure to offset expected decreases in Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.
If that were to happen, Haitian Hearts could continue, but at half-power or less. But that only takes into account dollars and cents.
Without his half-time job at St. Francis, Carroll cannot afford to spend half a year in Haiti. That means not only will he encounter fewer children, but he will have less time to wade through the quagmire of Haitian bureaucracy. Visas can take upwards of a year to procure, and that's only with a Haiti-savvy guy like Carroll greasing the wheels.
Plus, without a job, Carroll could have a harder time prompting donations. Potential contributors might be skittish about writing a check to Haitian Hearts when its lead physician isn't employed.
Carroll, along with the Haitian Hearts board of directors, plan to push forward - business as usual. Upwards of 10 Haitian kids are scheduled to come to St. Francis in the next couple of months, and Carroll says everything is in place for their treatment.
After that, who knows? But Carroll (who leaves this week for another month-long clinic in Haiti) remains optimistic.
''If we can do only one child a year instead of 10, one is better than none,'' he says.
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John Carroll is the kind of a doctor all patients need
Knowing the dedication that Dr. John Carroll has shown the patients of St. Francis and the children of Haiti, his quiet dismissal was as loud as a bomb to many of his friends, volunteers and admirers.
Statements by hospital spokesman Chris Lofgren in the Journal Star were very confusing and left me wondering if this dismissal had really been done thoughtfully. How can Dr. Carroll ''still have hospital privileges to practice medicine at St. Francis'' and at the same time be told to ''leave the premises''?
I find it hard to believe that Haitian Hearts would be ''unaffected by John's departure.'' Dr. Carroll, the hospital administration and employees did not reveal the reason for dismissal. However, from statements in the Journal Star and knowing Dr. Carroll's dedication to his patients, I have to believe that the problem was due to differences with the administration over patient care and policy.
When a doctor employed by a hospital for 21 years hopes he doesn't get ''in trouble'' for carrying an infant to intensive care, there's something wrong. Also, Dr. Carroll being described as ''a perfectionist and a fighter for his patients'' may sound good to the public, but this attitude must have caused problems for the administration of St. Francis and proved to be detrimental to his career.
Dr. Carroll's friends, peers and co-workers have witnessed the dedication, self-sacrifice and care he has given his patients. The administration of St. Francis should have thought a lot longer before ever considering dismissal. He is a superb physician who will disagree vehemently with anyone or any organization that he believes does not give proper treatment to a patient. He is a doctor that all patients need in their corner when they enter an emergency room.
Terminating his employment at St. Francis will definitely not improve emergency room care and may make citizens of Peoria wonder why such an excellent doctor found it so difficult to fit into the mold dictated by his employer.
Dottie Canellas
Former St. Francis employee
Tucson, Ariz.
Fired doctor: Dispute began over suggested ER upgrades -- OSF official declines comment on issue
PEORIA - Dr. John Carroll was fired from OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in a dispute that began over more patient beds for the emergency department where he worked, he said Tuesday.
Carroll, an award-winning physician and founder of the Haitian Hearts program that brings sick children from Haiti to St. Francis for treatment, said he has no regrets about pushing for improved service for emergency patients.
''Would I do it again? Yes,'' he said.
Carroll said his job problems began with a letter he wrote about bed capacity in the emergency room, a letter which caused the hospital to discipline him in a ''punitive'' manner.
''The letter precipitated the incident and the discipline I disagreed with,'' he said.
The discipline involved placing him on ''probation'' for six months, Carroll said. The letter of dismissal that St. Francis sent to him mentioned ''disobedience,'' he said.
The 48-year-old Peoria native worked at the hospital for 21 years. St. Francis has been his only employer.
Hospital spokesman Chris Lofgren would not discuss the matter. ''It's an employee issue. We won't talk about it,'' he said.
Lofgren then added that Carroll ''was not fired because of ER issues. That's the only thing I will say at this point.''
Carroll said he was not offered another position at the hospital as the situation between him and his employer deteriorated. Both sides ''dug in their heels,'' he said.
Carroll acknowledged that the letter he sent to his colleagues and hospital officials circumvented the usual chain of command at the hospital. He knew he was taking a risk when he sent that letter, he said, adding, ''I wrote the letter with some trepidation.''
Carroll's firing, a week before Christmas, stunned his friends and supporters.
''He was by far the most compassionate doctor we had there,'' said a co-worker who didn't want to be identified. ''John has high standards of care and expects that care to be delivered to patients.''
The person said ''we are afraid to talk,'' for fear of being fired. ''We are in complete, absolute fear.''
''All he wanted to do is improve the ER procedures,'' a colleague said. ''He was frustrated. Others are also.''
People who have worked with Carroll confirmed Carroll's concerns about the emergency department. It was built to serve 35,000 patients a year but now is serving more than 60,000 annually. Some wait for hours, co-workers said.
Lofgren confirmed the usage figures, and said the hospital is planning to spend more than $2 million to alleviate the crowded conditions. The plans have been in the works ''for some time,'' he said.
Carroll has talked about his personal situation reluctantly, but said the truth should be told. He still believes in the hospital's mission, he said, and also does not want to jeopardize the hospital's support for the Haitian Hearts program.
He is leaving for Haiti soon and plans to stay there for a month. He said he has no idea what he will do about his career when he returns. He still retains physician privileges at the hospital, and his medical work was not an issue in his dismissal, he said.
Carroll has consulted an attorney about his dismissal, he said, but is reluctant to sue the hospital, because he doesn't want to enrich himself at the hospital's expense.
''It's not about money,'' he said of his dispute with St. Francis.
CAPTION: Dr. John Carroll
Comments in 2021--
Chris Lofgren, like Keith Steffen, was spreading innuendo in the hospital. My brother and confronted both of them in their offices about this. This version of OSF had nothing to do with what the founding Sisters' philosophy stated.
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Haitian Hearts still beats strong -- Despite losing his job, Dr. Carroll still helps sick children get treatment
PEORIA - After four weeks in Haiti, Dr. John Carroll arrived back in Peoria on Tuesday night accompanied by six children and an adult, all needing medical care.
''All will be big-time challenges to Peoria's medical community,'' Carroll said. ''They are all surgical cases. These kids will get the care they need; I know they will.''
About 50 friends and supporters met Carroll and the Haitians at Greater Peoria Regional Airport. The Haitians will stay with host families while undergoing medical treatment.
Carroll, 48, of Peoria, is a founder of Haitian Hearts, a charity that brings children with life-threatening illnesses to Peoria and elsewhere in the United States for treatment they otherwise could not receive. He has won awards and visibility for his work with the Haitians.
A week before Christmas, however, Carroll was fired from his job of 21 years as a physician in the emergency department of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. He said the dispute began over his push for more beds in the department.
St. Francis officials will not comment on the firing but have said the hospital's support for the Haitian Hearts program will continue.
Despite his firing, Carroll retains medical privileges at St. Francis, and he said Tuesday he will focus, for now, on overseeing care for the Haitians.
''My goal is to keep the kids healthy, improve them, get them back to Haiti,'' he said.
Carroll's mother, Mary, was among the group at the airport. She said several potential employers have attempted to contact her son recently.
Carroll said Tuesday he is still working on treatment plans for the Haitians. ''I would like to give Children's Hospital (of Illinois at St. Francis) the privilege of taking care of Haitian children.''
All the Haitians he brought back have either rheumatic heart disease or congenital heart problems.
He first met the 28-year-old, Yvel, three years ago. Yvel had rheumatic fever as a child and likely will need two heart valves replaced, Carroll said. ''He was hard to turn down after three years.''
Dr. Stephen Bash and his wife, Patty, were among the group meeting Carroll. Bash, a pediatric cardiologist, said he is scheduled to see three of the patients immediately.
''I'll find out tomorrow (what is wrong with them) and see if we can fix them,'' he said.
The newly arrived Haitians spoke no English and were weary and hungry after 12 hours of travel. Carroll said a nurse he knew from St. Francis happened to be on the same flight from Miami, and she helped with the children. They are Katina, 7, Cathia, 11, Stanley, 5, Jean, 5, Maxime, 16, and Jocelyn, 11.
Debbie Fischer of Benson brought the four children in her household, ages 4 to 16, to meet the Haitian child she will host. She has hosted others in the past and as a nurse can handle children with special needs.
Helen Martin of Eureka and her daughter, Sally Achterberg, a board member of Children's Hospital, brought homemade comforters and bags filled with small items for the newly arriving Haitians.
Martin said her church, Roanoke Apostolic Christian Church, funded the bags and made the comforters through its World Relief program.
Achterberg said she is serving on the Haitian Hearts Auction committee, an event scheduled for April 12. She hopes the auction this year will raise $100,000 for the program. It raised $60,000 last year.
''People are very generous,'' she said.
CAPTION: Clinging to Dr. John Carroll, Katina, a 7-year-old Haitian girl, appears timid after arriving Tuesday night at Greater Peoria Regional Airport. Katina is among seven Haitians--six childre--who were flown to the United States through the Haitian Hearts program to undergo heart surgery.
CAPTION: Dr. John Carroll
CAPTION: Eleven-year-old Cathia of Haiti, right, hugs Hannah Knapp, a 10-year-old Roanoke girl. Knepp's family will host Cathia during her stay in central Illinois for heart treatment at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. Hannah's mother, Janet, looks on.
Caption:
Clinging to Dr. John Carroll, Katina, a 7-year-old Haitian girl, appears timid after arriving Tuesday night at Greater Peoria Regional Airport. Katina is among seven Haitians--six childre--who were flown to the United States through the Haitian Hearts program to undergo heart surgery. CAPTION: Dr. John Carroll CAPTION: Eleven-year-old Cathia of Haiti, right, hugs Hannah Knapp, a 10-year-old Roanoke girl. Knepp's family will host Cathia during her stay in central Illinois for heart treatment at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. Hannah's mother, Janet, looks on.
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Haitian Hearts breaking new ground -- Proceeds from sale of $200,000 home will go to Carroll program
EAST PEORIA - Katina Antoine clutched her arms around her jacket and looked out of her element. Temperatures never dip near freezing in Haiti.
But the muddy ground on the wooded lot along Illini Drive has thawed by now and Katina, 7, took the gold-painted shovel handed to her and joined local dignitaries and friends, including Dr. John Carroll, in turning a ceremonial first spade of earth.
Soon, the holes they started will reach deep enough to hold the full basement of a house that Carroll and other members of the grass-roots Haitian Hearts Program hope will sell for $200,000 or more.
None of that money will pay the home's builders, Jim Holmes & Sons of Groveland, or even the building materials' costs, said Holmes and Jeff Kolbus, who represented the Homebuilders Association of Greater Peoria at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Every dollar from the home's purchase, they said, will go directly to the charity, which Carroll helped found to bring young people from the poverty-stricken Caribbean country to Peoria for live-saving heart surgeries.
''When I see this project (begin), I'm seeing five Haitian kids waiting to come for heart surgery,'' Carroll told the group, which included Mayor Charles Dobbelaire and city commissioners Harold Fogelmark and Betty Dodson.
Carroll and Kolbus credited Holmes, who with his wife is adopting a Haitian child too ill to return home with much hope for survival, for organizing the plan to build the home entirely with donated materials and labor for the charity's benefit.
Carroll and other charity officials personalized the point of their program by bringing Katina and five other Haitians, whom Carroll has most recently selected for surgery, to the one-third-acre site in the 700 block of Illini. All but Yvel Gresseau, 28, are children, ages 2 to 16.
''They all need surgery,'' said Carroll, who in December was released from OSF Saint Francis Medical Center after 21 years as an emergency room physician but still maintains ties between the hospital and the charity he co-founded.
Holmes said he expects to begin construction of the home by next week and complete it in time for sale offering in late June.
Comments in 2021--
Paul Kramer, CEO of Children's Hospital of Illinois, told Jim Holmes that there was no such thing as Haitian Hearts, and that he needed to turn all the money from the house sale over to Children's Hospital.
When the house was done and we sold it for $177,000, I was invited to a very well-connected person's home for a prime rib dinner. I had no idea why they invited me over for dinner. It was a wonderful dinner and a wonderful conversation and as I was leaving the significant person asked me if I was going to donate the new house money to Children's Hospital. I told them I was...and now the nice dinner made more sense to me as I was driving home.
We wrote a check for $177,000 to Children's Hospital of Illinois at the end of 2002. This was part of the $400,000 that Haitian Hearts donated to Children's in 2002. And shortly after receiving the check, Kramer called the Consulate in Port au Prince and advised them not to issue any more travel visas for Haitian kids with heart problems to come to Children's Hospital in Peoria.
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Bargaining for benefit -- Haitian Hearts Benefit Auction draws vast community support
Fenelus Marcony came to Peoria to have a comfortable death.
Doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center diagnosed the Haitian teenager with an inoperable malignancy of the jaw and he was sent to Haitian Hearts founder Dr. John Carroll with enough morphine to return to his country and spend the estimated six months left of his life in as little pain as possible.
That was in 1995. This past Monday, Marcony celebrated his 21st birthday, and in May, he will graduate from Notre Dame High School in Peoria.
Carroll, whose charity brings Haitian children with lifethreatening illnesses to Peoria and other areas of the United States for treatment, recalled praying with Marcony at Holy Family Church. He believes those prayers were responsible for doctors from OSF Saint Francis Medical Center calling the next day and saying they would try to treat Marcony.
Maybe it was the work of a higher power that contributed to the success of the extensive chemotherapy and heavy beam radiation that Marcony underwent.
But when an estimated 450 people showed up at Itoo Hall on Farmington Road Friday night at the second annual Haitian Hearts Benefit Auction to raise money for the six children and one adult brought by the charity to Peoria recently for medical treatment, it was clear that the compassion of area communities was helping too.
''It's pretty awesome just having people help you,'' Marcony said while looking out at the number of attendees. ''I don't think there's a word that can describe it . . . There's nothing else you can ask of them. It's wonderful that they're doing such a thing.''
With reggae music coursing through the air, potential bidders ambled along the perimeter of a room laced with tables bearing items available through silent auction bidding.
In the center of the room, surrounded by another set of tables filled with items for sale to the highest bidder, was the auctioneer's stage where dollar figures were rambled off at a live auction.
Items for auction included everything from sporting goods and Waterford crystal to yard toys and weekend getaways to the East Coast. There was even a new Chevy S-10 pickup truck that was raffled off for $10 tickets. Every item, including the food that was served prior to the live auction, was donated.
''What's been amazing to me, while contacting about 150 businesses (about donations), only three turned us down,'' said Becky Schotthofer, chairwoman of the auction. ''It shows you what kind of amazing community there is.''
And Schotthofer was not just referring to the support of area businesses. Last year's auction drew about $60,000 for the charity. This year, said Schotthofer, they were expecting to receive $100,000 through the auction.
''I think (Haitian Hearts) has become a mission with the community,'' she said. ''It's not like it's a program anymore, it's a mission.''
Marianne Dempsey of Peoria agreed. Her daughter adopted one of the Haitian children that came here about three years ago for treatment. While Dempsey was amazed at the number who attended the auction, it came as no surprise that people have given so willingly to the charity.
''When it involves children, everyone has a heart,'' she said.
CAPTION: A video shown during the annual Haitian Hearts benefit auction depicts a young Haitian girl named Gaspar, 10, who died of heart failure while being seen by Dr. John Carroll last May.
CAPTION: Douna Kinney, 9, right, and Katina Antoine, 7, left, smile as they watch their balloons take off in the sky during the annual Haitian Hearts benefit auction on Thursday night at Itoo Hall.
CAPTION: Cathia Desvolieres, 11, hides her smile out of shyness as her picture is taken by two photographers during the annual Haitian Hearts Benefit Auction on Thursday.
CAPTION: Katina Antoine, left, 7, and Cathia Desvolieres, 11, look out the window of a truck during Thursday's Haitian Hearts Benefit Auction.
Caption:
A video shown during the annual Haitian Hearts benefit auction depicts a young Haitian girl named Gaspar, 10, who died of heart failure while being seen by Dr. John Carroll last May. CAPTION: Douna Kinney, 9, right, and Katina Antoine, 7, left, smile as they watch their balloons take off in the sky during the annual Haitian Hearts benefit auction on Thursday night at Itoo Hall. CAPTION: Cathia Desvolieres, 11, hides her smile out of shyness as her picture is taken by two photographers during the annual Haitian Hearts Benefit Auction on Thursday. CAPTION: Katina Antoine, left, 7, and Cathia Desvolieres, 11, look out the window of a truck during Thursday's Haitian Hearts Benefit Auction.
Ill Haitians arrive for surgery -- Seven staying in area homes awaiting heart treatment
PEORIA - Seven Haitians with severe health problems came to Peoria on Saturday as part of the 7-year-old Haitian Hearts program.
Two perched on a couch at the Greater Peoria Regional Airport munching on popcorn, large eyes trying to take in every new sight around them. They are here for heart surgery -this they know - but everything else is foreign to them, including the language and the television set before them.
Bringing Haitians to America for heart surgery began with Dr. John Carroll, a doctor who spends three months a year in Haiti offering free health care. At first, he paid the bills himself.
But now, through fundraising and donations, groups of Haitians ages 4 months to 28 years are brought to the United States four times each year.
This trip brought Samuel, 4 months old; Thens, 4; Petterson, 6; Stevens, 10; Vivian, 11; Wenous, 15; and Heuruse, 24.
Karen Kenny, a host mom, said the experience is enriching for both groups, as they struggle to use body language to communicate.
''There's no fear in it,'' she said. ''When an American family takes one of these children from Haiti we learn so quickly what we have because they appreciate the smallest things.''
The Haitian Hearts organization has raised about $125,000 so far this year. The money pays for plane tickets and the hospital bills, which run between $20,000 and $30,000 per patient. The group recently sold a house in East Peoria for $200,000, which was built with donated supplies and time.
Kenny has witnessed children mesmerized by clean running water out of a kitchen sink and the flushing toilet in the bathroom.
''The littlest things: they've been in an airplane,'' she said. ''Now they're getting into a car. In Haiti, there's transportation, but it's a luxury. That makes me realize all that we have.''
Mary Kay Hersemann sat on a chair with her grandson, staring at the small airplanes. Both Hersemann and Kenny have been involved in the program for years, acting as two of more than 20 host families. When Carroll travels to Haiti each year, he selects candidates for heart surgery, processes mounds of paperwork, secures visas and assists in obtaining passports.
When children arrive and are given to a volunteer host family, they stay for one month before the surgery, going to doctor's appointments and acclimating themselves to the area. This allows the patients to feel more comfortable, and for them to be healthier before the 10- to 15-hour surgery.
''They know they're here for surgery, and they're scared,'' Hersemann said.
After the surgery and a few days in the intensive care ward, they return to host families for two to six months, to regain their strength and health before returning to their home country. Meanwhile, the two groups learn from each other.
''Every one of them has a hard-luck story,'' Hersemann said.
Like Caleb, a Haitian who has been in America for one year and has even gone to school. His father sold their cow to buy him a passport. But he has now learned English so well he can translate for the new arrivals. Most Haitians speak a French dialect called Creole.
Kenny said while in America parents may not conceive of giving up their children, those in Haiti do so willingly, knowing they are providing better care for them.
''They know the child will live if they come here,'' Kenny said. ''They make that decision out of love for their child.''
The government is very strict about returning the children to their country, Kenny said. Carroll often has to prove the children were in America for heart surgery by displaying their scars.
Although some of the children are adopted by American families, such as Kenny's 10-year-old daughter, Douna, many return home healthier from their trip to the United States. Douna weighed 34 pounds when she arrived three years ago.
''Malnutrition is something we see a lot,'' Kenny said. ''Energy level is very low. But after heart surgery they are reborn. They come to life -they want to go everywhere and do everything.''
And after a year in the country, it's time to send them home and wait for a new group to arrive.
''It's a tearful good-bye, but we know that they'll go back and live a healthier life,'' she said.
CAPTION: John Carroll
My Comments in 2021--
Samuel, one of the kids in this group, would have his surgery delayed and he would suffer a respiratory arrest.
I would end up doing CPR on Peterson in Peds CVICU after his surgery and he would do well.
Haitian Hearts loses funding -- St. Francis slashes support - program pioneer suggests execs take pay cut to save children's lives
PEORIA - OSF Saint Francis Medical Center has cut most of its financial support for the Haitian Hearts program.
The hospital has been providing $257,000 yearly in nursing and other support for the sick children from Haiti, Dr. John Carroll, who founded the program seven years ago, said Saturday.
But at a meeting Friday night, the Haitian Hearts committee learned that support will be cut and the hospital now will offer only a 55 percent discount off its regular charges to care for the children, Carroll said.
''This will mean the deaths of Haitian children,'' Carroll said. ''I walked out the door'' at the meeting, where some others in attendance were in tears, he said.
St. Francis spokesman Chris Lofgren said Saturday the discount offered to the Haitian Hearts program softens the blow. ''It probably is a deeper discount than other contracts'' at the hospital, he said.
''We're contacted by a wide variety of groups for international kids. We have to get a handle on services provided to all international patients, including Haitian Hearts patients,'' Lofgren said.
With fund-raising from the Haitian Hearts group, about 15 patients will be served annually, Lofgren said. ''We are not turning our back on the Haitian Hearts program.''
Carroll said the hospital's support of $257,000 was in addition to a 45 percent discount for the children's care, a discount that he believes was above the hospital's actual costs.
Carroll worked at St. Francis for 21 years but was fired in December after a dispute with hospital officials over care standards in the emergency department. He still retains hospital privileges, however.
At the time, hospital officials said support for Haitian Hearts would continue, though Carroll expressed concern that it would diminish or end.
If the hospital cannot afford the program, top executives should take pay cuts and channel that money into the program, Carroll said Saturday.
Surgeons have donated their services to the Haitian children, he said. Carroll also has financially supported the program himself.
Support for the program is ''the right thing to do,'' follows the mission of the Sisters of St. Francis and also provides valuable learning experiences for the hospital's residents and medical students, he said. ''These kids are from the developing world.''
Since the year began, the Haitian Hearts committee has raised more than $400,000, which Carroll said has been paid to Children's Hospital at St. Francis. It's raised more than $1 million in the past 41/2 years. That level of fund-raising will be difficult to sustain, he said.
Carroll said he was not sure when the hospital's support was ending, but he felt the fund-raising had been sufficient to treat the seven Haitians he brought here at the end of June.
Lofgren said he also was unsure when the cutback goes into effect, but the hospital's fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
CAPTION: Dr. John Carroll (not filed)
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Haitian Hearts has plans to raise funds
PEORIA - Haitian Hearts supporters took tentative steps Tuesday toward developing a tax-exempt charity to raise money to replace the $257,000 cut last week by OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.
The ad hoc group, which lacks a formal structure and does not have officers, has been operating through the Children's Hospital of Illinois at St. Francis and using the hospital's tax-exempt status, said Haitian Hearts founder Dr. John Carroll.
A news conference called about the cutback turned into a strategy session on how to raise money to replace the loss. The group needs not-for-profit and tax-exempt status and a business plan, supporters said.
More than two dozen people attended, including many of the Haitian children the group has helped.
About 10 Haitians are now waiting to come to the United States for health care not available in Haiti, Carroll said. Without it, most will die, he added.
Until the tax-exempt status is achieved, supporters said, contributions still can be sent to Children's Hospital.
''Start locally,'' said Debbie Lane, who serves on some notfor-profit boards. She suggested golf outings and auctions.
''The medical community that doesn't like St. Francis and who would do anything to say, 'You should be ashamed of yourself,' '' will give, Lane said.
The Rev. James Taylor of the City of Refuge Church suggested reaching out to Hollywood and athletic stars. People who understand Haitian Hearts will contribute, he said.
Earlier Tuesday, St. Francis issued a statement saying the hospital has provided more than $1 million in care over the past five years, more than 70 percent of the total costs of caring for the children, at an unreimbursed cost of more than $20,000 each.
The hospital has increased its discounts to the Haitian children, but, ''Some limits must be established,'' it stated.
''In an era of reduced reimbursements and extensive cost control measures, hospital resources must be used to benefit the greatest number of those in need,'' it said, adding it spends an estimated $33 million yearly for charity care.
Haitian Hearts has raised $400,000 this year, and over $1 million in recent years, Carroll said. ''This has saved the lives of many children.''
The hospital increased its discount to the Haitian Hearts program from 45 percent to 55 percent.
Failed mediation may break Haitian Hearts -- Talks between OSF, diocese, doctor dissolve - kids program looks doomed
PEORIA - After a failed bargaining session, the OSF Healthcare System and the Catholic Diocese of Peoria announced Friday that Haitian Hearts has stopped beating, at least in Peoria.
''OSF Healthcare System will no longer participate in the Haitian Hearts program,'' said a written statement from corporate director of marketing and communications James Farrell. ''They (Haitian Hearts supporters) did not accept the offer,'' Farrell said of the bargaining.
''The cardiologists, pediatric intensivists and cardiovascular surgeons'' at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center support this decision, according to the statement.
The diocese also issued a statement Friday saying it ''was unable to successfully facilitate an agreement'' between the hospital and the Haitian Hearts program.'' Spokeswoman Kate Kenny said no diocese officials would comment further.
Haitian Hearts is a program that brings children from Haiti to Peoria for medical treatment, mainly heart surgery, at St. Francis. Nearly 100 children have received surgery at the hospital through the program, but disputes between the two sides over debt and organization spurred the diocese to step in and help negotiate.
Haitian Hearts founder Dr. John Carroll, contacted Friday on his way to Haiti, said he attended Thursday's meeting, the second held since the diocese agreed to get involved six months ago.
After an hour, Monsignor Steven Rohlfs adjourned the meeting and left, Carroll said. The bishop did not attend.
Carroll said hospital officials told Haitian Hearts it must accept the $200,000-a-year grant St. Francis offered, plus a 55 percent discount on costs above that grant, then details of the program would be negotiated further.
''We can't bargain that way. The details could stop the program,'' he said. ''You wouldn't buy a house like this.''
There were many details that needed negotiating, Carroll said, including the hospital's insistence on a ''no cap'' clause, so that if one patient ran up a $1 million hospital bill, the group would be liable for it.
The hospital also wanted its committee to review visa extensions, he said. visas are granted for only six months, but if a child needs follow-up care, they must be extended.
''I've been pushed to take kids back before they were ready,'' Carroll said.
Dr. William Albers, who served on the committee but left it recently, blamed Carroll for the failure. ''He was unwilling to negotiate. It's too bad. I think people tried, but it didn't work.''
Farrell said the hospital will continue to provide medical care to Haitian patients who came to Peoria in 2002.
Carroll said recently he has a waiting list of 31 patients, mostly children, who need lifesaving surgery. He would like to bring back the five worst cases, but since December, St. Francis has refused to approve any visas for medical care for Haitian Hearts patients.
''Children's lives depend on decisions to be made here,'' in Peoria, he said.
In January, Bishop Daniel Jenky announced the diocese would help Haitian Hearts, and hospital officials said they wanted the program to continue, but they needed to limit charity care to Haitians and wanted better planning for the patients brought in for care.
St. Francis fired Carroll in December 2001 from his job of 21 years as an emergency room physician after a dispute with hospital managers.
CAPTION: John Carroll
Comments in 2021--
Dr. Albers comment really hurt. No one negotiated for these kids' lives more than I did.
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Sisters of St. Francis should remain true to mission
I am outraged, disappointed and disillusioned by the news that St. Francis Medical Center/Children's Hospital has cut funding to the Haitian Hearts program that has provided life-saving surgery to Haitian children.
The Sisters' mission at St. Francis means a great deal to me. I adopted as my son the very first patient that Dr. John Carroll brought from Haiti for surgery in Peoria. Seeing the Sisters' mission at work and Dr. John Carroll's personal commitment to excellence pushed me to do more with my life and become a mother to the most wonderful boy, who now walks and talks and reads.
I didn't live in Peoria at the time, but the Sisters' mission had a lot to do with my decision to return to Illinois. I have worked in several communities and for other Catholic and religious-based hospitals, and never have I seen the commitment that I saw here with the treatment of my son. It seemed then that OSF was an organization that translated its mission statement into real action.
So what has changed? Why are children's lives less important at OSF today than in 1995? What is happening that the mentally ill, the children in our schools and now Haitian children aren't the beneficiaries of the mission? Is this really what the Sisters want?
This program needs to continue for many reasons. First, it is the right thing to do for an organization whose mission statement says it is ''to serve persons with the greatest care and love in a community that celebrates the gift of life.'' Additionally, taking care of Haitian Hearts patients enhances other work Children's Hospital does. These physicians have performed incredible surgeries to correct conditions that simply aren't seen in a developed country. The experience they gain only makes them better prepared to care for us in Peoria and central Illinois.
The Sisters put great effort into ensuring the mission lives through the works of their employees in spite of the dwindling numbers in their religious order. The mission statement is posted prominently in every facility, on paycheck stubs, in newsletters and can be quoted easily by most employees. Leaders participate in mission retreats. I took this for an assurance that all decisions and actions would be grounded in the Sisters' mission, vision and values.
So what was the motivation for this decision? Purely financial? I don't buy that, given the opulence of the recently built Center for Health. I think the answer lies within the walls of administration offices. I just wish the Sisters' mission reached into those rooms, too.
Laurie Howard
Peoria
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Hospitals should team up to help Haitian Hearts
It's a little tough to chastise an organization that will provide $33 million in medical charity this year for not providing enough. Yet that's what's happening to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, which has gotten grief for its retreat from the Haitian Hearts program that provides lifesaving medical care to children from Haiti.
Critics have suggested that St. Francis's move is inconsistent with its mission ''of caring . . . for the disadvantaged and poor of body and spirit.'' Some have even accused the hospital of handing Haitian kids a death sentence. We appreciate that those devoted to Haitian Hearts have a deep emotional attachment to it, but the allegation isn't fair.
Indeed, St. Francis through its Children's Hospital of Illinois may treat 15 Haitian children annually now instead of 20, still triple the number of just five years ago. While OSF will be discontinuing its $257,000 upfront donation, its discount to Haitian Hearts will go from 45 percent to 55. Its doctors will continue to donate their time and talents. If more funds are raised - Haitian Hearts collected about $400,000 last year, with the help of Children's Hospital staff - more kids will be treated.
Meanwhile, up to 45 percent of all the patients at Children's Hospital, most from central Illinois, lack insurance, says Dr. Rick Pearl, its chief of surgery. Meanwhile, kids not just from Haiti but from Russia, Poland, Mexico, etc. come to Peoria seeking such care, and the Sisters do not turn them away. Pearl and pediatric cardiologist Dr. Stephen Bash will tell you it is that commitment which lured them to St. Francis in the first place and which keeps them there.
In caring for the poor, St. Francis and the other area hospitals must contend with a funding environment that has seen significant Medicaid reimbursement cuts from the state along with payment delays. As of last week, state government was 110 days behind in its current payments. While hospital officials couldn't say how much that amounts to, back in April the state was 108 days and $14.3 million in arrears to St. Francis for inpatient stays, and another 99 days and $18.7 million for outpatient care.
As a result, St. Francis and Peoria's other two hospitals ended their support of nine in-school health clinics in District 150, closing them. Worthy as Haitian Hearts is, critical as the illnesses are, local kids still must come first.
We appreciate that there is bad blood between Haitian Hearts founder Dr. John Carroll and St. Francis, which fired him last December. The hospital's timing could have been better. One can take issue with St. Francis on a number of fronts, as this newspaper has regarding its closing of its mental health wing at the same time Zeller Mental Health Center is being mothballed by the state.
But its charitable work on behalf of Haitian Hearts - valued at more than $1 million since 1997 - and many other causes is not one of those fronts. Pearl is right when he says, ''We can't do everything for everybody all the time.'' Indeed, if St. Francis saved the lives of 30 Haitian children, would it be fair to blister the Sisters because the hospital didn't save 31? We think not.
Beyond that, there is something to St. Francis' argument that ''no other hospital or local organization has made a similar commitment to these Haitian patients.'' Much has been made recently of the need for more cooperation between the city's hospitals, for the good of the region's health and economy. Sadly, the opposite seems to be occurring. Perhaps Haitian Hearts would be a good place to prove that this collaboration business is more than just talk.
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About Haitian Hearts
Regarding the decision by St. Francis Medical Center to cut funding to the Haitian Hearts program, please allow me to quote Jesus Christ:
''I assure you that when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.'' (Matthew 25:45 NLT).
Julie Rodden
Peoria
A chance to survive -- Haitian Hearts program provides child's surgery
PEORIA - With his aunt and cousin at his bedside, a 7-month-old Haitian baby struggled for breath Monday as he recovered from heart surgery at The Children's Hospital at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.
''He's a survivor,'' said Janet Knepp, a Haitian Hearts supporter who has cared for the baby, Dan-Samuel Valbrun.
Samuel's cousin, 32-year-old nursing student Myrtho Dupresil of Jersey City, N.J., said hospitals in New Jersey turned her down when she asked them to provide the lifesaving surgery that the baby needed.
A friend of a friend in Haiti knew of Dr. John Carroll, the Peoria physician who founded the Haitian Hearts program, she said.
''He saw the baby and said surgery was needed or he would die. They brought him here,'' Dupresil said.
Samuel is one of 90 Haitian children whom Carroll has brought to the U.S. for surgery and post-operative care unavailable in Haiti. The charity program has been supported by donations and fund-raisers.
Doctors donate their surgical skills, and the hospital, usually St. Francis in Peoria, has supported the effort in various ways, lately by offering discounts to Haitian Hearts patients.
Asked about the ethics of spending scarce medical resources on a few very sick children, Carroll questioned whether medical spending should be a matter of selecting priorities.
''The money is there in our society,'' he said. ''The technology is there. The will is there, among the nurses, the physicians, the providers, and we should be doing this. There's no reason every hospital in the U.S. could not help out'' by providing this type of care.
Dr. Gary Raff performed heart surgery on Samuel that repaired a congenital defect complicated by the reversal of his abdominal organs. He had suffered oxygen deprivation since birth, Carroll said, and his body still is adjusting to the repairs.
His prognosis is guarded, Carroll said. ''He doesn't have a normal heart and may need further corrective surgery but the (procedure) helped him and raised (his) oxygen levels. Every day is a big day for Samuel. He fights a bunch of little battles every day.''
Dupresil and the baby's aunt, Anchise Valbrun of Haiti, arrived last week. They're leaving today but Dupresil is adopting Samuel to keep him in the U.S. for additional medical care.
Samuel arrived in Peoria on June 29, and was cared for by a registered nurse in the Haitian Hearts program until a family emergency sent him to live with the Knepps.
The surgery and its difficult recovery were only the latest travail for Samuel.
Tears filled Knepp's eyes as she described how Samuel awoke early Aug. 3, was fed, then suddenly stopped breathing. Knepp said she called for her husband, dialed 9-1-1 then watched in amazement as the couple's 17-year-old daughter, Sarah Knepp, who had been asleep, awoke and administered CPR, saving Samuel's life.
Sarah had been a lifeguard, Knepp said, but had never saved a life at the pool.
Knepp had gone to Haiti with Carroll, had taken Samuel from his mother, Rosemond Valbrun, and held him on the flight back to Peoria. ''I was the one who carried him home. I took him from his mother. Nothing could happen to him,'' she said.
Samuel is the Knepp family's fifth Haitian child in the program. ''You can tell your (own) kids about helping others but until they experience it,'' she said, they won't understand.
Samuel's birth in Haiti was also difficult. He is the only child of Rosemond Valbrun, a 40-year-old single mother, Dupresil said. Just before her due date, the mother collapsed and had to be resuscitated, Dupresil said.
Samuel immediately had breathing problems because of his heart difficulties, and spent most of the spring in Haitian hospitals on oxygen.
Despite his medical problems, Samuel is bright and friendly, Knepp said. He says ''da-da'' and smiles, and plays with toys. He weights only 11 pounds, but has gained weight since arriving in central Illinois.
''They're big challenges,'' Carroll said of the Haitian children. ''It takes courage to take care of them.''
CAPTION: Dan-Samuel Valbrun
CAPTION: Myrtho Dupresil, left, of New Jersey and Anchise Valbrun, of Haiti smile at 7-month-old Dan-Samuel Valbrun as he lies beneath an oxygen hood at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center's pediatric's intensive care unit Monday morning. Dupresil found the Haitian Hearts Program while desperately trying to find a way to get her tiny second-cousin life-saving medical treatment unavailable in Haiti. Samuel was born with a defective heart and other serious health problems. Dupresil and Valbrun, Samuel's aunt, came to Peoria last Friday before his heart operation.
Caption: Dan-Samuel Valbrun CAPTION: Myrtho Dupresil, left, of New Jersey and Anchise Valbrun, of Haiti smile at 7-month-old Dan-Samuel Valbrun as he lies beneath an oxygen hood at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center's pediatric's intensive care unit Monday morning. Dupresil found the Haitian Hearts Program while desperately trying to find a way to get her tiny second-cousin life-saving medical treatment unavailable in Haiti. Samuel was born with a defective heart and other serious health problems. Dupresil and Valbrun, Samuel's aunt, came to Peoria last Friday before his heart operation.
Comments in 2021--
Samuel was a wonderful little baby boy.
His heart surgery had been delayed too long and, as described above, he suffered a respiratory arrest at his host family's home.
After he was successfully resuscitated and admitted to the hospital, I called Paul Kramer and asked him to come visit Samuel in the hospital. He did show up and both Samuel's host mother and I were unhappy with Paul and we let him know.
This newspaper article left out a lot about the Samuel saga in Peoria. OSF talked to the Journal Star to try and make sure that this article would be a happy article about Samuel and his quest for care. And due to fear of OSF Administration, people who knew what was going on were silent to the Journal Star regarding Samuel.
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St. Francis frustrates doctor -- Haitian Hearts founder fears hospital letter to U.S. consulate will impede children's visas
PEORIA - OSF Saint Francis Medical Center is owed more than $500,000 for the treatment of Haitian children, a hospital official said.
The American consulate in Haiti has been contacted by representatives of the hospital about the distribution of visas to children seeking heart surgery at St. Francis, prompting Dr. John Carroll to demonstrate Sunday.
Carroll, a former emergency room physician at the hospital and a founder of Haitian Hearts, said he ''could not comment on the $500,000'' but said ''figures can be hard to come by from the Children's Hospital of Illinois foundation, and it's hard for us to know where we stand.''
Carroll worked at St. Francis for 21 years before being fired in December 2001.
Haitian Hearts brings children from Haiti to Peoria for medical treatment, mainly heart surgery, at St. Francis. The program has made it possible for 94 children to receive necessary surgery at the hospital.
''We have uncompensated expenses in excess of $500,000 for Haitian kids brought through,'' said hospital spokesman Chris Lofgren. ''There needs to be controls placed. Any organization has limitations on what they can afford.''
Last week, Carroll received a certified letter from St. Francis' lawyers, Hinshaw & Culbertson, telling him that the American consulate in Port au Prince, Haiti, has been contacted about visa distribution for Haitian children seeking heart surgery at St. Francis.
He fears this contact may make it ''next to impossible for me to obtain visas'' for the sick children.
''My long-standing relationship with the consulate has probably been destroyed,'' Carroll said.
In protest, Carroll, 49, paced and carried a sign Sunday afternoon outside St. Francis, which read: ''OSF Administration: Respect for Life Includes Haitians.''
''Dr. Carroll needs to engage in conversation with the people trying to contact him,'' Lofgren said.
Carroll said he has ''been contemplating'' talking with administrators.
Since 1995, Carroll has traveled to Haiti about four times a year to bring children who need medical treatment to Peoria - treatment that Carroll says the island country cannot provide but is available at St. Francis.
''The technology is not there in Haiti . . . even the electricity can't be depended on,'' he said.
Carroll will fly to Haiti on Tuesday, where he plans to see if the consulate will continue to grant him visas. He has not yet called the consulate or set up any meetings, he said.
''I have to see how much damage has been done by the OSF administration or their legal counsel,'' Carroll said. ''(The program) has been working well over the years - we hate to see it destroyed because Haitian children will be destroyed.''
The Peoria native said he has up to 20 children waiting for treatment.
Lofgren said the hospital has ''not refused service'' to children brought in by Carroll, even with the debt in place.
''Last year, OSF St. Francis Medical Center and the Children's Hospital of Illinois provided a total of $34 million in uncompensated care to local and international children,'' Lofgren said.
In July, the hospital decided to stop providing $257,000 annually to Haitian Hearts, opting instead to offer 55 percent off regular charges.
To fill the hole, Carroll and other Haitian Hearts supporters held fund-raisers and sought donations. Carroll said $435,000 was raised in 2002 for his program.
He could not set a price for the average amount of treatment each child receives, saying it depends on the type of surgery.
All the money raised goes toward medical care, Carroll continued, with no overhead cost and no money given to the Peoria families who take in the Haitian children after surgery.
Lofgren said there's ''not really a set amount'' for the service the hospital is willing to provide, but the ''Sisters have been very generous in 125 years.''
Carroll thinks the original mission of the Sisters of St. Francis is being defiled.
''The Sisters' mission needs to be preserved, and that's what we're trying to do,'' Carroll said. ''There's a huge gap between the Sisters' mission in theory and the way the administration is approaching it.''
Mary Kay Hersemann has taken in five Haitian children into her Washington home since 1995.
Hersemann, 48, said when she and others from the Haitian Hearts program attempted to talk with members of the hospital's administration in the past, ''They don't clearly answer questions. They use intimidation and fear - fear sometimes works.''
CAPTION: Dr. John Carroll (not filed)
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Comments in 2021--
As mentioned above in the article, OSF and Keith Steffen had pulled $257,000 of funding for Haitian children operated at Children's Hospital of Illinois. This was not surprising to Haitian Hearts since Steffen had said behind the scenes that he wanted to stop Haitian kids from coming to OSF and that Haitian kids made him want to puke.
And as the next few days passed, OSF changed the amount that was owed them every day in the Journal Star because they had no idea at all.
I sure did not want to picket the hospital that I loved. But I had no choice when Paul Kramer called the American Consulate in Port au Prince in December 2002. Haitian kids were now going to die.
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OSF suspends Haitian Hearts program -- Hospital says group must pay $500,000 debt
PEORIA - OSF Saint Francis Medical Center is suspending its participation in the Haitian Hearts program until the organization pays $500,000 to The Children's Hospital of Illinois at St. Francis.
''The program is suspended at this point,'' St. Francis spokesman Chris Lofgren said Monday. ''The debt has to be taken care of, and Dr. John Carroll needs to follow procedures and work with physicians who are going to treat them before he leaves'' for Haiti to bring back more children.
Carroll plans to leave for Haiti today and said he does not know whether the American consulate will issue visas for the children.
Carroll and his supporters said the hospital's action is not in keeping with its mission and that of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. Those values do not limit care only to those who live in central Illinois, Carroll said.
''My hope would be that the sisters and their mission would override'' the decision, he said.
Carroll said Sunday he has up to 20 children in Haiti waiting for treatment. Once he locates children needing the delicate heart surgery not available in their country, he confers with physicians in Peoria before bringing children back, he said.
Carroll picketed the hospital Sunday and Monday to call attention to its actions.
He received a certified letter Friday stating the hospital contacted the American consulate in Haiti to say no visas should be issued ''without prior written approval from The Children's Hospital.'' That contact could disrupt the delicate procedures for obtaining visas for the sick children, Carroll said.
The letter to Carroll, from the Peoria law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson, signed by its attorney Douglass Marshall, states, ''The consulate was surprised to learn that The Children's Hospital had not granted prior approval to you and had not agreed to provide care free of charge.''
But Carroll on Monday produced a form letter from The Children's Hospital signed by its executive director, Paul Kramer, stating the hospital ''will cover all costs for surgery and hospitalization.'' The letter allowed the date and name of the patient to be filled in, so that a visa could be obtained.
The form letter was last used in October, Carroll said, but apparently the hospital has revoked it.
Carroll and others also said they were not sure of the $500,000 figure St. Francis says Haitian Hearts owes. A committee of the organization has been auditing the bills and already has found three mistakes, he said.
''We don't get itemized bills,'' Carroll said. ''I've asked for itemized bills.''
Lofgren said itemized bills for each patient will be sent if the organization requests them. He also said the amount owed is actually higher than $500,000, though he conceded any items in a bill could be disputed.
Laurie Howard of Peoria, the adoptive mother of the first Haitian Hearts baby, is wary of St. Francis' figures.
''Haitian Hearts is raising money and has paid'' for the care, Howard said. ''They (St. Francis) definitely dealt a low, low blow'' to the Haitian Hearts program.
Lofgren disagrees.
''The program has not ended'' but is only suspended, he said. ''When these two things are taken care of - the debt and he meets with us prior to going - we're back in business.''
Carroll is a former St. Francis emergency room physician who worked at the hospital for 21 years. He was fired in December 2001.
Carroll said St. Francis actually makes a profit on Haitian Hearts patients, despite a 55 percent discount, because there is a difference between the hospital's actual costs and what it charges for services. Its costs are 30 percent of the listed price, he said, and Haitian Hearts pays 45 percent.
''It's higher than that,'' Lofgren countered, adding it's under 45 percent. ''You have to have extra money'' to pay for expenses and future expansion, he said.
The 55 percent discount for Haitian Hearts patients, Lofgren added, is the greatest given to any organization or group.
Lofgren stated Sunday that St. Francis and The Children's Hospital provided $34 million in uncompensated care for local and international children last year.
Haitian Hearts recently has applied for a $1 million health care award from a foundation, Carroll said, but added that the hospital's action could jeopardize that award.
Anne Wagenbach, coordinator of Haitian Hearts, questioned the hospital's motives.
''They're saying it's all financial. Is that really true? I don't know,'' she said.
CAPTION: Dr. John Carroll walks the sidewalk outside OSF Saint Francis Medical Center on Monday bearing a sign with a message for hospital administrators who contacted the American consulate in Haiti to voice concern over issuing visas for Haitian children seeking medical treatment at St. Francis. Carroll is a former emergency room physician at the hospital and a founder of Haitian Hearts, an organization which brings children from Haiti to Peoria for medical treatment.
Caption:
Dr. John Carroll walks the sidewalk outside OSF Saint Francis Medical Center on Monday bearing a sign with a message for hospital administrators who contacted the American consulate in Haiti to voice concern over issuing visas for Haitian children seeking medical treatment at St. Francis. Carroll is a former emergency room physician at the hospital and a founder of Haitian Hearts, an organization which brings children from Haiti to Peoria for medical treatment.
Comments in 2021--
1. OSF had stopped the $250,000 dollars of care to Haitian children in July 2002. We could have used this amount on care of Haitian children who were in Peoria for heart surgery. OSF changed the amount each day in the newspaper because they had no idea but they needed to make Haitian Hearts look bad somehow. And no mention by OSF of the 1.1 million dollars Haitian Hearts had donated to Children's Hospital of Illinois by the end of 2002. And then OSF "forgave" the debt. But Haitian kids were going to suffer greatly in the years ahead.
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Haitians face hurdles in Miami, Peoria
In Miami, Haitians arrive by the hundreds.
In Peoria, they come a few at a time.
In Miami, Haitians arrive in rickety wooden boats.
In Peoria, they come by plane.
In Miami, Haitians, adults and children, dive off the rickety, wooden boats.
In Peoria, Haitian babies and children get off the plane.
In Miami, Haitians must sneak off the boats.
In Peoria, there's always someone waiting for them at the airport.
In Miami, Haitians are arrested if they're caught sneaking off the boat.
In Peoria, they go to a warm home with a soft bed and running water after they get off the plane.
In Miami, Haitians willfully risk their lives to reach U.S. shores.
In Peoria, sick Haitian children come because Dr. John Carroll, a local doctor, risks his time, money and, lately, his career to save their lives.
In Miami, Haitians arrive because they're fleeing Haiti.
In Peoria, they arrive knowing they will go to OSF St. Francis Medical Center for surgery.
In Miami, Haitians face months in prison, then deportation, after they're arrested.
In Peoria, Haitian babies face a new life with a healthy heart after the surgery.
The Haitians flooding into Miami are refugees.
The Haitians trickling in and out of Peoria are among the healthiest of Haiti's sickest children.
The United States is tired of Haitian refugees flooding into Miami seeking political asylum.
OSF St. Francis is tired of Haitian babies trickling into Peoria for heart surgery.
Early last year, the government's Immigration and Naturalization Service began carrying out a new secret policy, meant only for Haitian boat people.
Early last year, OSF St. Francis began cutting back on the millions in charity aid the hospital once gave Haitian Hearts, the volunteers who bring Haitian children to Peoria, care for them in their homes before and after surgery, and raise money to help pay for the surgeries.
The INS said the new, secret policy reflects government fears of a mass exodus from the poverty-stricken, politically-lawless country.
OSF St. Francis' chief of surgery said, ''We can't do everything for everybody all the time.''
The government's policy toward Haitian refugees brought out longstanding contradictions in the government's policy toward Haiti.
OSF St. Francis' much earlier decision to fire Dr. John Carroll, for matters unrelated to Haitian's hearts, brought out growing queasiness about the hospital's commitment to the poorest of the poor.
While the INS cracked tough on Haitian refugees, the Bush administration blocked federal aid to Haiti, including aid for medical care.
When OSF St. Francis fired Dr. Carroll, he predicted the hospital would eventually kill the Haitian Hearts program.
As the year ended, national newscasts flashed the spectacle of frantic Haitian refugees, plowing ashore, dodging traffic across one of Miami's busiest highways, begging strangers for a lift to freedom.
Right after the year began, local television outlets carried the lonely scene of Dr. Carroll picketing St. Francis, carrying a sign saying ''OSF Administrators: Respect for Life Includes Haitians.''
The U.S. government declared all Haitian detainees would be treated fairly, appropriately and humanely.
OSF St. Francis suspended the Haitian Hearts program, saying the group owed the hospital at least $500,000, and Dr. Carroll wasn't following previous agreements.
In Miami, supporters of the Haitian refugees called the government's actions racist. Cuban boat people, they noted, are treated differently.
In Peoria, Dr. Carroll's supporters called OSF St. Francis' actions heartless. The hospital's mission, they noted, is not based on anyone's ability to pay.
In Miami, even the most stringent, most racist government policies won't stop hundreds of Haitian refugees from risking their lives.
In Peoria, the stand-off between one doctor and one hospital risks the lives of dozens of Haitian children.
Pam Adams is a columnist with the Journal Star.
'Hearts' program still beating -- Peoria hospital forgives debt - diocese may oversee charity
PEORIA - The Haitian Hearts program could become a not-for-profit charity under the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, with OSF Saint Francis Medical Center forgiving its debts so the organization can get a fresh start.
Bishop Daniel Jenky announced Thursday that he will initiate talks between hospital officials and others to create a new oversight structure for the Haitian Hearts organization, overseen by the diocese.
The Children's Hospital of Illinois at St. Francis announced it will forgive the Haitian Hearts debt, now at nearly $400,000, when an oversight structure is set up, and will continue to offer a 55 percent discount to the program's patients.
''The balance is now zero,'' said Dr. Rick Pearl, director of pediatric surgery.
The intent of this week's events is for the diocese, OSF and Haitian Hearts officials to select a board of directors and management structure for Haitian Hearts.
Dr. John Carroll, the founder of Haitian Hearts, will play a crucial role in the new organization, said Patricia Gibson, vice chancellor of the Peoria Diocese, though that role is not clear.
Carroll ''is aware that Bishop Jenky (and others) will work toward this goal and is most grateful and willing to work with this group,'' Gibson said. ''He was aware of what was going on and it has become finalized. We could not tell him that on Monday.''
Carroll is now in Haiti and could not be reached for comment. On Sunday and Monday, he picketed St. Francis to protest a hospital decision to stop cooperating with the Haitian Hearts program.
The hospital had said it would not accept any more Haitian patients until the organization paid its debt.
Hospital and diocese officials spoke with the Journal Star editorial board later Thursday to discuss the changes. Sister Judith Ann Duvall, president of OSF Healthcare System, said the charitable mission of the hospital's founders has not changed.
''We want this program to continue for the good of the children,'' she said.
Paul Kramer, executive director of Children's Hospital, said the Haitian Hearts program has been expanding, and last year treated 17 children. But the hospital system's charity burden also has been growing, he said, and is expected to be $40 million this year, including up to $6 million at Children's Hospital.
''We need limits'' on the number of Haitian children treated here, Kramer said.
Before more children come, better planning is needed, he said, including ''adequate medical input into the decisions'' about which children should come to Peoria. ''Dr. Carroll has agreed (with) this approach.''
Kramer said Carroll likely will not bring back any children from Haiti on this trip, though some still here need more care and will be treated.
Carroll's supporters on Thursday expressed optimism about the future of Haitian Hearts after learning about Jenky's initiative.
''I am grateful to the diocese for stepping in and taking an interest in this program for its continued benefit to the Haitian kids,'' Ann Wagenbach, coordinator of Haitian Hearts, said. ''There are a lot of details we'll have to work out (but) it sounds very positive.''
''If the bishop is supportive, I'm thrilled,'' said supporter Laurie Howard.
The bad feelings and misunderstandings between Carroll and hospital managers can be overcome with a fresh start, diocese and hospital officials said. ''Once partners work together, trust occurs,'' Pearl said.
St. Francis fired Carroll in December of 2001 from his job of 21 years as an emergency room physician after a dispute with hospital managers over standards of care, which Carroll wanted to improve. He still retains his hospital privileges.
CAPTION: A NEW PLAN: Bishop Daniel Jenky (left) hopes to create a new oversight structure for Haitian Hearts. Dr. John Carroll (right), founder of group, will play a role in the new organization.
Caption:
A NEW PLAN: Bishop Daniel Jenky (left) hopes to create a new oversight structure for Haitian Hearts. Dr. John Carroll (right), founder of group, will play a role in the new organization.
Comments 2021--
Unfortunately, the Diocesan plan turned out to be a cruel ruse. Bishop Jenky met with Haitian Hearts for a grand total of 45 minutes during the next six months.
Monsignor Rohlfs would tell me that I needed to agree to the new Haitian Hearts program without telling me the details. With OSF, Steffen and Kramer, and others who were working to end Haitian Hearts, I had to be very careful what I agreed to. Kramer even wanted to hold the Haitian kids passports, which made me very nervous that he would try to send them back to Haiti before they were medically cleared to return to Haiti. And OSF said that Anne Wagenbach and I could not talk to the press before OSF gave their ok.
Other Catholic hospitals around the United States were flying patients back to their home countries before they were ready to go and before their families were able to take care of them. But this should not have been a green light for OSF in Peoria to act badly also.
Also, doctors from other medical centers who had brought international children for heart surgery in the United States were also being pressured to take the kids back and soon as possible.
Respect for international patients needs to be given by accepting medical centers in the United States.
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St. Francis cares for all patients as if they were our own
July 9 will mark the beginning of my 20th year singing at the bedside of hospitalized children at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and the Children's Hospital of Illinois. After reading Pam Adams' Jan. 8 column, ''Haitians face hurdles in Miami, Peoria,'' I was compelled by the increased beating of my own heart to respond.
It has been 2 1/2 years since my son, Kevin, was paralyzed in a car accident. At 4:19 on the morning of July 20, 2000, after I had spent seven months dealing with a personal illness and had exhausted my vacation time and short-term disability, the employees hired by the Sisters of The Third Order of St. Francis came to my rescue.
At OSF, co-workers donated their own paid time off so I could be with my son at his bedside in Iowa. They gave a total of 500 hours, expecting nothing in return.
At OSF, Sisters, administrators, physicians, nurses, technicians, maintenance workers, housekeepers, etc., through the grace of God, accomplish minute miracles that make a magnificent difference in the lives of patients and their families every day.
At OSF, our chief of pediatric surgery is accurate in stating, ''We can't do everything for everybody all the time.'' We try our best to do everything possible with the time and the resources that we have.
At OSF, our family serves this community with the greatest care and love.
At OSF, I have bestowed my gift of music to the poorest of the poor; to the rich; to the red, yellow, black and white; to those with stitches in their chin; to those with broken legs; to those with catastrophic diseases and illnesses; to those with repaired hearts from Peoria to Haiti.
At OSF, we care for them as if they were our own. At OSF, we care for each other with the same respect and dignity. At OSF, I am blessed. At OSF, I am thankful.
At OSF, I am a grain of sand on the beach, reminded that beauty would not exist without the God who created it. There is one God; it is not I, it is not OSF, and it is not John Carroll.
Cookie Bannon
Community Representative
Children's Hospital of Illinois
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center
Peoria
My Comments in 2021--
I think Cookie probably got leaned on to write this article, but it was still painful for me to read.
I knew Cookie for years. We had gone to the same high school in Peoria and I had taken care of her family members in the OSF-Emergency Department.
But it was what it was, and taking on OSF in Peoria would have multiple ramifications for me and my family as the years went by.
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Haitian Hearts' doctors do miracles for poor
During Christmas, my aunt was admitted to the hospital and I was feeling sorry for her and myself, until I had the opportunity to meet a fascinating woman who speaks lovely French and, I now realize, has a lovely smile.
She was my aunt's roommate at St. Francis Medical Center in the coronary care unit. I found out as the days went by that she has serious health problems and is in this country for health care not available in her native Haiti. She was here as a Haitian Hearts patient.
On Christmas she was unable to walk without assistance or perform daily hygiene tasks. One foot and one hand turned inward. She needed assistance on both sides just to get from the bed to the restroom. Our new friend was not alert, appeared to be dazed and in a lot of pain. Two days later I went into the room to find her in the restroom trying to clean her face. The medicines and the care she had received through Haitian Hearts and St. Francis had allowed her to move about unassisted, and hopefully toward a complete recovery. As the days went by, I no longer felt sorry for my aunt or myself.
I had seen items in the newspaper regarding this situation but was unaware just exactly what this program entails. These doctors provide urgently needed medical attention to residents of a poor country that is not able to provide adequate supplies of either medicines or doctors. They assure that recipients arrive here in this country under the guidance of a sponsor.
I am thrilled that we have doctors of this caliber who are generous enough to share their time and talents with those less fortunate. It is nothing less than a miracle that these doctors donate their services. To think otherwise is shortsighted and selfish on the part of those who might consider closing this valuable project or censuring those doctors involved.
I feel blessed to have met this Haitian Heart and will carry the memory of her with me always.
Glenda Williams
Peoria
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Money shouldn't decide patient care
As chairperson of the Hope for Haiti Race, a fund-raiser supporting Haitian Hearts and the Friends of the Children of Haiti, I can vouch for the hard work of dedicated volunteers. What happened to taking care of patients regardless of age, race, gender and the ability to pay? Haitian kids are more than red ink on the debit column of a ledger.
What a wonderful lesson for the patients of the Children's Hospital of Illinois to have a Haitian child in the room with them, to see children of a different culture and life experience.
I have traveled to Haiti on medical missions and I have cared for Haitian patients in my home during their recovery from heart surgery. I am so thankful for those experiences. I have learned what is really important in life. I will continue to raise funds for the Haitian Hearts, and I pray no more children will have to die because of lack of money.
Jo Anna Mitchell
Bartonville
My Comments in 2021--
I appreciated this article by Jo Anna. However, the money was there for their medical care.
Before I was fired from OSF, the Children's Hospital CEO, Paul Kramer, told me that Haitian Hearts is becoming too competitive with CHOI. He meant we were so successful raising money for Haitian kids who needed heart surgery. By the end of 2002, Haitian Hearts had donated over 1.1 million dollars to CHOI for Haitian childrens' medical care.
A few years later in the mid--2000s, OSF would begin their 250 million dollar Milestone Project which would be the most expensive expansion in the history of Peoria. A new Children's Hospital would be part of this immense project.
Haitians highlight limits on care for Peorians
On Wednesday a man called the Heartland Community Clinic for help. An out-ofwork diabetic, he was about to become an out-of-insulin diabetic. His supply was dwindling, and he had no money to replace it.
The clinic, godsend to many of this area's uninsured, told the man to phone back Monday morning, the only time in the week it takes calls from people hoping to become patients. This is because its small volunteer staff is overwhelmed.
But it accepts only one new diabetic patient every month. This is because diabetics require intensive, costly care the clinic cannot afford.
And, generally speaking, it confines its practice to the working-poor uninsured. This is because that is its unique mission, and it's a fine one.
Last year the Heartland had to turn away two out of three people who got their phone calls in on Monday mornings. Those who succeeded had to wait for screening. Those who were sick had to wait again as long as 15 working days to be seen. ''We're doing the best we can,'' says Joan Krupa, the executive director. ''But that's pretty awful when you're sick and trying to get well.''
So the odds of getting seen at Heartland are against this man, who said he'd sought help from government sources and been denied. He was encouraged to try other charitable clinics, but they also are overwhelmed by too many patients, too few doctors and too little money.
Adults who seek appointments at the clinics Methodist Medical Center runs at Carver Center and Friendship House typically have to wait four weeks, unless it's an emergency, in which case they'll be referred to a hospital walk-in clinic. Mother Frances Krasse Center has temporarily suspended taking new patients until it can hire another doctor. OSF Community Health Care Center is closed to new adult patients, except for those who meet stringent poverty guidelines, so it can catch up with the backlog.
Even godsends have their limits, as Sister Judith Ann Duvall, president of OSF Health Care System, was acknowledging just about the same time the unemployed diabetic was calling the Heartland.
She was acknowledging it in the course of a conversation about efforts to keep alive a popular program that provides free care and surgery for Haitian children with life-threatening heart problems. The program counts on volunteer doctors, some of whom say they also are overwhelmed; deep hospital discounts; and community fund-raising. The founder, Dr. John Carroll, picketed OSF St. Francis last week when the hospital suspended the program, which it says owes $400,000 to its Children's Hospital affiliate.
Children's Hospital subsequently agreed to forgive the debt and to work with Bishop Daniel Jenky, who wants to make Haitian Hearts a Diocesan mission. It seems a good compromise, intended to keep the number of Haitian children coming here to a level local doctors and volunteers can support while recognizing Peorians' passion for the effort and the doctor who began it.
Children's Hospital officials say the number of Haitian Hearts patients quadrupled over the last four years, and they can't afford for that to continue. The hospital bill alone can run from several thousand to several hundred thousand dollars. Rooms and specialized nursing staff are limited, too. The more resources devoted to Haitian children, the less there may be for Peoria-area kids.
''We've never had to turn a central Illinois patient away'' because a Haitian child is filling a bed,'' says Paul Kramer, executive director of Children's Hospital. ''But it's been close,'' adds Dr. Richard Pearl, director of pediatric trauma.
OSF expects to spend an impressive $40 million this year on charitable care but still does not claim to fill all local needs. Last year it quit supporting in-school health clinics and church-based nurses. More sobering decisions likely lie ahead in a state approaching a $5 billion budget gap. Half of the Children's Hospital patients are enrolled in Medicaid, the government-funded health-care program for the poor. State Medicaid spending is second only to state school spending, and substantial cuts are feared.
When Haitian Hearts were threatened, anguished central Illinoisans mourned on TV and complained to the newspaper that OSF had abandoned its mission. Forty million dollars say it has not.
But when a Peoria diabetic can't get his insulin, when a Pekinite with a Medicaid card can't find a doctor to see her, when somebody who is sick has to wait a month for an appointment, when dental care for poor adults nearly vanishes from the community, as it has here, nobody calls, nobody writes, nobody pickets.
If the problems Peoria-area people have in getting health care evoked as much sympathy as do the needs of strangers, then the solutions would come quickly. The community needs them.
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Haitian kids not a threat
Re. editorial of Jan. 12, ''Haitians highlight limits on care for Peorians'':
Haitians don't take away from our community. Our community's unemployed do.
I, too, am a diabetic and have been in the same situation in the past as the gentleman mentioned in this editorial. It stated in the article that area residents who do not have health insurance have to wait at least a month to get into the Heartland Clinic. This is true, but this is nothing new.
I was in this same situation 13 years ago, and even then I had to wait a month or longer to get into the clinic. These Haitian children are in no way put before the children or adults in our community or the surrounding area.
I guess if you haven't held one of these dying children in your arms, as I have, you couldn't begin to understand.
Wendie Ingle
Haitian Hearts host mom
Peoria
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Haitian kids not strangers
The Jan. 12 Journal Star editorial concerning Haitian children receiving cardiac surgery in Peoria and local medical needs was thought-provoking.
The executive director of Children's Hospital of Illinois and its pediatric surgeon were quoted as saying there may not be enough hospital beds at times to accommodate both Haitian children and children from central Illinois. This, of course, is ludicrous and would not explain this same surgeon's multiple requests to me to bring him sick Haitian children that need surgery.
Also, why would the Journal Star refer to Haitian children as strangers? The people of central Illinois sure do not treat them as such, nor do the medical personnel that care for them. The OSF mission statement doesn't even mention the word stranger.
Any sick child, regardless of origin, deserves a chance. Subordination of self-interest and placing the child's needs above everything else is all that is required.
Dr. John Carroll
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Sisters to continue mission
Re. the Haitian Hearts patients:
As a former manager of the St. Francis Community Clinic, I am well aware of the charity care the Sisters gave to our patients. This was in addition to the charity care the Sisters routinely wrote off throughout the system.
Dr. John Carroll has always shown compassion for the less fortunate. This is an admirable quality, which endeared him to his patients and to the staff.
I think it is time to remember that the Sisters have had their mission for 125 years. The Haitian children are Dr. Carroll's mission. If I chose to bring indigent patients from Calcutta to Peoria as my mission, would I have the right to ask the Sisters to provide medical care at no charge or at a greatly discounted fee?
We only have to read the papers to know that all hospitals are struggling with reduced reimbursement. Let us show some understanding to OSF and the Sisters. They will quietly continue their mission, as they have in the past.
Marlene Mercer
Peoria
My comments in 2021--
Marlene left out the fact that Haitian Hearts had contributed over 1.1 million dollars to Children's Hospital of Illinois for medical care of Haitian children. We were very appreciative of the medical care but it was NOT free.
Just a few weeks before this article was published, I had picketed OSF for banning my Haitian Hearts patients from returning to Peoria. Paul Kramer called the American Consulate in Port au Prince and asked them not to grant medical visas for them to travel to Peoria. This action would result in the deaths of Haitian children. I sure did NOT want to picket OSF, but this was the only avenue left.
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St. Francis Sisters dedicated to fulfilling mission
Regarding Haitian Hearts, it's a great time to start looking forward to a better future.
With past debts forgiven, the work Dr. John Carroll has done can begin anew, sustaining marvelous things he and his group have accomplished. To suggest in any way that The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis are not dedicated to their mission is a grievous error. They gave uncompensated care of over $34 million last year alone. For children, the amount was over $5 million. Donations and fund-raising efforts through the Children's Hospital of Illinois brought in over $1.5 million towards that goal.
As a board member and volunteer for over the past 10 years, I have witnessed firsthand the wonderful work done through these organizations. The complexities and inadequacies of health care coverage make it imperative that the Sisters and administrators of OSF St. Francis and the Children's Hospital remain faithful stewards of the resources with which they have been blessed.
While 17 children from Haiti benefited from the support and generosity of our community last year, countless thousands of others are in need throughout their region. Working together as good stewards, both missions can grow and flourish.
Jim Stowell
Children's Hospital Advisory Board Member
Peoria
My Comments in 2021--
Unfortunately, what Jim Stowell wrote above, would not be true.
In 2004, OSF refused to take their own Haitian Hearts patients who had been operated at OSF in the past and needed repeat heart surgery. They were stuck in Haiti with no where to go. And several would die.
I asked Sister Judith Ann to remove OSF's embargo on Haitian kids returning to OSF for further heart surgery multiple times during the last two decades, and she never has. More to follow.
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Local Peoria Groups Helping in Haiti
Re. Bill Knight's Jan. 25 Forum letter about the local mission organizations for Haiti. "Haitian Mission Connection and the Friends of the Children of Haiti also do good work largely without fanfare, and mostly with fund-raising from individuals rather than institutional sponsors," he wrote.
As a former member of St. Anthony's Catholic Church, I worked St. Anthony's Bingo Night one Saturday night a month for over five years. The teams were made up of parishioners. Sixty percent of the profits went to the St. Anthony's building fund and 40 percent to the Friends of the Children of Haiti. If St. Anthony's Church is not an institution, what is it?
As for bringing the children here for care, I doubt if the host families who have opened their homes as well as their hearts to these children would refer to them as "just a handful of patients."
It is noteworthy that Dr. John Carroll has worked behind the scenes for Haiti. Dr. Carroll worked with the Friends of the Children of Haiti. He helped Dick Hammond order medications needed for the clinics. He held in-services to teach the doctors and the nurses about tropical medicine, and he brought medical students and interns to the clinic to work. Dr. Carroll has contributed his time, money and his knowledge to his Haitian Hearts program as well as the Friends of the Children of Haiti.
If you have been to Haiti, you soon realize that the poverty, disease and suffering are beyond belief. The Haitian Mission Connection, the Friends of the Children of Haiti and Dr. John Carroll do marvelous work for the poorest of the poor in Haiti.
Jo Anna Mitchell
Bartonville
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March 2004
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| A Haunting View--March 2004 |
Note to Self--You need to type this and enter it. Thanks. ------
Carroll follows Vatican's social justice instructions
OSF officials made incorrect statements in the July 19 article about Haitian Hearts. They claimed that medical personnel involved with the program agreed with the administrative decision to end Haitian Hearts at OSF. This is wrong.
In reality, most of these professionals have continued to support Dr. John Carroll's efforts to bring children from Haiti to Peoria for surgery. Unfortunately, staff who criticize OSF may endanger their jobs. These doctors, nurses and others deserve much credit for the wonderful care they have given these sick children.
Dr. Carroll is not to blame for the failure of the parties to reach an agreement. The only negotiations permitted at the meeting, which was limited to one hour, were to insist that Haitian Hearts accept a financial proposal fraught with potential liability pitfalls. Given the problems between OSF and Haitian Hearts, many issues besides finances needed to be negotiated, but this was not allowed.
Dr. Carroll has dedicated much of his time, talents and money to people in Haiti. In doing so, he follows social justice teachings from the Vatican, including one issued earlier this month that called upon developed countries to treat the difficulties of poor countries as if they were their own internal problems. If Dr. Carroll is to be blamed for anything, it should be for taking Catholic social teaching seriously.
Maria King
Peoria
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Peorians still committed to caring for Haitians
Friends of the Children of Haiti regrets to hear of the apparent demise of Haitian Hearts in Peoria as reported in the July 19 Journal Star. We have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with Haitian Hearts and appreciate its benevolence, assistance and perseverance on behalf of our patients who we have referred to the Haitian Hearts surgical program.
At the same time, Friends of the Children of Haiti - an all-volunteer, not-for-profit and non-denominational medical organization based in Bartonville - pledges to maintain the same outstanding health care it has offered in Haiti for 18 years.
At our clinic facility in Haiti, we will continue to run medical missions (four this year, with a goal of treating upwards of 10,000 patients) to serve Haitians of all ages who otherwise would receive little or no medical care. We will continue our partnership with the World Health Organization to provide free immunizations to children and women of child-bearing age. And we will continue our efforts to increase and improve our service, scope and effectiveness in Haiti.
Meanwhile, we thank the countless volunteers, donors and well-wishers who have furnished strong support over the years. Haitians call our clinic ''The House of Life'' - life born of tireless labor and sacrifice by people in Peoria and elsewhere dedicated to our mission and to Haiti.
Eric Behrens
President, Friends of Children of Haiti
Bartonville
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Haitian Hearts still beating
Re. July 28 Forum letter by Eric Behrens:
Haitian Hearts couldn't be more alive. We are continuing to raise funds for the sole purpose of helping sick Haitians come to the United States for treatments needed to have a better chance for survival in Haiti. We just aren't able to have them treated in Peoria.
We continue to raise money. Our efforts have been very successful and we are working on our third annual auction slated for Nov. 8.
Karen Kenny
Peoria
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Follow words of Mother Krasse
In her book, ''With the Greatest Care and Love,'' Monica Vest Wheeler chronicles the history of OSF St. Francis Medical Center and the Franciscan Sisters who operate it. Before there were ''Lifeflight'' helicopters, ''Children's Miracle'' networks, and glitzy TV ads, there was a vision.
The vision sprang from German immigrant sisters, ''terribly impoverished,'' who were ''forced into begging trips'' to support themselves. They ''suffered extreme poverty, prompted by the Franciscan custom of not charging for their services.''
The vision drew its inspiration from young Sister Mary Francis Krasse. Speaking in what was then St. Joseph's Church on Peoria's South Side, Mother Krasse said, ''I promise you, God, I will never turn anyone away you send to me for care.'' She told her sisters, ''The God who called us to Peoria will be the God who will always provide for us.''
We wonder what advice Mother Krasse would give to her sisters today about their response to Dr. John Carroll and the ''Haitian Hearts'' program.
Mary Ellen and John T. Brady
West Peoria
Carroll should take Haitians to other hospitals
As a Catholic, I have an obligation to support social and humanitarian projects. However, it is impossible to send support to all these agencies; I must pick and choose, trying to support activities locally and within my own church.
All of us are faced with the same problem - many needs, limited resources. OSF St. Francis Medical Center is no different. Faced with many needs of the poor here, it appears the Sisters agreed to help fund Haitian Hearts. Whereas Dr. John Carroll's only concern is Haitian Hearts, the Sisters daily face the needs of the many.
Bishop Daniel Jenky even stepped in to help facilitate an agreement, but from the tone of Dr. Carroll's letter in the July 26 Journal Star, it appears he might be demanding full sponsorship of the medical treatment of Haitian Hearts patients. If his demands (or even requests) are so reasonable in his mind as to call those here guilty of ''corporate greed,'' then surely there must be many hospitals in Illinois or in other states that would, willingly and gladly, totally support his cause.
I was impressed with the release of the Diocesan officials, which assigned blame to no one and certainly did not call Dr. Carroll greedy.
R. Eileen Bieneman
East Peoria
My Comments in 2021--
Ms. Bieneman wrote a good editorial.
I worked at OSF during four different decades with many years spent in the Sisters' Community Clinic and the Emergency Department. I am well aware of the need for caring for those in this area with few resources and significant medical need.
I was not restricting my corporate greed comment to OSF. This applies to many other hospital systems throughout the world.
In the past 20 years, we have brought Haitian Hearts patients to many hospitals in the United States and the Dominican Republic. And some of these patients were OSF Haitian Hearts patients that OSF refused to take care of when they needed repeat heart surgery. At the same time in the mid 2010s, OSF Healthcare was paying their CEO 2.8 million dollars per year.
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Haitian Hearts will continue its program -- Patients will be treated in the U.S. and elsewhere
PEORIA - Haitian Hearts will continue to bring heart patients from Haiti for treatment at hospitals in the U.S. and perhaps elsewhere, its founder, Dr. John Carroll said Wednesday.
Carroll returned last week from Haiti where he arranged for two adult patients to be treated in the U.S. One is scheduled to receive a pacemaker at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, he said, and the other is to have heart valve surgery at a Jacksonville, Fla., hospital.
In July, OSF Healthcare System and the Catholic Diocese of Peoria announced they would no longer participate in the Haitian Hearts program.
Haitian Hearts has brought nearly 100 Haitians, mainly children, from Haiti to Peoria for medical treatment, mostly heart surgery at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.
On Tuesday, the last Haitian child in Peoria, a 10-year-old girl who has been in the U.S. since last year, received heart surgery at St. Francis, a follow-up to earlier surgery. Carroll said the surgery went well.
Doctors, nurses and others who have cared for this child and other Haitians have expressed regret that the program is ending in Peoria, Carroll said. Some have donated their time and materials, and even offered to care for Haitian children in their homes while they recovered, he said.
Carroll said he now is working with others interested in Haiti, including the Mercy and Sharing Foundation, founded by philanthropist Susan Scott Krabacher. The organization operates an orphanage and medical center in Haiti. Its Web site is www.haitichildren.com.
Carroll said he hopes that up to 20 children soon will be placed in hospitals in the U.S., Canada and Europe for surgery. He has identified 38 who need surgery. A 19-year-old died while on the waiting list, he said.
Since December, St. Francis has refused to approve any visas for medical care for Haitian Hearts patients.
St. Francis fired Carroll in December 2001 from his job of 21 years as an emergency room physician after a dispute with hospital managers.
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Haitian Hearts expands to national program -- Group continuing mission as independent foundation
PEORIA - Cut off from OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, where it operated for years, Haitian Hearts is expanding into a national organization.
It now has 16 patients who have undergone heart surgery this year or who have been accepted for surgery at hospitals in New York, Virginia, Florida, Ohio and elsewhere in Illinois, founder Dr. John Carroll said.
"We're really happy," he said.
The group has become an independent foundation and can accept tax-deductible gifts. It will continue to raise money and bring Haitians to the United States for treatment, Carroll said.
Several of the surgical procedures this year are being funded by the Rotary Club's Gift of Life program, through contacts he made in New York, Carroll said. This program pays hospitals $5,000 per case.
Haitian Hearts arranges for the surgery, negotiates discounts with hospitals when payment is necessary, Carroll said, and pays for travel, visa and other expenses.
Physicians donate their services, and hospital social workers find temporary placements for the patients, mostly children, as they recover, he said.
The downside, he said, is that the patients no longer will be staying with families in the Peoria area. Many people have benefited from the experience of hosting these children and developing contacts with their families in Haiti, he said.
Carroll said the Haitian Hearts program arranged for 17 patients to have surgery last year, with 15 of those at St. Francis.
Since the program began, it has brought almost 100 Haitians to the United States for life-saving treatment. Most are children and most had heart surgery unavailable in Haiti.
"We gave Children's Hospital (at St. Francis) $1.1 million over six years. In cash," Carroll said.
But in July, OSF Healthcare System and the Catholic Diocese of Peoria announced they would no longer participate in the program after financial negotiations failed.
Carroll said St. Francis then was offered $25,000 cash to perform a surgical procedure, but the hospital refused to accept the patient, who was successfully treated elsewhere for $5,400.
St. Francis spokesman Chris Lofgren said the hospital would not comment.
Last December, St. Francis refused to approve any more visas for medical care for the Haitian patients.
St. Francis fired Carroll in December 2001 from his job of 21 years as an emergency room physician after a dispute with hospital managers.
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To Dr. John Carroll for taking his Haitian Hearts organization national, in an effort to find donors and caretakers to treat critically ill Haitian children. Carroll has gotten the OK for 16 kids to undergo life-saving heart surgery outside Peoria, which carried the program for years. Rather than give up after OSF Saint Francis Medical Center withdrew from supporting the program, Carroll found others willing to subsidize the surgeries. Lives will be saved because of Carroll's persistence.
PEORIA - The Catholic Diocese of Peoria on Wednesday defended its firing of a high school dean and coach, citing her "insubordination" and "lack of regard" for school policies.
The new statement also says Cindy Clark has not told her attorney all the details that led to her firing last week at Notre Dame High School. The firing has sparked days of public criticism and protests this week.
Clark, who had been dean of students and coach for the girls basketball and volleyball teams, was fired for "direct incidents of insubordination to high school administration and her lack of regard for disciplinary policies and procedures in the school," the statement said.
The incidents "involved members of the student body," according to the statement, which offered no details so that individual students would not be "singled out, targeted or blamed" for the termination.
Clark, 44, who also taught an algebra class, was escorted out of the school Friday, but she will be paid until her contract expires in August.
Clark's father, Jerry, said there would be no comment on the diocese statement.
However, about 100 Clark supporters made their own statement Wednesday in a candlelight vigil at St. Mary's Cathedral, the third consecutive day of protests.
"We won't go until we know," supporters chanted during a rally that began about 7:30 p.m. Those attending, including Notre Dame students, parents and faculty members, also held candles and signs outside the cathedral, which serves as the main church of the diocese.
"Everybody here isn't getting the answers they want," said Kelly Hubert, a friend of Clark. "The actions of the school don't support our faith. (Clark) practices what she preaches and these kids know it."
Earlier this week, hundreds of supporters also rallied at and near Notre Dame High School in defense of Clark.
"Bishop (Daniel) Jenky said he would have an open-door policy when he became bishop, but there are no doors opening right now," Hubert said.
Clark supporters said they will continue their fight with a solidarity march at St. Mary's on Sunday.
Clark's attorney, Patricia Benassi, termed the diocese statement "more innuendo" and said the diocese was unprepared for the outpouring of support for Clark and is trying "to cover their tracks."
Benassi said Clark received a letter March 10 telling her to stop a letter-writing campaign over a new diocese policy that bans deans from coaching.
But the letter "from the Bishop (Daniel Jenky) assures her that there's nothing that would warrant taking any action against her," or losing her job, Benassi said.
The diocese said Clark hasn't told her lawyer everything.
"It is obvious Ms. Clark has not provided the attorney with all the facts surrounding the recent incidents at the high school," according to the statement.
Benassi disagrees. "I am confident my client has told me everything. Now they have to come around after the fact and justify their treatment of her."
Diocese attorney Patricia Gibson would not comment further, but said the firing was based on "a lack of regard for disciplinary policies in the school."
Benassi said the way the firing of a 21-year teacher, coach and dean was handled, "the lack of respect for her being marched out of the school, not even allowed to get her personal belongings, that's all done to show power and authority."
It sends a message to others in the diocese, she said, not "to disagree with anything the higher powers want to do."
Benassi cited other high-profile incidents in the diocese, including the closing of Spalding and Father Sweeney schools, and the 2001 firing of Dr. John Carroll at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.
Carroll, an emergency room physician for 21 years, was the founder of Haitian Hearts, a program that brings children from Haiti to Peoria and elsewhere in the United States for medical treatments. He was fired after a dispute with hospital managers.
"Anybody who steps up to lead for the common good seems to get their head chopped off," Benassi said.
Clark's mother, Rochelle, said she has received a call from Carroll's mother to offer support. "We know what you're going through," Clark said she was told.
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Haitian Hearts still in limbo -- St. Francis, diocese working out deal as sick patients wait for visa approval, surgeries
PEORIA - Nearly six months ago, the Catholic Diocese of Peoria and OSF Saint Francis Medical Center announced the Haitian Hearts program would get a new start as a not-forprofit charity under the diocese.
Since then, Haitian Hearts founder Dr. John Carroll has been to Haiti three times. He said he has developed a waiting list of 30 patients, mostly children, who could benefit from surgery at St. Francis.
Carroll would like to bring back five of the worst cases immediately, but none can get visas to come to the U.S. because the hospital will not approve the care, he said.
Carroll said he offered to pay all of the hospital's costs for a young adult from Haiti who needs a pacemaker, but St. Francis would not approve it. The manufacturer has agreed to donate the device, and the surgery now will be done at St. John's hospital in Springfield.
Carroll has sent letters to St. Francis officials, but he has received no reply, he said, adding he may petition Bishop Daniel Jenky to set up a tribunal to look into what's gone wrong.
St. Francis chief operating officer Sue Wozniak said Thursday the hospital is working on a proposed agreement with Haitian Hearts and hopes it can be completed soon.
Patricia Gibson, vice chancellor of the Peoria Diocese, said ''the diocese is still hopeful that something can be worked out.''
The agreement includes a ''specific medical protocol on how patients are selected,'' Gibson said, based on the expertise of Carroll and hospital officials
But Carroll said, ''I'm very wary of rules. (They) could stop the program. It's a system designed for failure.''
Wozniak would not comment on specifics of the proposed agreement.
Carroll and Anne Wagenbach, a registered nurse and coordinator for Haitian Hearts, said the agreement states advocates for the organization cannot speak to the public or news media without hospital approval.
Wagenbach said no meetings took place between February and one held last week, while Carroll was in Haiti. That meeting occurred, she said, because she asked a priest at the hospital to speak to officials about Haitian Hearts. Another meeting is to be set for next week and will include Carroll, she said.
In January, Bishop Jenky announced the diocese would help Haitian Hearts, after St. Francis in December stopped allowing Haitian patients to get visas for treatment at the hospital.
Hospital officials had said they would not accept any more Haitian Hearts patients until the organization paid its debt, though the amount was in dispute.
As part of the diocese announcement, the Children's Hospital of Illinois at St. Francis said it would forgive the Haitian Hearts debt of nearly $400,000 and would offer a 55 percent discount to the program's patients. Carroll was to play a crucial role in the new organization, Gibson said then.
At the announcement of diocese support, hospital officials said they wanted the program to continue, but they needed to limit charity care to Haitians and wanted better planning for the patients that were brought in for care.
St. Francis fired Carroll in December 2001 from his job of 21 years as an emergency room physician after a dispute with hospital managers.
CAPTION: Dr. John Carroll (not filed)
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Add Haiti to Peoria's list of 'sisters'
Peorians have a sister city in Germany. We have a sister city in China. We have a sister city in Ireland. Arguably, we have a step-sister of a country in Haiti.
Global trade, part of the reasoning behind the sister-city relationships, isn't a modern concept. The slave trade was global, too, for more than 300 years. Haitian slaves, many of them imported from Africa, set the stage for the beginning of the end of the slave business in this hemisphere exactly 200 years ago.
Americans, who claim to love freedom more than free markets, should feel allegiance with Haiti in its bicentennial celebration. It piggybacks so well with the triumph of the American Revolution. The United States was the first independent republic in the Americas; Haiti was the second. White men overthrew their colonial masters; black men overthrew their slave masters.
One of the unforeseen consequences of the slaves' defeat of French forces was Napoleon's decision to sell the Louisiana territory for bargain-basement prices, which nearly doubled the size of the young, new U.S. of A.
We in Peoria have more than a few reasons to join Haiti's party. But it is a bittersweet birthday.
Once again, Haiti is in political crisis. Thousands of protesters are in the streets, demanding their president resign. Though others say the United States' perennially racist foreign policy underlies much of the unrest, almost 50 people have died in violent anti-government street fights since September. That is a drop in the bucket, compared to Haiti's perennial social crises. Thousands die for lack of clean water and basic health care. Hundreds of refugees languish, indefinitely, in Florida detention camps solely because of blatantly biased U.S. immigration policies and heightened fears homeland security fears.
The larger questions of Haiti's past, present and future roil my brain whenever John Carroll calls. He is the local doctor who is obsessed with Haiti's health, which forces him to deal with smaller, peskier questions of obtaining visas and raising money to bring sick children back to the United States for lifesaving surgery.
For years, Dr. Carroll and others involved with Haitian Hearts guided Haitian children to OSF St. Francis Medical Center for life-saving surgery. The relationship dissolved last year, and it was not pretty. Though Dr. Carroll and other volunteers may have been willing to treat sick children free of charge, St. Francis was not willing to continue without oversight and limitations on the program. Not even the Catholic diocese could negotiate a compromise that Carroll did not suspect of sinister undertones. St. Francis officials never divulged their side of the story publicly.
So Haitian Hearts continues to bring children to the United States for surgery, just not to Peoria. St. Francis says it will continue to provide surgeries for international patients, just not through Haitian Hearts.
But larger issues lie beneath the bureaucratic details of the split between Haitian Hearts and St. Francis. At a time when we are increasingly uncomfortable about inequities in health care at home, the plight of Haiti's poor highlights gross inequities in health care around the world. If Haiti were considered a full-fledged member of the family, we might feel slightly more obligation to help nurse her back to health, politically and socially.
The irony is, day-to-day, Peoria probably has a closer relationship with Haiti than any of its official sister cities. Over the years, dozens of families in and around Peoria took Haitian Hearts patients into their homes as they recuperated from surgery. Hundreds have donated money to keep the group going.
Peoria-area generosity can also lay claim to building a clinic that provides basic health care services to more than 8,000 Haitians a year. Friends of the Children of Haiti, another local medical missionary group, raises money and volunteers to staff the clinic eight months a year.
A beloved local obstetrician, Paul Blough, worked in Haiti for about two decades after he retired from practice in Peoria. So many local doctors and other health-care professionals have traveled to Haiti that it seems like a no-brainer to institutionalize a training relationship with local medical and nursing schools, as well as hospitals.
Innumerable heartfelt relationships between Peorians and Haitians make the case for building a stronger bond with a sister country, or at least adding a city in Haiti to Peoria's "official" list of sister cities.
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Comments in 2021--
A very interesting article by Pam. The world needs visionaries now more than ever.
Right before I was fired from OSF, I moderated a Pediatric Grand Rounds at OSF. I brought six Haitian Hearts patients I had in Peoria awaiting heart surgery to the Branch Auditorium. And I gave a rundown on each patient including their clinical symptoms.
And using Children's Hospital of Illinois pediatric cardiologists I asked the dozens of young medical students and residents to examine all of the patients and learn from their exams.
My Haitian patients which were children, adolescents, and young adults had very interesting heart murmurs which originated from untreated congenital heart disease or from rheumatic fever. These findings are not commonly encountered by our young medical students or resident physicians. Allowing these Haitian patients to come to Peoria for surgery helped them and also helped the medical staff at OSF and students from UICOMP improve their medical skills.
© Copyright (c) 2004 The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.
Sisters facing variety of 21st-century challenges
Caring for sick people wasn't very complicated back when the Third Order of the Sisters of Saint Francis was founded and started its work in health care in 1877.
You did what was necessary to help patients feel better within moral boundaries.
In 2004, though, health care is an ethically complex field, especially for a medical corporation that takes its directives and direction from the Vatican and local bishops.
That has led to a variety of challenges for the sisters who oversee OSF HealthCare, challenges that include:
- Dealing with contraceptive issues.
OSF facilities don't make "emergency contraception" available to rape victims, and critics have questioned whether victims are properly informed about EC's availability elsewhere, such as the nearby Methodist Medical Center. OSF's concern is that such medication could destroy a fertilized egg, which the Catholic Church considers a person.
OSF HealthCare also doesn't perform sterilization procedures such as vasectomies, tubal ligations or hysterectomies unless required for the health of a patient, nor do its health plans pay directly for those procedures or for pharmaceutical birth control, in keeping with Catholic dictates.
Those policies received headlines - and complaints - across the nation in late September when the federal government included an OSF plan among the 249 it offers its workers. Critics objected that it inserted religious doctrine into governmental policy.
"We want to do what is good and what is right, and sometimes that's hard," said Sister Judith Ann Duvall, president of OSF HealthCare, when asked about the corporation's stand in such situations.
The Rev. Michael Driscoll, a chaplain at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, said he doesn't see any options when it comes to how certain issues are handled.
"There will be the pressure they will continue to face to start doing things against Catholic teaching," he said. "As a Catholic hospital, you'd have to close down. You can't do evil to achieve good."
- Retaining a Catholic identity while accommodating staff and patients from a wide variety of faith traditions.
- Maintaining financial integrity while also striving to make sure health care is extended to all who truly need it even if they can't afford it. It's a unique challenge for sisters who have vowed to live in poverty, yet oversee a billion-dollar corporation.
- And there's simply the rough-and-tumble of the business world - hiring and firing decisions, financial limitations.
For example, OSF stirred controversy when it reduced support for the Haitian Hearts program, which serves children from that Caribbean island who need cardiac treatment.
The cuts occurred after program founder Dr. John Carroll was fired from his position as an emergency room doctor.
© Copyright (c) 2004 The Peoria Journal Star, Inc.
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