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From the website of Cincinnati's Heimlich Institute:

In June 1998, The Heimlich Institute became a member of Deaconess Associations Inc., to help advance and promote the mission and vision of The Heimlich Institute in perpetuity.

Since then, per the ABC News story below, the mission/vision have fallen on hard times. For years the so-called institute has been nothing more than a web site used to promote my father's potentially lethal crackpot medical claims: the use of the Heimlich maneuver for near-drowning victims, to stop asthma attacks, and to treat cystic fibrosis patients - and to "cure" AIDS by infecting patients with malaria.



Deaconess is a medical services corporation that claims to "enhance the well-being of our patients and communities where DAI has a presence."

It remains unclear how circulating quack claims that may seriously injure or kill people enhances those communities, but according to a recent Cincinnati Business Courier article, there's definitely enhancement in play:

As Deaconess Hospital failed, the man controlling it, Anthony Woods, did well. Woods, chairman and CEO of the hospital’s parent organization, the nonprofit Deaconess Associations Inc., had total pay of nearly $3 million in 2008, according to a tax filing.

By the way, Woods is responsible for bringing the Heimlich Institute into the Deaconess fold in 1998 and is now the HI's Chairman of the Board. Much of the responsibility for the organization's activities clearly rests on his shoulders.

E. Anthony Woods, Chairman, The Heimlich Institute (Cincinnati)

But wait! It turns out that there's another Heimlich Institute, this one operated by Scottsdale, Arizona chiropractor Chris Heimlich:



Based on this paragraph on his website, when it comes to claims about medical care, this other Dr. H is no slouch:

In practice for over 18 years, Dr. Heimlich deals with patients with nearly every type of illness and chronic pain disorder. His areas of interest include low back pain due to herniated discs, neck pain due to herniated discs, spinal stenosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, insomnia/sleep disorders, vertigo/dizziness/balance disorders, restless leg syndrome, IBS also known as irritable bowel syndrome, auto-immune diseases, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, gastrointestinal issues, cardiovascular wellness, diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, developmental learning disorders from ADHD and ADD to Dyslexia, Asperger’s, PDD/NOS, and Autism.

I didn't come across anything on Arizona's Heimlich Institute website about drowning rescue, asthma attacks, or cystic fibrosis. For recommendations on how to treat those ailments - or if you want to be contract malaria - you can contact these people (source):

From Lawmakers May End Anti-Choking Poster Law by Susy Solis, KXAS-TV News (Dallas//Fort Worth NBC affiliate):

A bill before the Texas Legislature would no longer require restaurants to have a poster showing the Heimlich Maneuver.

The state law requiring the posters has been in place for 22 years, but Rep. Ralph Sheffield, R-Temple, says the posters are not necessary.

He says the Heimlich isn't the only way to help a choking victim, as many people can dislodge a stuck piece of food with a swat to the back.

...The American Red Cross teaches both techniques -- the abdominal thrust and the back blows.

"Neither of those methods are better than the other; they are all effective," said Andria Butler, an instructor of a training and preparedness class at the American Red Cross.

From Senate passes Heimlich poster bill by Chuck Lindell, Austin Statesman-American, May 19, 2011

The Senate this morning passed a bill rescinding the requirement that Texas restaurants display a poster showing how to perform the Heimlich maneuver to save choking victims.

We wrote about the bill - and the behind-the-scenes controversy over how best to treat choking - Monday.

Click here to track the history of the bill (HB 3065) via Texas Legislature Online.

Update: On June 17, 2011, the bill was signed by the governor and made effective immediately. 


The Cincinnati Business Courier reported the story on May 16 (before the Senate vote) and included this:

In 2006, the Red Cross reverted to back slaps as an effective first step to help someone who can’t breathe.

(Dr. Henry) Heimlich is one of Cincinnati’s most famous physicians. He has been harshly criticized for his later work. That includes his campaign to convince the medical community that the Heimlich maneuver should be used on drowning victims, and his experiments that attempted to treat AIDS by inducing malaria in patients.

No other Queen City media reported the Texas poster law story.

The 2006 Red Cross update has never been reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer or by any Cincinnati TV news station.