December 9, 2013 Susan L. Smith Managing Editor Pittsburgh Post-Ga ette 3! "#$d.

o% the &##ies Pittsburgh, P& 1'222 Dear Ms. Smith, (han)s %or *our e-mai# this morning o%%ering to re$ie+ the %o##o+ing corrections re,uest and, i% +arranted, to -ub#ish corrections. (he artic#e in ,uestion is Lessons to take to heart; New program would make CPR and other emergency techniques a course of study in Pennsylvania schools, a March 19, 2002 Post-Ga ette artic#e b* sta%% +riter &nita Sri)ames+aran about the Sa$e-&-Li%e .oundation /S&L.0. S&L. is a no+-de%unct 1hicago non-ro%it that since 2o$ember 2003 has been the sub4ect o% do ens o% media e5-oses. &ccording to a 6une 23, 2013 artic#e in the Dubu,ue (e#egra-h 7era#d, S&L. is under in$estigation b* the 8##inois &ttorne* Genera# %or the 9-ossib#e :9 mi##ion misa--ro-riation; o% %edera# and 8L ta5 do##ars. /8n a 2o$ember 1', 2013 #etter, a re-resentati$e o% the &ttorne* Genera# $eri%ied to me that the in$estigation is ongoing.0 Ms. Sri)ames+aran<s artic#e inc#uded this in%ormation about 1hristina 6ean Pratt, the daughter o% one o% the +riters o% this #etter, Gordon (. Pratt= (S L! founder"president Carol# Spi$$irri%s mission &egan on La&or 'ay ())* when her (+,year,old daughter- Christina was hit &y a car. /lood gushed from the severed main artery of the young woman%s left arm. 'irect pressure on the wound could have slowed the &leeding- &ut it took (0 minutes for am&ulance personnel to get to the accident scene. 12he &ystanders and the first responders ,, police officers ,, weren%t equipped with 3first aid4 skills and so my daughter &led to death &efore 56S got there-1 said Spi$$irri. 7o+e$er, %rom the .ebruar* >, 199' 1hicago (ribune= Corrections and clarifications. story in the 7an. (8 2empo section a&out the crusade of Carol Spi$$irri of 9rayslake to require policefirefighters- teachers- pu&lic,safety workers and emergency dispatchers to &e trained in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation contained some errors &ecause it did not include details of official documents concerning the case that precipitated her campaign. Spi$$irri told the 2ri&une that her daughter- Christina Pratt- (+- had &led to death on a Lake County highway following a traffic accident in which the girl%s arm was severed. ccording to a coroner%s inquest- however- Spi$$irri%s daughter died in a hospital- more than an hour after the accident- of multiple traumatic in:uries- including a depressed skull fracture in the &ack of her head. lso- according to Chief 'eputy Coroner 7ames ;ipper- her arm was not severed in the accident- although Spi$$irri maintains that it was. 2he story also said that the first police officers at the scene of the accident 1&alked1 at administering first aid- implying that they should have administered it- and that 1&asic first aid might have saved her life.1 <n fact- the officers are not trained- certified or required to perform first aid- and given the official cause of death- it is unlikely that &asic first aid would have saved her. 2he 2ri&une regrets the error. &nd %rom 2he 6aneuver b* &"1> 1hicago 8-(eam re-orter 1huc) Goudie, 2o$ember 1>, 2003= Spi$$irri pays herself an annual salary of =(*>->>>- according to Save, ,Life records on file with the <llinois attorney general. She travels on a generous e?pense account while working to o&tain additional government funding for e?pansion of her organi$ation nationally. Spi$$irri repeatedly tells politicians and the pu&lic this story of her motivation@ 16y daughter was coming home from work on La&or 'ay of %)*. She was struck &y a hit,and,run- and her arm had &een severely in:ured- and she &led to death &efore 56S arrived-1 said Spi$$irri.

/ut even that isn%t true- according to police and hospital reports and an inquest &y the Lake County coroner. 2he official record states that (+,year,old Christina Spi$$irri was legally drunk at the time of the accident; and that after hosting a drinking party while her mother was vacationing in !lorida- the teenager got &ehind the wheel and flipped her own car. Police records show there was no hit,and,run- and even though the local police didn%t know emergency first aid- the teenager did not die at the scene as Carol Spi$$irri contends. 6edical records state that Christina died 0> minutes after arriving at the hospital. <,2eam@ 1<t was not a hit and run- was itA1 Spi$$irri@ 1Bes- it was. Ch- my gosh. < got proof of that- a&solutely...<%m done- the interview%s over.1 fter terminating that interview three weeks ago- Spi$$irri%s spokesperson requested that we e,mail our additional questions. So we asked for information supporting Spi$$irri%s often repeated story of Christina%s death and any proof that Spi$$irri has the medical training- licensing and e?pertise that she claims. 2hey provided the <,2eam with nothing. .rom Ms. Sri)ames+aran<s artic#e= 2he grieving mother- who is a nurse.... 7o+e$er, %rom 2he 6aneuver= Spi$$irri is the matriarch of the Save, ,Life !oundation- &ased in west su&ur&an Schiller Park- and she has captured the attention ,, and the funding ,, of those who hold government purse strings. !or nearly (D years- to mayors and mem&ers of congress- she has represented herself as a trained- registered nurse. Spi$$irri says she got her nursing degree in ;isconsin. Currently- Save, ,Life%s we&site and her &io claim- not only that she is an RN- &ut that she speciali$es in kidney transplants. 2he <,2eam asked if that is true. 1Not at this time-1 Spi$$irri said. 1< no longer have. < haven%t registered in a num&er of years.1 ccording to state officials- the now,defunct ;isconsin college where Spi$$irri claims to have received a nursing degree never awarded her a degree of any kind- and government records show she has never &een registered as a nurse in either ;isconsin- as she told the <,2eam she was- or in <llinois. 1< had a nursing degree and < have worked in a hospital-1 said Spi$$irri. Cfficials at the 6ilwaukee hospital where she claims to have &een a transplant nurse say she had a paid :o& for a couple of years- as a patient care assistant akin to a candy striper. 1 &solutely it%s fair game to go after her for her credentials and her alleged story of how she got started in all of this- &ecause if they are incorrect or fraudulent or misrepresented- then how can you &elieve anything she says after thatA1 said 'r. Ro&ert /arat$- National Council gainst Eealth !raud. Ms. Sri)ames+aran<s artic#e a#so inc#uded these c#aims= <n ())F- the foundation developed a pilot program in which 56S professionals taught *D->>> <llinois children &asic life,saving skills in school. Now- they reach almost F>>->>> children. 2he Eeartsaver CPR in Schools program has &een made part of the curriculum for G0> pu&lic schools in Chicago and many others throughout <llinois. &nd %rom &"1><s 2he 6aneuver= Save, ,Life officials say they have taught the Eeimlich maneuver and other first aid techniques to more than ( million schoolchildren since ())D. 2hey claim to have taught nearly G>->>> children how to save a life in the Chicago Pu&lic Schools this year alone. 7o+e$er, in the same stor*, current ?.S. o% Education &rne Duncan raised doubts about that c#aim= Cn the Save, ,Life we&site- the organi$ation promotes itself with a cartoon character of Schools% C5C rnie @sicA 'uncan- who acts as an animated pitchman. ...'uncan says it seems unlikely that Carol Spi$$irri%s organi$ation could have taught the num&er of students they claim....

.urther, %rom <llinois senator seeks answers on possi&le =) million misappropriation ,, Lawmaker says the state attorney general%s office is not responding to his requests for updates on the investigation into a nonprofit%s activities b* sta%% re-orter Erin Mur-h* in the 6une 23, 2013 Dubu,ue (e#egra-h 7era#d= Since its esta&lishment in ())0- (S L!# pledged to teach school children first aid and emergency response practices. 'espite receiving nearly =) million to fund the program- however- very few records of students &eing taught have &een found. .urther, in res-onse to a %edera# court sub-oena and .B8& re,uests /co-ies on re,uest0, the 1hicago Pub#ic Schoo#s ha$e %ai#ed to -roduce records sho+ing that an* students recei$ed training %rom S&L.. B% -ossib#e re#ated interest, %rom ;here 'id the Save, ,Life 6oney 9oA b* Don "auder, San Diego Ceader, 2o$ember 1>, 2010= ...(Carol# Spi$$irri was a darling of politicians and &ureaucrats- although it was a matter of record that she had &een convicted twice for shoplifting. ...Cn 6ay (+- ())* ,, four months &efore the fatal accident ,, Christina filed for an order of protection against her mother...2he complaint stated that Spi$$irri had struck Christina Hon several occasions and threatened her on many occasions.I ChristinaJs father- 9ordon Pratt of 6ilwaukee- who divorced Spi$$irri in ()+(- says that Spi$$irri had &een out drinking that 6ay evening with the other daughter and came home at *@>> a.m. Christinawho was underage- had also &een drinking and came home later. H2here was a dispute and it escalated into a physical confrontation-I he says- relating a phone call he received from Christina. Soon- &oth Spi$$irri and the other daughter were hitting Christina- who fought &ack- says Pratt. ... t the coronerJs inquest- Pratt stated that Christina was Ha child who went through hell so that she could get to heaven.I P#ease c#ic) here %or a co-* o% the La)e 1ount* 1oroner<s Bctober 29, 1992 in,uest into the death o% Ms. Pratt. .ina##*, %rom Ms. Sri)ames+aran<s artic#e= K(Spi$$irri%s# efforts caught the attention of 'r. Peter Safar- a founding father of CPR and a distinguished service professor at the Lniversity of Pitts&urgh%s Safar Center for Resuscitation Research. Ee met Spi$$irri in Chicago and encouraged her to do more. 1< listened and have &een trying very diligently to follow his &ig footsteps-1 she said. 1Ee is my mentor.1 (he Post-Ga ette ma* +ish to contact the Sa%ar 1enter to $eri%* this in%ormation and to obtain more in%ormation about S&L.<s re#ationshi- +ith the 1enter +hich, according to -age 3 o% the non-ro%it<s 2003 &nnua# Ce-ort and other records, +as a S&L. 9branch o%%ice.; (han) *ou %or *our consideration o% our re,uest and +e #oo) %or+ard to *our re-#*. Sincere#*,

Gordon (. Pratt P.B. "o5 >0393 "a* Die+, E8 '320>-0393 -h= />0>033>-1>!3 e-mai#= gord*.-rattGgmai#.com

Peter M. 7eim#ich 3330 Ci$er 7o##o+ Cun Du#uth, G& 30093 -h= /20F0!>!->2F3 e-mai#= Peter.7eim#ichGgmai#.com +ebsite= htt-=HHmed%raud.in%o b#og= htt-=HHthe-sidebar.com

cc= Da$id M. Shribman, E5ecuti$e Editor