Talk:Hippocrates Health Institute/Archive 1

Rationale for the edits
Hi, I am posting here the reasons as the present article lends undue weight to one side only.

Firstly
Hippocrates Health Institute is a Florida-based massage clinic which gained significant critical attention after two Ontario First Nations children were treated there for leukaemia, instead of being given effective medical treatment.

But

The children did not go to HHI for ‘treatment’ of leukemia. A quote directly from the Mother of Makayla (the girl who died) will clear this matter: It has been very upsetting to see and hear the press claim we went to Hippocrates to receive traditional medicines and have our private family vacation exploited in such a way. ''At Hippocrates, Makayla and I received nutritional counselling and she rested in the sun and swam in the ocean. The point of going to Hippocrates was to let her rest and relax. To learn to eat well. This was meant to strengthen her immune system and to help to recover from chemotherapy.''


 * The parents of the two girls made the decision to dis-continue Chemotherapy (in reference to ‘effective medical treatment’ above). After one of the girls died of a stroke in January 2015, her mother blamed her death on the Chemotherapy treatment 1-year prior. The Mother of Makayla wrote this article personally to help clear the misunderstanding created by the media: Family of Makayla Sault speak out about their experiences


 * It is quite common for people to seek alternative complementary therapies to boost the immune system and de-stress. The parent’s personal decision to stop Chemotherapy is their personal matter, and not a point to use against HHI.


 * See WP:SYN. You are asserting a sympathetic against the dominant view of independent sources. It's a massage parlour that has absolutely no business treating cancer patients in any way, shape or form. Guy (Help!) 16:54, 2 July 2015 (UTC)

Secondly
The clinic and its directors have been accused of "preying on the last hopes of terminally ill patients".

But
 * This use of ‘factual’ material is very poor and is surely does not meet Wikipedia’s guidelines. This article is simply an individual’s opinion that is not professionally qualified as a legitimate factual source.
 * Any member of the public can accuse anyone else, and literally say anything. Do we simply allow the use of random people’s statements, and defamatory quotes from someone who had never visited HHI?
 * Any institute or health spa visited by members of the public will have a list of positive and negative comments posted on Trip Advisor, and Yelp, etc. Does Wikipedia allow public opinions to be used and ‘cherry picked’ against an individual or company, to suit a media campaign’s agenda?
 * The Hippocrates Health Institute receives visits of thousands of guests each year for many decades now, and it’s not a case of ‘preying on the vulnerable’. Well educated and well informed people make educated decisions to assist their health challenges through complementary therapies as demonstrated by this typical case: Celebrity guest Heather Mills visited Hippocrates Health Institute when conventional medicine was not helping her and she was about to have her knee amputated. Having completed the program at HHI the spread of her infection stopped and heather saved her knee. http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/heather-mills-went-vegan-to-save-her-leg/2015/06/10/ae34969c-0f8a-11e5-a0fe-dccfea4653ee_story.html

Thirdly
The clinic claims to have "had more people reverse cancer than any institute in the history of healthcare", claiming to have cured "tens of thousands of people". But
 * The link from this reference is no longer available on the CBS news site.
 * The quote used in this reference is not and has never been officially claimed by HHI.
 * After the Florida Health Department sent an undercover investigator to HHI, no evidence could be found to substantiate any fraudulent claims. The health department subsequently dropped the case. These facts should be sufficient to have this reference removed.
 * An official quote from HHI director Brian Clement: He states his work with the Hippocrates Health Institute has been as a licensed nutritionist and that he does not practice medicine...and...According to their press release, HHI states that they offer clients a “welcoming climate where they can relax and renew in body, mind, and spirit. All programs at the Institute include a wide range of services including accommodations, enzyme rich meals from the raw organic buffet, nutrient dense green juices and wheatgrass, massage and spa treatments, consultations with a psychotherapist, over 40 hours of educational lectures per week, exercise classes and guided meditation.”

Fourthly
Cease-and-desist orders were issued against co-directors Brian and Anna-Maria Clements, both of whom represented themselves as doctors, requiring them to immediately cease the unlicensed practise of medicine.[4] http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/03/10/second-cease-and-desist-order-issued-against-florida-health-spa.html


 * This case started from a complaint by a member of the public made to the Florida Health Department. The department’s initial reaction to issue the ‘cease-and-desist order’ was followed by an official investigation, that resulted in dropping the case a shortly after due to lack of evidence. http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/cease-and-desist-orders-dropped-against-florida-s-hippocrates-health-institute-1.2287287
 * Innocent until proven guilty is respected in most modern cultures, and complies with the Wikipedia's policy. Once proven innocent, should the ‘stain’ of guilty accusations be held against a company?

Fifthly
Brian Clement was also fined for the unlicensed practise of medicine. But
 * This is the same argument as the previous sentence. The case has been dropped and Brian Clement is not no longer accused of ‘unlicensed practice’ and is therefore innocent in the eyes of the law. Why therefore is he still portrayed as guilty here? The department issued the order pending an investigation. The investigation resulted in ‘not-guilty’ – case dropped. Please, present facts that are legally correct, and not supporting a negative media spin.

Sixthly
Ex-employees are also suing the spa after being disciplined for speaking out against the Clements' pretended doctoring.

But
 * This is an ongoing case and does not yet have an outcome to judge upon.
 * The use of this reference is only relevant as part of the overall slant and use of the whole page to present HHI as guilty of health fraud. The objective now is to present this page in a balanced, factual, and fair portrayal of this Institute.

Seventhly
The "Hippocrates diet" was originated in the 1960s by a Lithuanian immigrant, Ann Wigmore, who claimed to have healed her own cancer with a raw food diet. She established the clinic in Boston and was successfully sued by the United States Attorney General in 1982 for claiming that her "healing enzyme soup" could eliminate the need for insulin in diabetics, and again in 1988 when she claimed that her "living foods diet" could cure AIDS. Brian Clement moved the clinic to Florida in 1987.

But


 * This reference is not even mentioned the Wikipedia page for Ann Wigmore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Wigmore
 * She is not portrayed on her Wikipedia page as a health fraud, as many people know and remember her as a respected nutritionist.
 * The reference used here is intentionally aimed at discrediting the current day institute, which is one of many separate health institutes originally associated and inspired be the work of Ann Wigmore. However to suggest or imply that she being sued by the Attorney General over 30 years ago is a valid fact to include to fairly represent HHI in 2015 is something you should hopefully reconsider.

Eightly
One of the two First Nations children whose flight to the clinic began the media scrutiny, died of her leukaemia on 19 January 2015 after being taken out of treatment by her parents. Conflicting accounts emerged over whether the clinic was actually claiming to treat cancer: the clinic denied it but family members and journalists showed clear evidence of claims to treat or cure cancer.

But Please read this story completely as it’s from Makayla’s mother and is the most accurate account of the truth in this matter:
 * The link above is broken, and the page no longer exists.
 * This reference line should clearly be removed, as it does not show ‘clear evidence of claims to treat or cure cancer’.
 * On the contrary the Parent of the child that died blames her child’s unfortunate death on Chemotherapy.

Ninethly
A second child, "J. J.", has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a disease with a 90% cure rate with chemotherapy. Both children were given exemptions from attempts by child protection agencies to mandate further treatment, on the basis that they were entitled by laws protecting First Nations communities to pursue "traditional medicine", though the treatments offered are not in any way part of First Nations tradition.

But
 * Basically this reference is saying the parents exercised their rights to choose an alternative approach. The reason the parents gave for attending HHI is: “The families of both girls say they went to the spa to relax and eat better.”
 * The parents were very upset that this media report and issued a statement regarding their rights to pursue traditional medicine, which they emphasize what NOT why they visited HHI. http://www.tworowtimes.com/opinions/opinion/family-of-makayla-sault-speak-out-about-their-experiences/
 * The use and intention of this paragraph is not relevant in light of the case being dropped, which should change the overall status, and factual content of this page.
 * The parents of the second child, JJ are not against conventional medicine. The cancer has since returned and this time the parents are perusing a combination of chemotherapy with traditional methods. http://www.tworowtimes.com/opinions/columns/scone-dogs-seed-beads/the-story-of-j-j-her-healing-journey/

Finally, as with any story of this nature there is often another side that is positive and shines a different light, one that is grounded more in honesty. Please refer to this article presenting a more balanced picture regarding the Second girl JJ: http://www.tworowtimes.com/opinions/columns/scone-dogs-seed-beads/the-story-of-j-j-her-healing-journey/

Finally

 * 1) In light of the case been dropped, this story should not be 100% presenting HHI as fraudulent, undermining what the work of the institute is really about.
 * 2) The fact is that HHI came under media attack (even the parents defended the Institute’s innocence), which was later proven to be false, and HHI is legally innocent.
 * 3) If an ex-employee is suing the institute and is pending an outcome, this is a minor factual reference. Does it still belong on the page?
 * 4) In an unbiased and fair world HHI should at least be portrayed as would any other health spa or wellness institute on Wikipedia. i.e. Featuring the primary and unbiased facts in relation to who they are, what they do, their history, etc.
 * 5) The category of “Health Fraud” should not apply to an entity that is legally cleared of fraud. In addition the articles written by both parents emphasizing their deep disagreement of the media spin. The articles are as follows:

--Jeremyhick45 (talk) 15:50, 2 July 2015 (UTC)
 * 1) http://www.tworowtimes.com/opinions/opinion/family-of-makayla-sault-speak-out-about-their-experiences/
 * 2) http://www.tworowtimes.com/opinions/columns/scone-dogs-seed-beads/the-story-of-j-j-her-healing-journey/
 * This might be persuasive if it were not for the rather obvious fact that he is a dangerous charlatan preying on cancer victims. Guy (Help!) 17:16, 2 July 2015 (UTC)