Kinship Circle | Letter Campaigns

8/1/09: Stop Live Cat Labs At St. Louis Children's Hospital

SOURCE OF INFORMATION / BACKGROUND

ХааIan Smith, M.A., Research Associate, Laboratory Investigations Division, PETA
ХааHelp Cats Used In Training at St. Louis Children's Hospital

Internationally syndicated and animal-friendly cartoonist Dan Piraro created a comic for PETA in his own characteristic style that highlights the inadequacy of using live animals to teach medical professionals how to treat human infants.

TAKE ACTION: Use Contact Information + Sample Letter Below.

CONTACT INFORMATION + SAMPLE LETTER

CONTACT INFORMATION Х Print/Send This Letter

William "Clay" Claiborne Dunagan, MD, MS
Vice President, Center for Health Care Quality
and Effectiveness
BJC Healthcare, Mail Stop 90-66-500
4444 Forest Park Avenue, Suite 500
St. Louis, MO 63108-2212
ph: 314-286-2170; email: cdunagan@bjc.org
SOURCE: www.id.wustl.edu/faculty/dunagan.html

William "Clay" Claiborne Dunagan, MD, MS
Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases and
General Medical Sciences
Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8051
660 S. Euclid Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63110
ph: 314-286-2170; fax: 314-286-2123
SOURCE: www.wustl.edu/cgi-bin/directory/index.pl

аааа

Joseph Gunn, MD, Medical Director, Assistant
Professor of Pediatrics
Division of Emergency Medicine, St. Louis Children's Hospital
1 Childrens Place; St Louis, MO 63110-1002
ph: 314-454-6111, 314-454-2341; fax: 314-454-4345
email: Gunn_J@kids.wustl.edu
SOURCE: peds.wustl.edu/faculty/gunn_j/ContactInformation/tabid/2166/Default.aspx

Larry Shapiro, M.D., Executive Vice Chancellor for
Medical Affairs And Dean
Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8106
660 S. Euclid Avenue; St. Louis, MO 63110
ph: 314-362-6827; email: shapirol@msnotes.wustl.edu
SOURCE: www.wustl.edu/cgi-bin/directory/index.pl?index=9974cd,
support.pcrm.org/site/PageServer?pagename=countdown

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cdunagan@bjc.org, Gunn_J@kids.wustl.edu, shapirol@msnotes.wustl.edu

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SAMPLE LETTER Х Print/Send This Letter

Dear Dr. Dunagan, Dr. Gunn, and Dean Shapiro:

I am surprised St. Louis Children's Hospital still relies upon live animal labs for its Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) curriculum. I respectfully urge you to replace the use of cats in intubation drills with synthetic models such as sophisticated simulators and manikins.

PALS course sponsor, the American Heart Association (AHA), doesn't require or promote animal use. Nonetheless, cats undergo multiple exercises in which plastic tubes are pushed through their windpipes. Students are encouraged to learn from their mistakes. But in this case, the "mistakes" are live cats who can bleed, swell and scar. Their lungs may collapse and improperly routed tubes can kill them.

Most PALS facilities nationwide now use human-focused models alone. Simulators yield data relevant to pediatric treatment because size and location of internal organs resemble human anatomy more precisely. Simulators also let trainees repeat procedures as often as necessary.

Animal-free learning tools cut overhead to confine, feed and destroy cats. A timely New England Journal of Medicine article highlights the "very detailed feedback andЕmore subtle measurement of trainee performance" gained from virtual reality simulators. The article summarizes: Inanimate models are "safe, reproducible, portable, readily available, andЕcost-effective."

I hope you'll consider the AHA's recommendation that "any hands-on intubation training for the AHA PALS course be performed on lifelike human manikins."

Please drop live animal exercises for the PALS course and any other airway instruction. Medical training is better served by applicable and humane non-animal technologies.

Thank you,

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