“When the Lines of Faith & Medicine Are Crossed” Topic of Catawba Valley Medical Center’s May ‘Conversations in Ethics’ May 8, 2008 Catawba Valley Medical Center invites healthcare professionals and the community to attend the next ‘Conversations in Ethics’ to be held from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, May 15 in the Northwest AHEC Lecture Hall, Room 112. This monthly, no-charge meeting provides an opportunity for discussion of some of the most important issues facing the healthcare profession today. The discussion topic for May is “When the Lines of Faith & Medicine Are Crossed.” Her name was Madeline Kara Neumann and she went by the name of Kara. She was an 11-year-old girl who died on Easter Sunday March 23, 2008 in Weston, Wisconsin. Her parents, Dale & Leilani Neumann, were charged with “second-degree reckless homicide” in the death of their daughter. Police say that Kara died from complications of diabetes that went untreated. Her parents’ religious beliefs did not allow medical intervention. The Neumann family has ties to the “Unleavened Bread Ministries,” a little-known church that shuns modern medicine in favor of prayer. In an interview Leilani Neumann stated that she is not worried about the police investigation because her family’s lives are “in God’s hands.” She is confident that they did the best thing for their daughter that they knew to do. Dale Neumann, a former police officer, told reporters that he started to perform CPR on his daughter “as soon as the breath of life left.” The medical examiner stated that the autopsy indicated Kara died from diabetic ketoacidosis, an ailment that left too little insulin in her body. He also stated that she probably had been ill for about 30 days, suffering symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, and loss of appetite and weakness. Social Service officials interviewed the Neumanns’ other three children, 16- and 13-year-old boys and a 15-year-old girl. The children were examined by doctors and are now staying with relatives. The case against Kara’s parents is still pending. Among the questions that may be discussed include: Should the Neumanns’ religious beliefs supercede the laws of the land? What should happen to the Neumanns’ other children? How would you respond if a neighbor or family member had a child who was sick and the parents refused to get help because of their faith? Is the refusal to take a sick child to the doctor considered child abuse? Do you agree with the charge of reckless homicide? A free lunch will be served to those who register no later than Tuesday, May 13 by calling 828-326-3365. Catawba Valley Medical Center’s Department of Organizational Learning is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the North Carolina Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Completion of this activity provides 1.0 contact hour. Catawba Valley Medical Center is a not-for-profit, public healthcare system providing and promoting the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving as a center for health education, wellness services, preventative medicine and acute care. CVMC, recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Magnet facility, was recently named a Hospital of Choice by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers.