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BYLAWS OF THE SEMMELWEIS SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL
WHEREAS,
The Semmelweis Society International is a corporation organized under the laws of the
State of Tennessee; and
WHEREAS, its purpose is one of assisting physicians anywhere in the United
States and elsewhere, who have bee subjected to malicious and improper (sham) peer
review under the ill-advised immunity provided under current law; and
WHEREAS, it has been shown
by the National Institute of Health and other organizations that the number of medical errors occurring in hospitals is not
decreasing and thus it is clear that the current peer review system is not working; and
WHEREAS, it is
thus a reasonable conclusion that the peer review system is widely used to silence and/or destroy doctors, their reputations
and practices ostensibly in the name of improved medical care when the actual reason is greed, economic advantage or to silence criticism of unsafe or poor medical care; and
WHEREAS,
the recent gross intentional misuse of medical facilities and abuse of patients as demonstrated by the unnecessary and dangerous
procedures performed at the Redding Medical Center in California, a Tenet Facility, demonstrates beyond any doubt that Tenet
misuses the peer review process and thus it is likely that other hospitals and hospital
companies do the same;
THERFORE, concerned physicians from across the Untied States and in various
specialties with either personal experiences or knowledge of this abuse of the peer review system do hereby invite physicians
and other medical professionals anywhere in the world to assist in removing these unfair practices by assisting and providing
help, both financial and informational, to other medical professionals who have been unfairly sanctioned or attacked in the
name of peer review. Further, this organization is a non-profit organization with volunteer officers until such time as some
reasonable compensation for these officers can be established realizing that the primary mission of the Society is to assist
shammed physicians.
ARTICLE I
The name of this organization is The Semmelwies Society International,
Inc.
ARTICLE II
The purposes of this organization are:
1. To establish
a database of information available to members and non-members that provides facts and case law related to peer review and
the status of any current or pending legislation.
2. To provide a list of attorneys who are available to help physicians
or other medical professionals who have been the victim of malicious or sham peer review.
3. To provide educational
opportunities for those persons interested in learning more about the problem or sham peer review and how to deal with it.
4.
To provide an organization that will listen to those medical professionals who have been defamed and attacked under the guise
of “peer review.”
5. To provide a service that will review contracts and Bylaws of medical organizations
to point out deficiencies in these documents, which would increase the risk of sham peer review at a reasonable cost.
6.
To provide advice to those medical professionals who have been the victim of sham peer review.
7. To provide a central
point and forum of various persons in and out of the medical field to discuss peer review problems and possible solutions.
8.
To provide sample bylaws and contracts that address the problem of sham or bad faith peer review.
9. To help to improve
patient care and reduce medical costs by the proper use of the peer review system.
10. To advance the field of knowledge
in the field of proper peer review.
11. To assist those other organizations, which are interested in improving the
present travesty in the peer review system.
12. To identify and publish those individuals and organizations that
have demonstrated either repeated episodes of bad faith and malicious peer review or have demonstrated a single event of sham
peer review that is so abusive that their activities should be published.
13. Not to engage in any lobbying or direct
legislative influence, but to provide information if asked to any person requesting it.
ARTICLE III: ORGANIZATION
SECTION
1: Officers
A. The organization will have at minimum a President and a Secretary-Treasurer.
B. Other
Officers who may be elected or appointed as required are
a. Vice-President
b.
Secretary
c. Treasurer
d. Attorney Liaison
C. The President and Secretary-Treasurer will initially
be appointed by the incorporators and will serve a term of 2 years.
D. Following this two year term, officers will
be elected by a quorum of the members for additional two year terms.
E. This election will take place at a date and
time to be established and will occur at the annual meeting.
F. The President and other officers must be active members
of the Society.
SECTION 2: Board of Directors
A. When the membership will allow, as determined
by the President of the Society a Board of Directors will be established.
B. The Board of Directors will consist
of a minimum of three members.
C. The Board may, on its own authority
increase the number of Board Members to meet the additional requirements of the Society, but limited to a maximum of seven
members.
D. The Board of Directors must always consist of an odd number of Members unless there are only three Members
and one member resigns or fails to complete his/her term.
E. If the Board consists of more than three members and
one member resigns or is unable to complete his/her term, either a new Board Member must be appointed and approved by a majority
of the remaining Board Members or a new Board Member must be elected by a quorum of all active members of the Society. If
this is not accomplished within 60 days, then the most recent other Board Member or Member with the lowest seniority must
resign in 60 days to once again provide an odd number of Board Members.
F. Board Members can be any person who is
interested in the improvement of the peer review process and does not have to b a member of the Society.
G. Board
Members must be either physicians or lawyers. These Members may be retired
or inactive from the practice of medicine or law.
H. A Board Member may
be recalled by a majority vote of the Society membership.
SECTION III: Members
A. Any person
interested in the peer review process and interested in correcting the deficiencies of the peer review process may be a member of the Semmelwies Society.
B. Dues for membership are to be established by the
officers and then by the Board when it is established.
C. Dues will be tax-deductible when this status is approved
by the IRS.
D. Dues are to be used 100% for the defense of persons who are the victim of sham peer review and for
establishing and maintaining the data base.
E. Though it is our interest to make information available to anyone
who needs it, we would hope that the opportunity to help a person who has been persecuted will be incentive enough to help
defray costs of the organization.
F. Though the Bylaws do anticipate compensation for the Officers of the Society
depending on the amount of work involved, any compensation must be presented by the Board of Directors and approved by a quorum
of the members.
ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS
A. There will be an annual meeting of the Society annually
at a time and place to be established by the Officers unless the Board of Directors is established in which case the time
and place will be established by the Board.
B. The meeting will be primarily to organize, plan and direct the Society
for the following year.
C. At a minimum, the following will be the agenda at each meeting.
a. Call to order.
b. Report on legislative changes over the last year.
c. Financial report of the Society
d. Old Business
e. New Business
f. Election of new Officers
D. Additional meetings may be called by
a majority of the Board Members or by a majority of the members of the Society as required.
E. Business at a meeting
may be conducted if there is a quorum of the membership, either by actual attendance
or by written proxy.
F. A quorum is 51% of the active members of the Society.
G. A majority vote of the
quorum will be required to approve any resolution unless otherwise stated in these Bylaws.
ARTICLE V: COMMITTEES
A.
Committees to perform specific duties may be appointed by the Officers or Board
as needed to accomplish a particular purpose.
B. No committees are automatically established.
C. The Committee,
if appointed, will elect a chairman who will report to the President and the Board if appointed by the Board.
D.
The Committee will continue to exist as long as the purpose for which it was appointed exists.
ARTICLE
VI: AMENDMENT OF THE BYLAWS
A. Any member may present a resolution
to amend the Bylaws.
B. This resolution is to be presented to the Board of Directors, or if none exits, to the President.
C.
If there is a Board, the Board must approve the change by a majority vote, unless the amendment affects the Board directly
in which case it is considered approved by the Board.
D. If there is no Board, the President will present the amendment
to the membership within 3 months or at the next annual meeting whichever is less.
E. If there is a Board and the
Board approves the amendment resolution, the resolution is presented to the membership within 3 months or at the next annual
meeting whichever is less.
F. The amendment must be approved by a 2/3 majority of the membership without a meeting
or 2/3 of the members present at the annual meeting provided the quorum requirements are met.
ARTICLE VII: GENERAL
PROVISIONS
A. Any provision of these Bylaws that removes the tax-exempt status of the Society is hereby declared
null and void.
B. No resolution that will remove the tax-exempt status of the Society has any validity unless the
resolution is supported by ¾ of the entire Society Membership.
C. This Society does not lobby any official whether
elected or not in order to pass legislation.
D. This Society will provide information on request to anyone involved
in any way in the peer review process with the exception of those organizations or individuals identified as perpetrators
of sham peer review.
E. All Board Members or Officers of the Society have complete and total immunity from any actions
they take with regards to the Society to the fullest extent permitted by law.
F. Board Members and Officers do not
have immunity for any actions involving fraud, conversion, or any other intentional tortuous action that is in direct opposition
to the stated goals of the Society.
G. The minutes from the annual meeting are to be emailed to every member of the
Society within 30 days after the completion of meeting. Due to costs, the Society cannot mail the minutes if the member has
no email.
Approved:
By: __________________________
Henry
Butler, MD
President
By: _________________________
William Hinnant, MD, JD
Secretary-Treasurer
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October 24-28-30-31, 2008
TO: Board members of Semmelweis Society International
FROM: George E. Holmes, Ph.D., an Officer, Treasurer, and webmaster
www.semmelweis.org of Semmelweis Society International, and President of Howard University Chapter of the American
Association of University Professors (AAUP), and President of the District of Columbia Conference of American Association
of University Professors (AAUP) representing 17 universities and college in the district of Columbia.
Date: October 24-31, 2008
RE: I reject and oppose Professor Alan Ullberg’s proposed bylaws
for Semmelweis Society International.
1. I vehemently reject and oppose Professor Alan Ullberg’s proposed bylaws
for the Board of Semmelweis Society International.
2. I respectfully appreciate and thank Professor Ullberg for his hard work. He
carefully thought about each and every word to construct the language.
3. I concur only with the statement " Re: Suggested procedures to follow when
an applicant is not accepted for membership, or an existing member is disciplined, suspended or expelled by the Board, and
the rejected applicant or member formally requests the Society---in writing---to hear his/her appeal from the Board's decision.
4. I believe the reply should only be as it is presently written in the current
bylaws.
5. I spent many hours in the writing and correction of the mission statement with
individuals who did not have a clear vision or knowledge of the present and future of the Semmelweis Society International.
In its present format, I am very satisfied because it covers many suffering souls and meets many objectives with high standards,
integrity and credibility.
6. Professor Ullberg stated, ". . . "The Board has the authority to suspend, revoke,
or terminate any member, for conduct that is inconsistent with the purpose, mission, and objectives of SMLW. This is the obverse
of the power vested in the Board by Art. III, Para. 1,
7. I strongly disagree with this statement. I have been an academician for 35
years and in academia there are four key principles due process, academic freedom, rights and privileges, and avoidance of
capricious and arbitrary action by an administrator(s). SOME BOARD MEMBERS are under the illusion that they have the power
to do what they think at any time. They hire suspect lawyers to justify their questionable ways and actions, as we see proposed
here in these bylaws. In academia, we refer to it as shared governance, faculty and board making decisions for the entire
university. This is what I have fought for and the main reason I was recruited for Semmelweis Society International.
8. I have put my views in writing because of a few of the present board members
of Semmelweis Society International are in the process of proposing a vote and over ruling those who may possibly disagree.
In academia, we normally discuss changes until we come to a mutual understanding of the issue(s).
9. My statements are recorded so that all can see I will take on the entire board
or anyone to preserve the integrity, high standards and credibility which I have fought for in Semmelweis Society International
for the past years since its conception in to the organizational structure and in the American Association of University Professors
(AAUP), and in the College of Medicine and Howard University Hospital grievances committees and commission.
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10. I want to make it known that I am and have been a part of SSI which is an
ACADEMIC organization which I have fought to maintain its integrity, high standards and credibility.
11. I want to make it known that I am and have been a part of www.aaup.org
which is an academic (ORG) ANIZATION which I have fought to maintain its integrity, high standards, and credibility.
12. I want to make it known that I am and have been a part of www.howard.edu
which is an academic (EDU) CATION University, which I have fought to maintain its integrity, high standards, and credibility.
13. I am NOT part of a www.ATT.com or etc which is a (COM) PANY, that can
do what ever they want when they want to, by hiring a set of lawyers to justify their DIRTY DEEDS.
14. The whole world saw what happened to Enron and Arthur Anderson and Associates.
They had two hundred and seventy five (275) hired lawyers to support their deeds and actions, but were ALL destroyed in the
end.
15. These presently proposed bylaws will destroy Semmelweis Society International
as well.
16. I know as a fact that Semmelweis Society International could never be recognized
by Continuing Medical Education (CME) from Howard University Office of Continuing Medical Education and Howard University
Hospital or any other academic institution with the proposed bylaws.
17. I could not be of good conscience if I was part of an organization which had
agreed to such bylaws.
18. Some of you may not know, my name and credibility is on the banking accounts
for Semmelweis Society International and they are holding me responsible for more things than money. The officers in the bank,
in my presence, studied our bylaws, mission statement, and articles very carefully of which they have on file at the bank.
I was questioned about many things for days before they approved us. There are many people watching what we do. Our bylaws
give them an inside look at the character of our organization
19. The same or similar was done with our website and our hosting company.
20. The same or similar was done with our merchant credit card authorization (machine)
and garnered our approval with the companies such as Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express. They all required our
official documents, bylaws, mission statement and articles.
21. Howard University Offices of Continuing Medical Education was very serious
about what was contained in our mission statement, bylaws, and articles.
22. What are at stake here are the physicians who have been used by the pharmaceutical
COMPANIES WITH THEIR DRUG related agenda they push without any regard for patient safety or malfeasance. The disclosure forms
which I sent to each speaker before the SSI meeting May, 2008, to be filled out and on record for CME approval, were very
serious about physicians being used by pharmaceutical companies to do their dirty work and pushing their drugs all for unethical
financial gain.
23. The Department of Home Land Security is very serious about the bylaws of groups,
clubs, societies, and organizations.
24. Lastly, leave the bylaws as is and let us not dictate how the three individuals
of the hearing conduct the proceedings of the hearing. In their appeal, if there should be one, we can then judge the fairness
of the hearing. THIS is the duty of our board which is a part of due process, a fair and mutual respect with shared governance.
25. My daughter joined the Semmelweis Society International when she was a second
year medical student. She is now in her first year residence and has learned so much from us. She will bring in other medical
students, residents, interns, and other physicians so they can learn from our organization. They in turn will be on medical
school committees, hospital committees, and medical boards to make changes and to set up correct and proper rules and procedures.
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26. It is our duty to lead by example for all medical schools, hospital committees,
medical boards, other health care facilities, health care providers, academicians and physicians so that proper procedures
and bylaws are set for present and future generations. If we thought about it, it is in the medical schools and hospital committees
is where unlearned physicians do not understand the importance of being on vital committees to set standards.
27. HCQIA of 1986, told physicians to police themselves. They got those unscrupulous
physicians and lawyers and set-up rule and procedures to kill their brothers and sisters.
28. Let us continue to go to the street (www.semmelweis.org) and make a
difference. We are the ONLY organization in a position to make changes and our voices are being heard.
29. Some have often heard me say that we are strong warriors and killer bees.
30. We do not need laws to tell us how to operate or go to battle, amen.
Galatians 6:9, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season
we shall reap, if we faint not."
Tyj
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A dispute has arisen within this organization with reference to governance and
financing. Litigation is underway in the Chancery Court of Coffee County, Manchester, Tennessee. For details contact
Dr. Moore at BHMFACS@hotmail.com.
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