Dennis Quaid To Talk About Medical Errors

Hollywood leading man Dennis Quaid, whose newborn twins in 2007 received a near fatal hospital overdose of Heparin, will discuss the prevention of potentially deadly medical errors at a National Press Club speakers luncheon in Washington, D.C., on April 12.

A vocal advocate of patient safety, Quaid recently helped to launch a new National Alert Network for Serious Medication Errors (NAN) with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHSP). NAN would issue alerts of seriously harmful, or potentially serious medical errors and recommendations on preventing the same errors in the future.

Quaid has testified before Congress on behalf of patient rights and for drug company accountability. He and his wife started The Quaid Foundation to raise public awareness about medical errors. According to the Foundation’s website, more than 100,000 people in medical facilities each year die needlessly nationwide, and more suffer serious life-impacting injuries from avoidable medical mistakes.

Quaid is known for his roles in such films as “GI Joe,” “American Dreamz,” “Flight of the Phoenix,” “Traffic,” “The Alamo,” “Vantage Point,” “The Rookie,” “In Good Company,” “Frequency,” “Wyatt Earp,” “The Right Stuff,” and “The Big Easy,” and “Great Balls of Fire!”

The National Press Club luncheon will begin promptly at 12:30 p.m. Mr.Quaid’s remarks will begin just after 1:00 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session. the event will be webcast live. A box with a link to the webcast will appear on www.press.org five minutes prior to the start of the presentation

The National Press Club is located at 14th and F Streets, NW, Washingotn, D.C. For more information about the Club and its programs, go to www.press.org.