Dennis Quaid, actor, patient safety advocate, and co-founder of The Quaid Foundation, will address a National Press Club Speakers Series luncheon Mon., April 12. In a speech entitled “Real Health Care Reform: Chasing Zero Harm,” Quaid will issue a call to action for policy makers, hospitals, and the public to link funding and accountability with safe patient practices and technology to prevent avoidable medical errors.
The actor will endorse new recommendations from the “Safe Practices for Better Healthcare,” a report being released April 12 by the National Quality Forum (NQF). He is co-author of the patient section of the NFQ report which details 34 practices available for immediate use by all US hospitals and healthcare providers.
The award-winning actor turned activist who testified before Congress for drug accountability will also announce a merger involving The Quaid Foundation. The Foundation was formed by Quaid and his wife to raise public awareness about medical mistakes after the near-death experience of their newborn twins from an accidental Heparin overdose at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 2007.
Quaid will also announce the April 22 global premier of his new documentary “Chasing Zero: Winning the War on Healthcare Harm,” to be released at the “Global Patient Safety Summit” in Nice, France, where the actor will be keynote speaker. The made-for-television documentary is the first in a series of patient safety films slated to air on the Discovery Channel April 24, May 1, and May 8.
At the Press Club, Quaid will be joined by Dr. Charles Denham, co-chair of the NQF committee, and Chairman of the Austin-based research organization Texas Medical Institute of Technology (TMIT). Quaid and Dr. Denham recently co-authored an article for the “Journal of Patient Safety” called “Story Power: The Secret Weapon.”
Quaid is recognized for roles in such films as “Far From Heaven,” “Traffic,” “Vantage Point,” “The Rookie,” “Wyatt Earp,” “The Right Stuff,” and “The Big Easy,” and “Great Balls of Fire.”
The event will be streamed live on the Press Club’s home page. For more details, go to www.press.org.
