Mayo Clinic

Imagine if your newborn twins, already hospitalized with an infection likely acquired at another hospital, were given two potentially fatal overdoses of a blood thinner. Imagine if your pediatrician (now your former pediatrician) did not call to tell you. Imagine if the night nurse told you everything was fine when you phoned to check on the babies. Imagine if you learned the truth when you arrived at the hospital at 6 a.m. to see your kids and were met by Risk Management.

That's what happened to Dennis Quaid last winter. His babies survived. His story has been told. But Quaid hasn't forgotten the 41-hour ordeal, when his tiny children nearly bled to death, their blood "squirting on the walls." He has joined the ranks of "cause celebrities," knowing that his fame can bring national attention to medical errors that usually occur in isolation. He has set up a new foundation to address patient safety, particularly regarding medication errors.