Dennis Quaid's Twins Suffer "Preventable" Medical Error  
Thursday, November 22nd, 2007

When you read this article, don't be inspired to be sue-happy, people, because that just makes the problem worse.

Dennis Quaid's newborn twins, two weeks old, are still recovering in a Los Angeles Hospital today after they were accidentally given a massive overdose of a blood-thinning drug by hospital staff on Sunday.

They were at one of the best hospitals in the U.S., Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, who apologized yesterday for a "preventable error" that resulted in Quaid's new boy and girl and another unidentified child 10,000 units of Heparin (an anti-coagulant) instead of the standard 10 units for new life.

 

The Chief Medical Officer at Cedars' Sinai, Michael L. Langberg, MD, released a statement, that said, in part:

"I want to extend my deepest apologies to the families who were affected by this situation, and we will continue to work with them on any concerns or questions they may have. This was a preventable error, involving a failure to follow our standard policies and procedures, and there is no excuse for that to occur at Cedars-Sinai. Although it appears at this point that there was no harm to any patient, we take this situation very seriously. We are conducting a comprehensive investigation, cooperating fully with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and will take all necessary steps to ensure that this never happens here again."

Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace Quaid were born through a surrogate mother on November 8th.  Dennis Quaid and his wife, Kimberley Buffington, married in 2004 after Quaid and Meg Ryan's marriage ended.

Their publicist said they "appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers, and hope they can maintain their privacy during this difficult time."

Everyone makes mistakes...but I think it's safe to say that if the person who did that is still in medical school, they need to pursue a new career path.  Regardless, glad everyone's okay - the Quaids have a lot to be thankful for this holiday!  Aw, a boy and a girl, how precious!

   

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