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Dennis Quaid is now speaking out about the horrifying experience that his family went through after his twins were given an overdose of Heparin, a blood thinner.

On the gravity of the problem:

“[Mix-ups] happen in every hospital in every state in this country and … I’ve come to find out, there’s 100,000 people a year killed … in hospitals by a medical mistakes. It’s bigger than AIDS. It’s bigger than breast cancer. It’s bigger than automobile accidents and yet, no one seems to be really aware of the problem.”

On the scene at the hospital while his children were fighting for their lives:

“Our kids are bleeding from everyplace that they’ve punctured,” says Quaid. “They were working on Boone, whose belly button would not stop bleeding – blood squirted across the room. It was blood everywhere. It was a life-and-death situation.”

On recalls:

“After these three kids died in Indiana, they did not issue a recall,” says Quaid, noting that toasters and trucks are routinely recalled. “They recall dog food that came from China last year. But they don’t recall medicine that kills people if you give it in the wrong dosage. We think it’s wrong. “

On establishing a foundation that will help take preventative measures within the health care system:

“We all have this inherent thing that we trust doctors and nurses, that they know what they’re doing. This mistake occurred right under our noses,” he says. “The nurse didn’t bother to look at the dosage on the bottle. It was avoidable, completely avoidable.”

I can’t imagine what that would have been like. I’m glad Dennis is going to try and help make sure this sort of thing doesn’t happen to anyone else.