Sebastian Ferrero Foundation News Conference - 3/26/08

In October of 2007, Sebastian Ferrero, a happy, healthy three-year-old boy, died following a routine, outpatient test at a local hospital. Less than six months later, his parents announced their plans to turn their tragedy into something positive for others. Soon after Sebastian's death, Horst and Luisa Ferrero created the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation to honor their son and to advocate for improvements in pediatric care and patient safety. The ultimate goal of the Foundation is the construction of a full-service children's hospital in Gainesville. At a press conference on March 26, 2008, the couple offered to match, dollar-for-dollar up to $1 million, for donations made during 2008 to the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation. The match amount exceeds the $850,000 settlement they received for the loss of their son. The money raised by the Foundation will be used to create and implement a nationally recognized, comprehensive patient safety program at Shands HealthCare and ultimately, to build a state-of-the-art, full-service children's hospital. Regarding their ambitious goals, Luisa Ferrero stated, "All great endeavors must start somewhere, ours starts today." She concluded by saying, "we challenge the citizens, organizations and businesses in this great community to donate to the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation to make a difference. We all need to work together to improve healthcare." Representatives from Shands HealthCare and the University of Florida College of Medicine spoke at the press conference and pledged to work together with the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation to improve pediatric care and implement patient safety programs. Donations to the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation can be made online at www.sebastianferrero.org.

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YouTube | March 28, 2008

Tags:. .outpatient. .ferrero. .horst. .luisa. .gainesville