Only six months after the death of their three-year-old son Sebastian, Town of Tioga residents Horst and Luisa Ferrero have committed to matching dollar-for-dollar donations to the foundation they set up shortly after their son’s passing. The Sebastian Ferrero Foundation’s mission is to see through the construction of a full-service children’s hospital in Gainesville.

Sebastian died in October 2007, when he was given a 60-gram dose of arginine as part of a growth hormone test at Shands at the University of Florida instead of the prescribed 5.75-gram dose.

UF and Shands Healthcare officials apologized publicly for the boy’s death and the family reached an $850,000 settlement for their loss.

However, the couple now has committed more than the entire amount of that settlement to the foundation named for their son, as long as the rest of the community steps up to their donation challenge. 

“All great endeavors must start somewhere,” said Luisa Ferrero. “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 to improve healthcare.”

In addition, because the couple also has committed to underwriting the foundation’s administrative costs for its first year of operation, the entirety of all donations the foundation receives, including the Ferreros’ matching gift, will go towards meeting its goals.

Aside from getting the ball rolling on the construction of a children’s hospital, the foundation will be working closely with Shands Healthcare to implement a patient safety program.

“The safety center will not just concentrate on children,” says Dr. Richard Bucciarelli, the department of pediatrics chair at UF. “It involves the whole dynamic of the health science center.”

The Sebastian Ferrero Office of Clinical Quality & Safety will soon hire a director, who will oversee patient safety. The office also will conduct visits with Sebastian Ferrero Foundation officials to patient safety programs at other academic medical centers, including the program at Johns Hopkins University, to learn the best practices, according to senior associate dean at the UF College of Medicine Dr. Mike Good.

“There are many reasons why a full-service children’s hospital is needed in Gainesville,” says Gainesville pediatrician Marci Slayton. “Children are not little adults. Children have different needs and require different care.”

At a recent press conference, the Ferreros and officials from Shands and UF signed a pledge to work together toward patient safety and pediatric care.

Donations to the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation can be made online at www.sebastianferrero.org.