Nationwide – January 06, 2011 – The Raven Maria Blanco Foundation, Inc. (RMBF) has recently released a
public service announcement intended to increase awareness and action within the dental community by
targeting the immediate need for medical emergency preparedness. The unnecessary death of eight year
old Raven Blanco provides the backdrop against which this urgent message is set.
On March 9th of 2007, Raven, a healthy 8 year old child, died while undergoing a routine check-up and
cleaning at her neighborhood dentist office. This tragedy led to the establishment of RMBF as a 501 (c) (3)
charity. In honoring Raven’s short life, RMBF is driven to providing preventative education based on
medical emergency preparedness. Without this awareness and action, young lives are continually at risk
and the integrity of the entire dental community is threatened.
RMBF, led by Executive Director, Nicole Cunha, and Director of Medical Emergency Preparedness, Dr.
Larry J. Sangrik, is partnering with organizations and offices nationwide in an effort to bring prevention and
protection to patients in every city and every state in the country. The PSA details the solution to the
problem by introducing The Six Links of Survival™, developed by the Institute of Medical Emergency
Preparedness, as a convenient mechanism for dental offices to ensure that all areas of appropriate
preparation are adequately covered. RMBF aims to have the Raven PSA shown prior to every dental office
meeting and before the commencement of every dental continuing education course. The goal is to reach
every member of the dental community, from student to staff. Once the PSA has been viewed, RMBF
invites each person to partner in preparedness by visiting their website and taking the “Six Link™ Pledge”
which states that they will take the necessary steps to prepare their office to appropriately handle medical
emergencies.
The PSA is one step in achieving the RMBF mission. For more information regarding the foundation’s
objectives and initiatives, as well as to view the PSA, please visit RMBFInc.org or connect directly to the
PSA through the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9fu-fBie1Y.