The Raven Maria Blanco Foundation, Inc. (RMBF) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization founded in 2009, two years after the death of eight year old Raven. RMBF honors children who have died fromcomplications related to medical emergencies during dental procedures. RMBF also honors and provides support to the families who are left to endure this tragic loss. In the name of these lives, we dedicate the impassioned pursuit of medical emergency preparedness reform within the dental community. There is no need to add another name to the list before we, as a nation, grasp the urgent need for change.

Advocate

RMBF’s primary purpose is to advocate for Medical Emergency Preparedness (MEP). Each death is unique in circumstance; however the fact remains that none of the dental offices were adequately prepared to handle a medical emergency. Because of this, these children paid with their lives.

The common assumption is that sedation complications are the main cause of fatality, but this is false. For example, one child stopped breathing when a piece of gauze slipped and blocked her airway and a young boy received too much pain reliever because of improper chart keeping. The point is that emergencies can and do happen in a variety of ways, from a variety of causes. No office is immune. The dental community must be prepared to handle any issue, from an asthma attack to a diabetic coma to a problem with sedation. The driving question is, how can we make dental offices safer for patients, and the resounding answer is through The Six Links of Survival™, a concept developed by the Institute of Medical Emergency Preparedness. Learn more by visiting our Six Links page and by watching our .

Volunteer

Volunteers are the lifeblood of success. RMBF is always seeking people partners to help with fundraisers, research, and awareness initiatives. The more people who join in RMBF’s song for solutions, the louder our voice will be. If you are interested in volunteer opportunities, please email us at .