crisis pr in the age of zika: pandemic lessons from the ... · crisis pr in the age of zika:...
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Crisis PR in the age of Zika:Pandemic lessons from the front lines
Health Care PR & Communications Summit, Chicago
June 15, 2016
Holly KorschunExecutive Director of Media Relations and Research Communications, Woodruff Health Sciences Center, Emory University
“It’s always something…”-- Roseanne Roseannadanna
West Nile, Dengue, Ebola, Lassa, Zika, what next?
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https://youtu.be/TWNVoTsBZV8
Be Prepared
• Crisis plan: develop and practice
• Establish relationships with leaders, physicians, key staff
• All hands on deck: assemble a team
• Create systems: phone calls, emails, interviews
• Prepare tools: photos, video, website, illustration
• Social media prep
• How will you respond to patient &
community concerns
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Develop key messages, be consistent and disciplined
• Clear messages of preparedness and expertise
- Our institution has trained and is prepared
- Our physicians and staff have expertise in infectious diseases
- We will protect patients, staff, community
- We work in the best interests of our patients
• Consistency and confidence
• Discipline under pressure
Coordination is key: speak with one voice
• Executive team
• Operations team
• Clinical team
• PR team
Establish a clear approval process
• Include communications in the operations team
• Determine the approval pipeline
• Plan for a quick process with limited approvers
• Include press updates, website, internal communications,
social media, publications
• Alert the entire communications team to the process
• Correct and clarify inaccuracies quickly
Your internal audience is your first audience
• Hospital physicians and staff - systemwide
• Patients & families
• University staff
• Students
• Internal partners
Comprehensive Team
• Administration• Infectious diseases• Nursing• Infection control• Supplies/logistics• Hospital security• Emergency medicine• Pastoral care
• Critical care• Pharmacy• Health and safety• Environmental services• Occupational health• Clinical labs• Communications• Human resources
Internal/External messaging principles
• Short turnaround
• Clinically accurate
• Tight approval team, available and aware
• Defined deadlines
• Source of truth
• Internal = external
Tools of the trade: internal communications
• Top leadership message to other leaders
• Emails
• Town halls
• Rounding
• Talking points/scripts
• Internal website
• Internal blog posts
• Updates in newsletters
Patients and the community
• Letters to inpatients, families
• Educational video on CCTV
• Patient screening signage
• Internal and external websites
• Patient call center talking points
• Responses to emails and calls of concern
• Protocols website
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Challenges
• Lack of knowledge, confusion
• Hunger for information
• Inaccurate information from the media
• Fear
• Short attention span
Continuing themes
• Clinical facts
• Safety of patients, staff, community
• Physicians, nurses, staff are trained, prepared
• Patient privacy is critical
• This is why we exist
• Institutional pride
• Gratitude
Designate and train spokespersons
• Start with a small number of willing and media-savvy experts
• Expand the field of experts as the story develops
• Call on relevant experts beyond the core team
• Train experts by developing and conveying key
messages, principles, potential pitfalls
• Train experts individually prior to interviews
• Rotate experts to allow for patient care
and avoid burnout
• Media team is central clearinghouse
6. Tell Your Own Story: “We Can Fear or We Can Care”
Quotes from Chief Nurse Executive Susan Grant
Organize, Prioritize, Coordinate
• Develop a media list early and send updates
• Answer phones and emails – get everyone involved
• Prioritize interviews, maintain trust, be fair but firm
• Communicate with all news outlets
• Coordinate with the whole PR team
Answer Questions, Offer Updates, Be Present
• Hold essential press conferences but make them count
• Be physically present frequently, meet media onsite
• Hold impromptu briefings
• Offer updates
• Acknowledge, educate, allay fears
• Maintain patient confidentiality
• Establish trust, tell the truth
Photos, Illustrations, Video, Website
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Work with Your Partners: “Stay in Your Lane”
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• National Institutes of Health
• Georgia Department of Public Health
• Georgia Hospital Association
• Other medical centers
• Patients and families
Photo: James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Zika: The latest outbreak
Sharing our lessons: NETEC Summit 2016
• National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC)
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• ASPR, CDC, Emory, Nebraska, Bellevue
• Sharing expertise, best practices
• Top lesson: preparation and planning
• Online modules under development
• http://netec.org
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSSAvHKOSI4
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Holly Korschun
Executive Director, Media Relations and Research
Communications, Woodruff Health Sciences Center,
Emory University
404.727.3990, [email protected]
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