When disaster strikes, hospital communicators need to do a better job of addressing the barrage of media inquiries and assessing their risks before intense public scrutiny occurs.
Of course there is no way to anticipate when and how a disaster will strike, but regular risk-assessment planning is what allows you to concentrate on situation-specific strategies rather than scrambling to gather information and resources that could already be at your fingertips when disaster does strike.
Planning for the worst requires more than having a crisis communications or disaster plan in place. "Hospitals have to know where their risks are - which can be a painful exercise for executives - and develop specific media strategies to address them," says 20-year PR veteran Andrea Hecht, head of Hecht Communications in Sherman Oaks, Calif., a firm with expertise in crisis management.
The key to surviving a crisis with your image intact is controlling the flow of information to the media. Our profile examines two hospitals that rose to the occasion on both fronts.
Taking Control
Crises involving high-profile celebrities often trigger a media storm. Reporters are even prepared to "camp out" at or near the hospital to get the latest updates. The key to minimizing chaos when this occurs is to set ground rules from the moment reporters show up and by letting them know from the start how the hospital will release information.
This was a crucial component of the crisis plan used by Detroit-based William Beaumont Hospital last June when six days after winning the Stanley Cup, members of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team were involved in a limousine accident and were brought to the hospital. Two team members and the team trainer critically injured.
The accident not only generated intense local, national and international media attention, but fans also descended on the hospital to show support.
The day of the accident, at least 30 reporters came to the hospital. From the outset, Beaumont's PR department, headed by Colette Stimmell, established media guidelines for the staff that included:
- reassuring the media that there would be regular news briefings given at specific times;
- stating up front that there would be no one-on-one interviews with physicians or "exclusives" to any information; and
- referring the media to the information hotline and Web site that would be updated by the hospital with timely information throughout the players' hospital stay.
This strategy was particularly effective in keeping reporters from staying at the hospital beyond the designated times and in ensuring accurate news coverage.
But handling the fans, who even set up a shrine for the players outside of the hospital, was a challenge, says Stimmell. At one point, about 40 fans competed with the media to get news from the hospital PR staff, blocking camera shots and disrupting the overall flow of information. This was a sensitive issue that required constant monitoring by the PR team and the head of hospital security.
Throughout the waiting period, fans were given regular updates and referred to the hotline and Web site. But after the sixth day, about 10 diehard fans, who were encamped outside of the hospital, were told they had to leave for safety reasons. Largely due to the hospital's compassionate rapport, the fans left without protest, says Stimmell.
Protecting Your Image
The Washington Hospital Center (WHC) in Washington, D.C. faced a different kind of crisis earlier this year when a gunman walked into the hospital and shot six people. Reporters initially slammed the hospital's security system and policy, but within 48 hours after a series of press conferences with the president of the hospital, the mayor and a city council member coming together in a "show of support," the security story angle died.
The key PR strategy was to emphasize how random violence can occur anywhere at any time and security can't always prevent such criminal activity.
This tactic worked. WHC's public opinion rating remained strong, according to Lisa Wyatt, WHC's VP of public affairs. "Follow-up research showed that 90 percent of the community (members surveyed) would not allow this incident to affect their decision to come to the hospital."
The hospital set up a "crisis news team command center" in the president's office and posted the press release on its Web site. In this case, Wyatt did allow an exclusive one-on-one interview with The Washington Post because "they are the most powerful media outlet [here], they set the tone of the coverage."
Internally, broadcast faxes on the victims' status and the hospital's security measures and policies were sent to 650 department heads, the top 100 admitting doctors and 10 top managed care contractors.
(Hecht Communications, Andrea Hecht, 818/894-3775; WBH, Colette Stimmell, 248/551-0744; WHC, Lisa Wyatt, 202/877-6305)