Winner: Emergency Nurses Association - Ebola Crisis Response
The U.S. Ebola crisis response was an unprecedented exercise in infectious diseases preparedness for nurses and healthcare organizations across the world. ENA members were hungry for the most current information on Ebola and knew they would get reputable, reliable information from ENA.
Developed within a week of Ebola's arrival in the U.S., ENA's PR and communications plan drove the association's crisis response. The plan focused on the areas that uniquely support emergency nurses, the safety of their patients, and the community.
The multi-faceted plan included the following tactics: communicating the latest Ebola news and information to ENA's members and the public in a timely manner via new and existing channels; simultaneously keeping the media apprised of how emergency nurses were dealing with the threat of Ebola on the front lines of emergency care; and building and expanding relationships/collaboration with government and other healthcare organizations.
Some of the most visible and important ways that ENA executed the Ebola crisis response included posting regular updates to ENA’s main social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+; conducting 16 Ebola-related media interviews for outlets such as NBC National News, U.S News & World Report, Wall Street Journal and Al Jazeera America; and launching an Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) News & Resources landing page on the ENA website; and creating an Ebola FAQs for members.
ENA’s U.S. Ebola crisis response reach was international. ENA successfully provided both U.S. and international members the firsthand knowledge and information they needed to treat Ebola patients. ENA was viewed as a key stakeholder in Ebola preparedness as evidenced by professional collaborations and high-profile invitations from healthcare government agencies and the White House.
The Ebola media coverage alone garnered 125+ million impressions, an unprecedented amount of media coverage for ENA. ENA continues to see the benefit of those relationships, as the media routinely calls on ENA for comment on major healthcare issues.
Honorable Mentions:
• Anthem, Inc. - AnthemFacts.com
• Moroch Partners & McDonald's Austin - #SXSWHero