All PR execs face a few crises in the course of their careers - but few with more regularity than hospital communicators in major metropolitan cities. PR NEWS last week
caught up with Lisa Wyatt, VP of public affairs and marketing for Washington Hospital Center/MedStar Health, to take a pulse reading on the hot healthcare issues of the day:
PRN: Vice President Cheney wasn't admitted to Washington Hospital Center [he went to George Washington], but the media hype surrounding that story nevertheless
kept you busy last week, yes?
Wyatt: Yes, in that we have one of the top heart programs in the U.S. We've been in close contact with the White House during all of
this. As the region's leading heart program, we're frequently called upon when situations cast heart problems into national prominence. We're asked to put forth our doctors so
they can help shed light on the situation for the general public.
PRN: And yet this was nothing compared with some of the crises you've managed during your tenure. Among them...?
Wyatt: When President Reagan
was shot, we treated the police officer who was shot in the attempt. Also, during the Capitol Hill shooting two years ago, we had both of the officers here. We try to prepare
for everything from unsafe terrorist activity to the shooting of a high-level dignitary. Because very often [victims in those circumstances] will come here. When firefighters
are burned, they will come here and the press will camp outside for 48 hours.
PRN: How can you prepare for unimaginable situations like that?
Wyatt: I advocate having a simple disaster response plan in place, to be updated
annually. When a real crisis happens, you just don't have time to wade through a hefty 100-page crisis document.
PRN: Define simple.
Wyatt: I have a disaster process model that's probably five to six pages. [The PR department is] in an adjacent building, but in the event of a crisis, we move inside
the hospital to an office equipped for disaster. We have a disaster manual for every employee, highlighting the stations where they need to go. So one person will end up
fielding press calls, while we'll send another staff member out to our MedStar emergency room where typically the press will congregate.
If the crisis involves someone high level, we have a designated area in the hospital where press briefings occur. We also operate an internal command center next to the
hospital president's office where top executives and personnel dealing with the crisis can congregate. They're dealing with patients' families, the shock trauma unit, the media,
the board of directors and our physicians. That's only in the event of a major disaster with serious overwhelming casualties and fatalities.
PRN: What's the worst crisis you've lived through?
Wyatt: A shooting that occurred here at the hospital center three years ago. We had someone
who came in and shot six or seven cancer patients and employees. It was a national story and we had no time to prepare.
PRN:Which health and safety issues are registering most prominently on the media radar screen these days?
Wyatt: Medical mistakes have become
much more popular as news items. They make dramatic headlines. And the more sensational the mistake is, the more likely it becomes a national story.
PRN: For example?
Wyatt: For example, that baby-switching case at the University of Virginia really got sustained coverage. As did the chemotherapy
overdose at Dana-Farber [Cancer Institute] in Boston. Unfortunately, in acute-care settings, things happen because human beings are the ones working with patients and human
beings occasionally make mistakes.
PRN: Do you feel like the popularity of TV shows like "ER" has helped or hurt your efforts to communicate clearly about the realities of modern medicine?
Wyatt: It's hard to say. The fact is the public has always been fascinated with healthcare. Look at the daytime soaps and see how many are in hospital settings. The
reason people are fascinated with the healthcare environment is because you're dealing with situations where life or death is at stake, where major medical technologies are being
applied. Plus, you have all the drama that plays out with trauma cases: accidents, crime, helicopters flying in and out transporting critically ill patients. It's a stage where
a lot of drama plays out and it touches on every human emotion.
Lisa Wyatt is coauthor of "A Delicate Balance: Crisis Communications in the Healthcare Industry" (Washington Business Information Inc.) due out this spring. She also will
be a featured speaker at PR NEWS' Communications Strategies for Nonprofits and Associations seminar April 17 at the Renaissance Hotel in D.C. Lisa Wyatt can be reached
at 202/877-6305 or [email protected]