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?

WSB-TV

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, hkorsch@emory.edu

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