Managing a crisis in the new media world

A crisis. Most hospitals have one at some point. If your organization hasn't faced one yet, it will. Whether a local disaster fills your ED to overflowing or a sentinel event occurs and makes the headlines, your staff and your board will need to know what happened, and the media will probably be camped outside your front door. For the communications team, it's all hands on deck.

While every situation is unique, when it comes to communication surrounding a crisis, there are general rules that apply to all. I believe that being visible, honest and timely are the most important.

In a crisis, the last thing you should do is assume it will all blow over, or that word will not get out. Definitely not true, particularly in the age of Twitter, Facebook and other forms of social media. Playing possum will not make the situation go away. To use an old advertising tagline, "inquiring minds want to know."

When something happens in a hospital, you need to quickly assess the situation, develop your course of action and key messages, identify the best spokesperson and address the situation head on.

If you're not visible and discussing the matter publicly, you're leaving the facts open to interpretation. So many recent scandals provide the support for this argument.

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Publisher's Note: In observance of Martin Luther King Day, FierceHealthcare will not publish a newsletter on Monday, Jan. 18. We will be back on Tuesday, Jan. 19.