ebola: preparation & practice · call center scripting 10:00 am email to call ctr mgrs call...
TRANSCRIPT
Ebola: Preparation & Practice
Paul Baltes
Communications Director,
Nebraska Medicine
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– Second level
• Third level
– Fourth level
» Fifth level
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Agenda:
▪ What happened▪ How we responded▪ Why you should care
Learning Objectives:▪ How to be agile in the face of a crisis▪ How to create the basics of a plan
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Global Travel:The next “Special Pathogen” is out there
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▪ Academic health network
▪ 2 hospitals, 809 beds
▪ 40 clinics
▪ Close affiliation with University of
Nebraska
▪ 13,000+ employees between
Nebraska Medicine and UNMC
▪ Known primarily for oncology and
organ transplant
The Nebraska Biocontainment Patient Care Unit▪ Completed in 2005▪ Built to treat exposure to special
pathogens (bioweapons, flu, airborne infectious diseases)
▪ 10 beds (5 patient rooms)▪ Separate air handling▪ Locked and sealed▪ Trained staff of 35-40
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– Second level
• Third level
– Fourth level
» Fifth level
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Preparation is a team sport
The time is now:
▪ What is your risk?
▪ Who’s going to be affected or care?
▪ How will you:
▪ Communicate
▪ Drill
You cannot simultaneously prepare
for and react to a crisis or disaster
Preparation is a team sport
How we prepare:
▪ Drills
▪ Incident command structure
▪ Flow of communication
▪ Familiarity with decision makers
▪ VISION
Preparation is a team sport
July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov.
“…some things are afoot.”
Dr. Sacra
arrives
Dr. Sacra leaves
AshokaMukpo arrives
Mukpoleaves
Dr. Saliaarrives
Dr. Saliapasses
State Dept. visit
Activation: 2014
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Who is your PR pilot?▪ A single point of contact ▪ Trusted advisor▪ Master of methods
▪ News ▪ Social ▪ Internal▪ Marketing
▪ Understands your communications culture
▪ Not necessarily the same as a spokesperson
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Audience Considerations
▪ External▪ General public
▪ News & social media▪ Health care: CDC, public health, other hospitals, referring practices▪ Call center
▪ Internal▪ Employees, physicians, students ▪ Patients ▪ Visitors ▪ Boards of directors
There’s no such thing as “Internal Communications”
Methods:
▪ Simultaneous media advisory and internal message
▪ Continuous updates via established communications vehicles (internal and external)
▪ Letter to patients
▪ Letter to BCU staff▪ “You are making us proud…”
▪ “…you truly are leading the world. You exemplify everything about our promise of Serious Medicine Extraordinary Care”
▪ “With our sincere respect and gratitude…”22
Ebola Response
Audience Timing How/Method Responsibility Completed?
Staff/MDs 10:15 AM Email+mgr CMO
Board of Directors/ Regents 10:10 AM Email + phone CEO/admin asst.
Call center scripting 10:00 AM Email to Call Ctr mgrs Call Center mgmt
Elected officials 10:30 AM Phone Gov’t relations
Current inpatients 10:20 AM Paper letter Staff RNs hand deliver
News media 10:30 AM Email release Media Relations
Referring health systems 10:30 AM Email CEO
Community non-profits 10:30 AM Email COO
Ebola Response
Ebola Command
Center, Sept. 5
Communications
team is at the table
with administrative
and clinical
leadership
Ebola Response
Ebola Response: Internal Why:
▪ Respect for colleagues and the work they do
▪ What information do they need to:
▪ Feel safe
▪ Do their job or education
▪ Be able to answer questions
How:
▪ Established channels
▪ E-newsletter
▪ Intranet resources (Q&A, message points, clinical resources)
▪ Email updates
▪ Manager cascade
▪ Employee forum
“Alternative” Communications
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Plan for predictable “what if” scenarios
▪ What if our patient takes a turn for the worse?
▪ What if a staff member becomes ill?
▪ What if this happens:
Ebola Response: Internal = External
Ebola Response: Internal = External
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After activation: 2015 - present
▪ Monitoring
▪ International outreach
▪ Training
▪ Education
▪ Preparation
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After activation: 2015 - present
After activation: 2015 - present
How many people have died of Ebola Virus in 2019?
▪ None
▪ 2,181
▪ 1
▪ 3,264
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Pop Quiz:
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“New cases are down to 15 a week from a high of 128 in April, but outbreaks are still popping up in remote and dangerous mining areas.”“People don’t see this as an emergency.”
-NY Times Oct. 18, 2019
What has changed in five years?
▪ Expectation of instant information
▪ Internal communications audit
▪ Input from colleagues
▪ Analysis of how we communicate
▪ Implementation of recommendations
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After activation: Communications
Takeaways:▪ You cannot simultaneously prepare for and react to a crisis
▪ Internal communications = external communications; secrets are obsolete
▪ Your entire organization is your PR department
▪ Media relations: think like a reporter, think like a human
▪ Plan for what’s next
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Homework (due at the end of the week):▪ What are 2 or 3 “real risk” potential crises for your organization?
▪ Operational
▪ Reputational
▪ Computational
▪ Do a quick (and honest!) assessment of your level of readiness
▪ Make an appointment with your 1-up and discuss:
▪ Where your org comes up short
▪ What you should do about it
▪ Who can help
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In closing…
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