C O M M U N I C AT I O N

A Crisis Communicators
Self-Assessment
Here are six questions to gauge
your hospitals level of crisis
communication preparedness.
By Patrick Donohue and
Christopher Lukach

We all have that dream. You know

the one: Youre back in high school, and

you forgot to study for the big test. You
wake up in a sweat with the sensation of a
dumbbell in the pit of your stomach. It is,
thankfully, a fleeting sensation, when you
realize it was only a dream.
Far less fleeting, but not entirely dissimilar, is the feeling communicators have when
4 Spectrum | November-December 2013

they are unprepared to navigate a crisis.

We subscribe to a simple precept: While
a crisis may be unexpected, it should never
come as a surprise. At St. Mary Medical
Center in Langhorne, PA, crisis communication has earned priority status among the
communication and leadership teams. The
success of our crisis communication program
exists because of a top-level commitment
to preparedness, regular updating, rigorous
testing, and unrelenting energy.
Moreover, we have high expectations. At
St. Mary Medical Center, we periodically
ask ourselves six fundamental crisis-preparedness questions. Some are tactical, and
some are cultural. Some rest solely with the

communicators; others test the strength

of our multidisciplinary response team.
1. Does your organization have a crisis
communication plan? Thats step one,

and its a biggie. A strong scenario-based

crisis communication plan based on probability and risk is the ultimate, versatile
crisis communication resource. For guidance on constructing a strong, actionable
crisis communication plan, see the sidebar
Does Your Crisis Communication Plan
Make the Grade?

2. Do you have reasonable approval

processes that permit you to communicate quickly? In todays demand-

ing 24/7 media landscape, quickly

is an understatement. Communication must be nearly instantaneous to
be effective. And its the first response
to a crisis that sets the tone. For many
modern crises, living down the first

Does Your Crisis Communication Plan Make the Grade?

A crisis communication plan is an essential tool in the
healthcare communicators toolbox. Unfortunately,
not every organization that has a crisis communication
plan has a useful crisis communication manual. With
todays demanding media and social media landscapes,
we do not have the luxury of hours or even minutes to
formulate our first response. And as myriad modern crises
have demonstrated, if were not quick to fill the vacuum
of information, someone else will do it for us.
First, be clear about what is considered a
crisis. A no brainer, right? Not necessarily. For your
planning purposes, a crisis is any event that has the
potential to negatively impact your reputation or ability to
operate. So while your crisis communication plan needs to
consider the conventional crises, such as natural disasters,
terrorism, and on-site acts of violence, it must also include
those lesser crises and issues that carry the potential
for great impact: a mismanaged merger or acquisition;
sudden change in leadership; OSHA or regulatory
violations; poor performance in a quality and safety rating;
an inadvertent release of patient-identifiable information,
etc. Any of these incidents has the potential to come on
suddenly and to impact the organizations reputation and,
therefore, its ability to operate.
Second, make sure your crisis plan has
actionable information. Too many crisis
communication plans are policy repositories filled with
complicated processes rather than actionable work

statement lasts well beyond the events

actual resolution. Communicators need
to act quickly and without the delay of
a lengthy approval process. The crisis
communication plan helps this process
by providing pre-approved, pre-vetted
statements that reinforce your values
without speculating. But communicators also need a certain amount of
leeway. This leads us to the next step.
3. Do you have the authority and confidence to act in a crisis? Earning a

seat at the table status is a persistent

cultural challenge for hospital and
health-system communicators. But having the ear and respect for administration
is a must for a successful program of
crisis preparedness and response. The
confidence of your leadership team can
be a challenge to cultivate. You earn
your seat routinely when you provide

plans. Our crisis communication plan philosophy is

simple: if it doesnt offer the necessary information and
communication framework to respond within 15 minutes,
it isnt prepared to do its job. Remove speed bumps by
getting the plans contents pre-approved by legal and
administrative teams.
Third, make sure it is accessible. A well-designed
plan is worthless if you cant find it precisely when you
need it. Security and confidentiality are important, but not
if they undercut the plans accessibility. Following a recent,
innocuous bomb threat to our hospital, our response was
impacted because the administrative first responders
were not clear about location of the nearest plan. Now,
at St.Mary, aside from a hard copy with each member
of the leadership team, we keep multiple hard copies
near the command center and key locations, and a copy
with the hospitals switchboard operators. Modifiable,
interactive, intranet and thumb-drive versions are also
available to the communication team.
Fourth, train your crisis response team in using
the plan, then offer periodic refresher trainings.
Spotlight the resources within the plan: the roles and
responsibilities of the crisis communication team and
how the plan can be accessed. And, most important,
regularly test the contents using complex and difficult
scenarios. Bend them. Stretch them. Break them. In the
end, your plan will be stronger, and your hospital best
prepared to weather a storm.

counseling on a myriad of issues, demonstrating your clear and reasoned thinking

and your broad understanding of the
healthcare business. Leaders also like
to know that you have tested experience
and have been through some battles.
4. Are your spokespersons trained and
ready? In a crisis, it is ideal to have a

single, primary spokesperson to keep

the messaging consistent. But different
situations require different backgrounds,
skill sets, and levels of authority. At St.
Mary Medical Center, we maintain a
stable of spokespersons comprising executives (CEO, COO, CMO, and, of
course, the marketing and communications director) and technical experts (director of security, director of quality and
patient safety, CNO, CIO, HR director,
foundation director, and vice president
of mission). Each is trained to focus on

key messages in answering questions,

and we provide periodic refresher training. Even those organizational leaders
who may not be spokespersons in
the microphone-and-camera sense are
trained in the fundamentals, ensuring
internal and external messages are consistent. We reinforce the process through
practice.
5. Can you access key systems during an
unusual event? As with many hospitals

and health systems along the Eastern

seaboard, Superstorm Sandy impacted
St. Mary. While stranded at home without power, much of our communication
team was unable to access our network
and, therefore, put into action our crisis
communication plan. Ensure your team
has back-up processes to access the major
communication vehicles in the event of a
(Continued on page 10)

November-December 2013 | Spectrum

A Crisis Communicators
Self-Assessment
(continued from page 5)
severe incident. This could mean anything from home generators, to mobile
tethering software (to access the Internet
from your mobile device), to a simple
list of local libraries with internet access.
Or, designate a representative to staff
the hospital command center, where
generator access to power should be
uninterrupted. And, as if we needed it,
heres another way social media changes
the game your hospitals Facebook
and Twitter presence may be all you are
able to access with limited power and
mobile access. Use them.

6. Do you have the plans and policies to

monitor and respond to social media?

St. Mary and Anne Klein Communications Group developed a proprietary and
focused Social Media Crisis Communication Plan to complement the hospitals
broader crisis plan. Beyond assigning
team responsibilities, the plan takes the
guesswork out of social media activity,
assigning an if-this-then-this workflow
strategy to evaluate influence and risk.
If you answered yes to these questions,
you are ready. (Be sure you update your crisis preparedness plan at least yearly.) If you
are in doubt regarding the answers to these
questions, its time to take a hard look at
your crisis preparedness strategy. And if you

answered, no, then its time to have

a heart-to-heart talk with your CEO.
Patrick Donohue
Marketing & Communications Director
St. Mary Medical Center
Langhorne, PA
215-710-6908
PDonohue@StMaryHealthcare.org

Christopher Lukach, APR

Senior Vice President and COO
Anne Klein Communications
Group, LLC
Mount Laurel, NJ
856-866-0411 ext. 15
Chris@annekleincg.com

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10 Spectrum | November-December 2013

SHSMD Datebook
January 2014: Futurescan 2014 released
October 1215, 2014: Connections
2014, SHSMDs Annual Educational
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For more information on these and other
professional development opportunities,
go to www.shsmd.org.