crisis communication plan for crisis and cases course at columbia college of chicago
DESCRIPTION
A Crisis Communication Plan I created for a final project in my Crisis and Cases class.TRANSCRIPT
Crisis Communication PlanTHIS IS AN EDUCATIONAL DOCUMENT. IT DOES NOT OFFICIALLY REPRESENT NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. THIS WAS CREATED FOR A CLASS AT COLUMBIA COLLEGE OF CHICAGO IN
DECEMBER OF 2012
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Maisie Weinschenk
Date Written: December 10, 2012
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Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................4
Acknowledgements.............................................................................................5
Rehearsal Date Schedule...................................................................................6
Purpose and Objective.......................................................................................7
List of Key Publics................................................................................................8
Key Media List.......................................................................................................9
Crisis Team...........................................................................................................10
Media Spokesperson.........................................................................................11
Do’s and Don’ts..................................................................................................12
Emergency Personnel.......................................................................................13
Equipment and Supplies for Crisis Control Room..................................14.
Pre-gathered Info..............................................................................................15
Fill In The Blank News Release......................................................................20
Evaluation............................................................................................................21
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Introduction:
Crisis scenarios threaten hospitals. Both their patients and employees are at risk
during a crisis. A Crisis can have both long-term, and short-term damage to a
hospital. To Northwestern Memorial Hospital, reputation is everything. To
compromise their good name would be irrefutably damaging. Through proper planning in a crisis communication plan, Northwestern Memorial Hospital can
maintain their excellent reputation, and avoid grievances in the future.
Possible Hospital Crisis Scenarios:
1. Contract Threatened with Dominant Insurer in Market! A New England hospital was found in a concentrated marketplace where
25% of the market share among the cities three hospitals were concentrated in
one care payor. Physicians from the group practice made up 60% of the hospitals medical staff, but accounted for 40% of revenue. The hospital felt the contract was weak, and felt it was not receiving adequate reimbursement for its services.
2. Unexpected loss of a leader! A hospital in the Midwest was forced to let go of its operating room
manager in an immediate and unprepared manner. It was one of the hospitals most critical departments, and needed to be run without interruption.
3. Patient complaint threatens CMS enrollment and accreditation! A Midwest hospital received an unannounced visit from a CMS surveyor following a severe patient safety complaint.
4. Bankruptcy Filing! A Northeast hospital and its subsidiary nursing home filed for bankruptcy
protection. The hospital was filing for Chapter 7, while the nursing home was filing for Chapter 11. Both facilities created losses, and weak managed care
contracts, declining volumes and inadequate funds to pay vendors.
5. Natural Disaster
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! In 1997, an Atlanta based pediatric hospital was severely damaged by a
devastating tornado. 15% of the hospitals physician network was unable to use
their offices, and treat patients after the tornado.
Acknowledgements:
Date: December 10, 2012 President and Chief Executive Officer
Dean M. Har!son
Date: December 10, 2012 Executive Vice President Administration and Chief Financial Officer
Peter J. "Canna
Date: December 10, 2012 Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President
Denn# M. Murphy
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Rehearsal Date Schedule:
1st Rehearsal: January 2, 2013
June 10, 2013: Review plan and UpdateJune 11, 2013: 2nd Rehearsal
December 10, 2013: Review plan and UpdateDecember 11, 2013: 3rd Rehearsal
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Purpose and Objective of Plan
The possible scenarios laid out on page 4 are diverse and plausible. The objective
of a proper communication plan for any of these plans is to exceed in
transparency and efficiency. The plan will help the hospital commit to open
communication with its medical staff, employees, and community members. In
order to act quickly, the plan will help the media team act within 24 hours of a
crisis and ensure confidence to the public. The media and PR team would notify
all top executives immediately and remain open and honest with the media as information becomes available.
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List of Key Publics
Staff Members:
Kris Lathan, Director
Megan McCann, Senior Associate
Todd Medland, Senior Associate
Colleen Sheehan, Senior Associate
Patient Care: 312-926-5950
Case Management: 312-926-2272
Emergency Department: 312-926-5188
Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital: 847-234-5600
Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago: 312-227-4000
Patient Representative Department: 312-926-2112
Director of Human Resources: 312-926-7297
Weekdays 8:00a.m.- 5:00p.m. phone number: 312-926-7432
After hours phone number: 312-926-2000
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Key Media List
Chicago Tribune: 312-222-5555
Chicago SunTimes Editor Jim Kirk: 312-321-3000
Television
ABC 7 News: 312-750-7070
CBS Chicago News: 312-899-2222
FOX Chicago: 312-565-5533
Radio
WBBM: 312-297-7800
The Score: 312-729-3967
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Crisis Team
1 Kris Lathan, [email protected]
2 Megan McCann, Senior [email protected]
3 Todd Medland, Senior [email protected]
4 Colleen Sheehan, Senior [email protected]
5 Lindsey Fox, Senior [email protected]
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Media Spokesperson
Spokesperson: Dean M. HarrisonPresident and Chief Executive Officer
Back-Up Spokesperson (1)Peter J. McCannaExecutive Vice President Administration and Chief Financial Officer
Back-Up Spokesperson (2)Dennis M. MurphyChief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President
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Do’s and Don’ts for Media
Do-Listen to the whole question before answeringUse everyday language
Remain calm, courteous, responsive, direct, positive, truthful, concerned and if necessary apologeticBe accessible
Tell the truth
Don’t-Guess or speculateGet upset about being quoted out of contextPlay favorites with reporters
Dress Code- Business attire, simple and non attracting colors. Powder forehead and nose.
Check hair and outfit.
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Emergency Personnel
All Emergencies: CALL 911
Anti-Gun Enforcement: 877-273-4867
Bomb and Arson Hotline: 773-533-3473
Drug Hotline: 312-747-3673
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Equipment and Supplies for Crisis Control Room
1. Laptops2. Box to plug in microphones3. Back-up cell phones4.Wireless Modem5.Walkie-Talkies6. Business Cards7. Food8.Water9. Snacks10.Pens and Paper
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Pre-gathered Information:
History
Northwestern Memorial Hospital was created September 1, 1972 by the consolidation of two of Chicago’s oldest established hospitals – Passavant Memorial (founded 1865) and Wesley Memorial (founded 1888). Bringing together these respected institutions created what was then the Midwest’s largest private, non-profit hospital. For the past three and a half decades, Northwestern Memorial has continued to meet the ever-changing healthcare needs of the Chicago area, expanding facilities, adding clinical programs and providing service to the community. Our association with Northwestern University dates back more than a century, and as the primary teaching affiliate for the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern Memorial is recognized as a leading hospital in advancing patient care, education and research.
Northwestern Memorial’s predecessor hospitals had their roots in Chicago’s Lutheran and Methodist Episcopal deaconess movement, spiritual communities of women organized during the 19th century to provide for the sick and needy. The formative years of our hospitals were marked by the struggles of these unpaid secular groups in caring for patients, raising funds, managing real estate, and meeting the growing professional expectations of physicians. Yet both Passavant and Wesley would evolve from small charitable institutions to larger, better staffed hospitals that kept pace with modern medicine and the needs of the rapidly-growing city. By the turn of the century, hospitals were being transformed from refitted homes to increasingly modern facilities where not only could health be restored, but disease and injury scientifically diagnosed, studied and treated.
As hospital management transitioned from religious orders to active boards of lay trustees, the growing influence of medical school faculty, auxiliary groups and donors also helped determine Wesley and Passavant’s organization, mission and future goals. Although not formally affiliated with a medical school, Passavant’s staff included faculty from Northwestern and Rush, and operative clinics conducted by surgeon Christian Fenger, MD, brought future surgical giants to the hospital for invaluable postgraduate experience. The formation of Passavant’s Woman’s Aid Society (1897) and the Passavant Hospital Auxiliary (1904) were also critically important to the hospital’s future. Wesley Hospital and Northwestern University shared a common Methodist heritage, with the hospital and medical school becoming affiliated in 1890 and occupying several buildings on South Dearborn between 24th and 25th Streets.
In 1914 philanthropist James Deering made a $1million gift to Wesley Memorial to support free care and solidify the hospital’s relationship with Northwestern University’s medical school.
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Wesley agreed to join Northwestern University on its new North Side campus in 1924, but funding for construction of a new building was delayed until the 1930’s. In the interim, Northwestern University offered Passavant Memorial an affiliation and site for a new hospital, which opened in 1929. Wesley Memorial’s new facility was completed in 1941, and over the next thirty years the two institutions, located across the street from each other in the Streeterville community, served as the primary teaching hospitals for Northwestern University Medical School. Over time, the hospitals began collaborating on a number of clinical services and teaching programs, setting in motion plans for a long-contemplated merger. The process accelerated with the 1966 establishment of the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, focused on joint purchasing, shared facilities, graduate medical education and development of a group practices, furthering joint planning efforts towards a unified medical center.
Passavant and Wesley responded by merging nursing schools, exchanging staff privileges, and combining clinical areas - culminating in the consolidation of the two hospitals on September 1, 1972. Other important additions included mergers with Prentice Women's Hospital and Maternity Center and the Stone Institute of Psychiatry (1975), and the opening of the Olson Critical Care Pavilion (1979). By the mid-1980s, our original inpatient facilities could no longer support technological advances and were prohibitively expensive to maintain. Extensive planning began for one of the nation’s largest healthcare construction projects – designing a state-of-the-art facility to replace Passavant, Wesley and more than 20 scattered outpatient sites. In 1994, construction began on a new 2-million square foot facility on the block bordered by Fairbanks Court, St. Clair, Huron and Erie Streets. On May 1, 1999, the 17-story Feinberg Pavilion and 22-story Galter Pavilion opened. A model facility for healthcare providers, hundreds of local, national and international tour groups visit Northwestern Memorial Hospital each year.
Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s reputation as one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers continues as we develop additional world-class facilities and expanded clinical programs with our academic partner, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. The former Passavant and Wesley sites were redeveloped as part of a comprehensive campus master plan in conjunction with Northwestern University. The Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center has expanded biomedical research at the Feinberg School of Medicine and Prentice Women’s Hospital, opened in late 2007, is a state-of-the-art facility supporting patient-focused care in an environment of comfort, privacy and comprehensive care for patients, families and visitors.
Building on a history of compassionate care and clinical excellence, Northwestern Memorial is forging a stronger partnership with its campus partners to become one of the nation’s great academic medical centers.
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Mission and Core Values
Patients come first in all we doWhether involved directly in patient care or not, every employee of Northwestern Memorial Hospital knows that he or she can impact the quality of the patient experience and the level of excellence we collectively achieve. This knowledge, expressed in our shared commitment to a single, patient-focused mission, unites us.
Our MissionNorthwestern Memorial is an academic medical center hospital where the patient comes first. We are an organization of caregivers who aspire to consistently high standards of quality, cost-effectiveness and patient satisfaction.
We seek to improve the health of the communities we serve by delivering a broad range of services with sensitivity to the individual needs of our patients and their families.
We are bonded in an essential academic and service relationship with Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The quality of our services is enhanced through their integration with education and research in an environment that encourages excellence of practice, critical inquiry and learning.
Our VisionOur vision is to be the hospital of choice in our region, recognized as having the most satisfied patients, the best possible clinical quality and outcomes, and the best physicians and employees.
An important part of our vision is to be, with the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University, a nationally acclaimed academic medical center.
A strong and shared sense of what is important.We are a diverse group of people from different backgrounds, joined together by a shared set of values. At Northwestern Memorial Hospital, our values give us clarity, guiding every decision we make as an institution and as individuals, from the most far-reaching long-term strategy to the smallest daily task.
Our Core ValuesAll members of the Northwestern Memorial family believe in and practice these core values:
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Patients FirstWe put the patient first in all we do. No matter where in the hospital we work, we remember always that caring for the individual patient and his or her family is at the heart of our mission and our philosophy.
IntegrityWe adhere to an uncompromising code of ethics that emphasizes complete honesty, transparency and sincerity. Through our words and actions, we earn the complete trust of our patients and their families, our community and our coworkers. We seek to do the right thing, always and everywhere, in our day-to-day work and lives.
ExcellenceWe continuously strive for excellence. We never stop learning and working to improve our skills, programs and services.
TeamworkWe can only achieve our mission and goals by working together. Through the collective and coordinated efforts of our staff, we apply our diverse talents, backgrounds, ideas and experiences to create solutions and benefit patients. We value team success over individual success.
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Photos:
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Press ReleaseFor Immediate Release
Maisie WeinschenkMedia Relations xxx-xxx-xxxx
Lakeshore Floods Northwest Memorial Hospital December 10, 2012 (Chicago) Early Monday morning, Chicago was hit to flash foods caused by hurricane ______ effecting all of Chicago’s lakeshore residents and companies. The hospitals ______ ward was hit, putting approximately _______ departments in severe
conditions. These conditions are making usual business nearly impossible, and
Northwestern Hospital has decided to relocate its patients to _____ and _____. A
spokesperson for the hospital says that their number one priority is the safety and well being of their patients and employees. xxxx
Holding Statement-Northwestern Hospital was hit by flash floods early Monday morning. We are working
around the clock to ensure the safety and well being of all our patients. Most critical patients will be relocated immediately, and in corporation with local Chicago hospitals, all patients will be relocated within the next one to two days. We are doing everything in
our power to ensure the health of our employees and publics and appreciate your patience during this difficult time.
3 Key Messages-1. Zero patients or employees have been critically injured or killed due to proper emergency evacuation.
2. We are doing everything we can to relocate all patients as quickly as possible.
3. As soon as we have more information we will contact media, in respect to patients families.
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Evaluation
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