JEWISH VOCATIONAL SERVICES OF METROWEST NJ

Kara Marie TaylorCrisis Communication PlanWritten: August

9, 2016Revised: August 10, 2016

Statement from Jewish Vocational Services of MetroWest to Employees:

There are many potential risk factors surrounding organizations that deliver a wide array of

personalized services to clients with emotional, behavioral, physical, and psychiatric disabilities.

Since JVS’s highest priority is to “help individuals who need help the most”, it is essential that

we ensure that we respond quickly and manage care when unexpected and precipitating events

occur. In the event of a situational crisis or event that threatens the physical, mental, social or

psychological wellbeing, we need to be prepared and respond quickly to prevent crisis and to

utilize our resources, support systems and coping mechanisms to maintain equilibrium within the

organization. If the potential crisis is still in its escalation stage, it is vital that we manage these

events appropriately, since clients react and respond differently due to various disabilities. As

managers, we need to stay calm and handle circumstances with utmost professionalism and

organization, and keep in mind that our clients may experience intense stress, high anxiety,

frustration, acute agitation, “lashing out” and other behavioral conditions. If apparent enough,

this can lead to serious harm to oneself or others.

We are faced with potential crisis every day and have collectively worked with our emergency

departments, urgent care facilities, and emergency call and health centers to deliver quick, timely

and quality service to our clients. If crisis’s or disasters occur and gain the attention of news

outlets, the media and the public, we must communicate effectively and efficiently to protect our

organizations representation and reputation. If we are unable to execute effective plans or

response techniques, we can lose the trust of our clients, potential clients and even the

organization itself so we must engage and respond with smooth, quick, professional and quality

service to our clients. We must assume that if all fails and the crisis is not resolved, our clients

may succumb to disorientation, disorganization, confusion, heightened anxiety, depression, or at

worst, violence against themselves or others. We should assess all needs to our patients

regardless of behavioral, psychological, or emotional disability and communicate all guidelines,

protocols, and treatment following ethical standards.

Potential crisis at Jewish Vocational Services include illness (epidemic), bomb threat, hazardous

threats such as electronics surrounding liquids, which can be life threatening if client (s) are

electrocuted, slippery or wet floors which can cause falls and other body traumas, shooter on site,

infrastructure failures, power outages, leading to severe heat or cold, inadequate supervision, (if

clients are not examined properly, this can lead to many problems such as physical fights, severe

harm or death), intensive behavioral or physical reactions caused by environmental or social

settings, untreated diagnosis that contribute to unprecedented physical or mental responses that

can affect other clients, suicidal or awkward gestures or body language, improper use of

containment (if handled the wrong way, this can result in unintended harm or injury to clients),

drug toxicity, ignored emotional or psychological problems that can lead to severe outcomes

such as inpatient hospitalization, failure to accurately inventory client information or resources

during examination or counseling, health care misdiagnoses, displacement of client (clients who

are lower functioning placed in higher functioning groups can threaten client and groups safety,

failure to log or inventory client medication, logging false information to the wrong client or

logging incorrect information to the wrong client (contributing to even more mental health

problems and prolonged treatment and therapy), health care misdiagnosis which could lead to

inpatient hospitalization, causing other clients to become overwhelmed by event and finally, all

other natural, technological, or human caused mishaps that should be followed by urgent

responses.

With any potential crisis, it is important to acknowledge if similar events have happened

previously or if there have been warning signs that we have failed to acknowledge so we can

implement better strategies when developing the crisis plan. In speaking to the public or media,

we must be as honest as possible. If we have been incoherent and incompetent in our responses,

we can lose trust, integrity and confidence from our clients. Our PR or Crisis Manager will

announce problematic events that we have previously experienced at JVS. Though many of you

most likely are not aware of the warning signs that trigger crisis events because we had no prior

severe crisis take place thus far, we need to not overlook or disregard the minor problems that

can result in a crisis and continue to take necessary precaution.

Sample Acknowledgment

By signing this statement, I verify that I have read this plan and prepared to put it into effect.

President and CEO

(Signature and date)

Vice President and CFO

(Signature and date)

Vice President

(Signature and date)

Office Manager

(Signature and date)

Sample Rehearsal Dates Schedule

Rehearsal Dates August 25, 2016

October 11, 2016

Purpose:

In the event of many high-risk factors that can take place in a human service organization where

clients who have physical and psychiatric disabilities seek the utmost care and help in obtaining

independence and rehabilitation, job placement, education training and other specialized

services, we must take precaution and measured approaches to significantly adhere to safety

guidelines by all means, which would ultimately allow clients to feel safe and help resolve and

redeem crisis as quickly and knowledgably as possible. Being honest with the public and media

and updating them on crisis plan measures can reduce uncertainties and will ultimately help

cease any future problems or crisis events.

Objectives:

We will make every effort to:

1. Initiate JVS Crisis Communication Plan within 2 hours.

2. Make safety the highest priority.

3. Express care, concern and sympathy towards victims and their families and given

information about corrective actions and counseling if needed.

4. Inform all internal and external stakeholders, health care facilities and services that can

help with the crisis.

5. Inform all owners and managers within 2 hours of any crisis or outbreak.

6. Inform publics regularly, providing thorough, honest and updated information.

7. Maintain professionalism while communicating with the media and the public about all

situational crisis’s.

8. Find the source of the problem as soon as possible.

9. Distribute honest information about crisis and communication plans to all media and

publics.

10. Develop ways to alleviate future problems.

11. Implement necessary changes and resume business as usual as soon as possible.

Key Publics:

Emergency Responders: Phone:

Emergency Management Agency 911

Law Enforcement Agency, NJ State Police 911

Fire Services Agency-468 Main Street, Orange Nj 07018 973-266-5509

Paramedics Agency- 472 Halsted, Orange, NJ 07018 973-673-6911

Mental Health Crisis Teams-60 Evergreen Pl, #402 973-676-1325

Public Health Department-204 Grove Avenue,

Cedar Grove, NJ 07009 973-571-2800

Key Staff, Employees:

111 Prospect Street, Orange NJ 07017 Phone:

Andy Bonet, Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director 973-986-7523

Michael Andreas , Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer 973-874-0834

Hetal Patel, Manager of Rehabilitation Services 973-974-0756

Lisa Simmons, Manager of Rehabilitation Services 973-794-8031

Dr. Meryl Kanner, Supervisor, Career Counseling and Placement 973-751-0094

Lynn Sternstein, Manager Education and Training 973-684-0912

Inna Kramers, Coordinator of Older Émigré Services 973-761-9461

Kari Mager, Director of Business Development 973-694-9872

Deborah Mitchell, Custom Production Services 973-876-7424

Frances Ramirez, Director of At Home Services 973-703-7818

Corporate Clients:

Jane Kurek, Executive Director, The Provident Bank Foundation- In support of job

readiness and computer training programs, The Provident Bank Foundation financially

contributes to JVS to improve employee training and productivity so clients are able to

enhance and upgrade their skills upon entry in the workforce.

Address: 250 Madison Avenue, Morristown, NJ 07960

Email: Foundation@ProvidentBank.com

Governor Christie, NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development- Covers costs

for employment training, contributes to the success of New Jersey’s workforce by

helping people utilize their skills while gaining high quality service through this work

service organization.

Address: Office of the Governor, PO Box 001, Trenton, NJ 08625

Email: http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/governor/govmail/govmail_1c_new.pl

William Wedemeyer, Corporate Training Programs-(Career Discovery Programs)-

Offered in the state of New Jersey and offers outreach programs to improve JVS by

providing customized training programs and businesses with the expertise to develop and

assist clients in workplace training.

Address: 111 Prospect Street, Orange NJ 07017

Email: bill.wedemeyer@sfgov.org

Institutional Collaborators, Teaming Partners: Phone:

Jewish Family Service of MetroWest-256 Columbia Turnpike

Suites 104-105, Florham Park, NJ 07932 973-765-7050

Rachel Coalition, Division of Family Service of MetroWest NJ

256 Columbia Turnpike, Suite 105, Florham Park, NJ 07932 973-740-1233

Jewish Service For The Developmentally Disabled of MetroWest

NJ-270 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ 07052 973-325-1494

Contact preferred via email: Ipress@jsddmetrowest.org

Kessler Foundation-300 Executive Drive, Suite 70

West Orange, NJ 07052 973-324-8362

Montclair State University Hillel-1 Normal Avenue, Montclair NJ 07043 973-929-3000

Rutgers Hillel-93 College Avenue, New Brunswick NJ 08901 732-545-2407

Jewish Community Foundation of Greater MetroWest NJ-

901 Route 10, P.O Box 929, Whippany NJ 07981 973-929-3000

Jewish Educational Center-330 Elmora Avenue, Elizabeth NJ 07208 973-355-4850

Local Television News Personnel:

Station/Channel: Address: News Director: Phone:

NJ News 12 450 Raritan Pkway, David Kirschner 732-346-3270

Edison, NJ 08837

WNET, News 13 825 Eighth Avenue, Michael Stolm 212-560-2000

NY, NY 10019

WFUT-DT, News 68 390 W Market St, Eric Booker 973-643-6800

Newark, NJ 07107

Local Radio Personnel:

Station/Channel: Address: News Director: Phone:

Sirius XM Radio 165 Halsey St, Sam Hook 973-824-3659

Newark, NJ 07102

CBS Radio 118 Stockton St, Kelly Walker 973-817-5627

Newark, NJ 07105

WSOU 400 South Orange James Pine 973-761-9592

Avenue, NJ 07079

Crisis Inventory:

Crisis Directory:

Media Spokesperson:

The spokesperson must communicate clearly to all publics. He or she should be able to

articulate words concisely and in a pleasant manner.

The spokesperson must establish strong eye contact, present information competently,

professionally and concisely.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Injury Fire Violence Illness

JVS Crisis Inventory

Probability Potential Damage

Sally L. Phone:

Micah J. Phone:

Larry S. Phone:

Ursel T. Phone:

Paula W. Phone:

Tara H. Phone:

James H. Phone:

Natalie W.

Phone:

Maegan H. Phone:

Kelly A. Phone:

Michael T. Phone:

Tamara Y. Phone:

Loraine S. Phone:

Marie L. Phone:

Egypt W. Phone:

Ashley J. Phone:

Kylie O. Phone:

Lorena K. Phone:

Earl L.

Phone:

Amanda

U. Phone:

Tia P.

Phone:

Laura T.

Phone:

Sara S.

Phone:

Patrick U.

Phone:

Paul C.

Phone:

Dana W.

Phone:

Bri U.

Phone:

Thomas H.

Phone:

Kayla P. Phone:

Kristina K. Phone:

Pete U. Phone:

Joy B. Phone:

Asia W. Phone:

Keanu H. Phone:

Diane J. Phone:

Miguel Y. Phone:

Tuck J.

Phone:

Cara A.

Phone:

Kelsey T.

Phone:

Dave W.

Phone:

Radha T.

Phone:

Bryan N.

Phone:

Michaela

W. Phone:

Reggie O.

Phone:

Brielle U.

Phone:

Taylor K.

Phone:

Lauren P. Phone:

Kaley S. Phone:

Eric G. Phone:

KirstenH. Phone:

TJ W. Phone:

Jimmy T. Phone:

Nia W. Phone:

Samantha H. Phone:

The spokesperson must avoid distracting behaviors such as fidgeting, pacing, and other

inappropriate nonverbal behaviors.

The spokesperson must remain cool, calm, collective and confident.

The spokesperson must appear empathetic during a crisis.

The spokesperson must avoid jargon, technical or professional terms.

The spokesperson must convey key messages to all publics.

The spokesperson must avoid going off the record.

Emergency Personnel:

Primary & Backup: Office Phone: Email:

Kara Taylor 862-260-1264 Karamel925@gmail.com

Samuel Smith

973-901-7323 SamuelS@JVS.com

New Jersey State Police Mental Health Association of Essex County

250 Minnisink Rd, Totowa, NJ 07512 60 Evergreen Pl # 402, East Orange, NJ 07018

911 Communications: 973-676-1325

Media Relations: 973-785-9412 Fax: 1327

Fax: 9413

Orange Fire Department Public Health Department 419 Central Ave, City of Orange, NJ 07050 204 Grove Avenue, Cedar Grove NJ 07009

911 Management: 973-571-2800

Dept Info: 973-266-4229 Fax: 2801

Fax: 4228

Paramedics Center of Orange Behavioral Department of Health 472 Halsted St, Orange, NJ 07018 224 Sussex Ave, Newark NJ 07103

PR: 973-420-4850 PR: 973-242-6599

Fax: 4920 Fax: 6755

Crisis Control Equipment and Supplies:

Pre-Gathered Information:

-Computers -Beverages -Copying Machine -Gloves

-Chairs -Pens -Maps -Face mask

-Desks -Pencils -Flashlights -Crutches

-Telephones -Psychiatric Beds -Extra cable cords -Refrigerator

for meds

-Televisions -Fire Distinguisher -Extra light bulbs

-Cell Phones -Cameras and Film -Typewriter

-Bulletin Boards -Police Radio -Extra fans for heat

-Powered Radio and TV -Mop, Cleaning Products -Smart phone chargers

-Client Directories -Copying Machine -Computer printers

-Media Directories -A Chalkboard -Wheelchair

-Police Radio -Brail Text Translator for the blind

-Emergency Kits -Sign Language Interpreter for the deaf or hard of hearing

-First Aid Kits -Containment Resources during a psychiatric crisis

-Press Kits -Spare keys in case someone needs to lock or unlock doors during

crisis

-Crisis Plans -Food

-Mental Health Guidelines

-Containment Strategies

-Safety Precautions

-Maps and location of company and affiliated sites

-Fact Sheets

-All Emergency Contacts

-Phone books

-Internet and social media accounts

-Emergency Response Team numbers

-Photos

-Client logged Inventories and personnels

-Partnership contacts

-Location of offices

-Annual Account Reports -Follow-Up Reports

Key Messages:

“At Jewish Vocational Service of MetroWest New Jersey, our highest concern is the

safety of our clients and employees”.

“We are extremely remorseful and apologetic for the unfortunate events that took place

and take full responsibility for what happened”.

“We are completely and utterly committed to effectively assess, evaluate and

communicate all pertinent facts in regard to this crisis and pledge to execute our Crisis

Communication Plans to prevent similar issues from happening again”.

Approaches to Dissemination:

In order to properly implement a crisis communication plan and achieve the objectives

aforementioned, key messages will be disseminated through different communicative events to

reach different target audiences. The messages will be distributed to internal and external

stakeholders and affiliated partners and can take the following forms:

o A general report

o Local, national or regional meeting, workshops, events or presentations

Dissemination through the media:

o If only limited target audiences are reached, social media, news outlets,

internet and other media platforms can reach a larger population and will

gain widespread attention due to this specific method of profiling-reaching

all publics.

o Social media platforms can be used to address all crisis concerns, prior to

and following dissemination of key message points.

o Clients and employees can discuss their success stories and how the

organization was still able to redeem itself after a crisis and continue to

provide utmost care and quality service to their clients. These can also be

published on social media accounts.

Dissemination through meetings and workshops:

o To ensure that key messages reach other stakeholders, meetings and local

workshops can be arranged with other local, national or regional

collaborators. The Crisis Communication Manager will be responsible for

creating all key messages that will reach target audiences and intended

stakeholders, being proactive in meetings and communicating effectively

to all attendees.

Potential Trick Questions:

Question:

“If you used the same containment strategies during a psychiatric or situational crisis to a

different client with a mental, behavioral or physically disability, would the same problem

happen again?”

Answer:

-“That is not an appropriate topic for you to address at this time.”

-“You are referring to a hypothetical situation and we are working extremely hard to prevent a

crisis like this to happen again.”

Question:

“Would you rather sacrifice one person facing harm due to improper use of containment or more

people if employees continue to restrain clients improperly?”

Answer:

“Who would rather one person facing harm? We did not want any of these circumstances to take

place but we are committed to exploring new containment strategies that proves will not severely

harm anyone”.

Vulnerability Of Crisis at JVS:

Likelihood of physical fights between disabled clients on JVS ground -6

Impact of physical fights between disabled clients on JVS ground-9

Crisis Score: 54%

Likelihood of product harm due to workplace violence-4

Impact of product harm due to workplace violence-7

Crisis Score: 28%

Likelihood of failed supervision causing disabled clients to miss medication, meals, counseling

appointments, and therapy-4

Impact of failed supervision causing disabled clients to miss medication, meals, counseling

appointments and therapy-10

Crises Score: 40%

References:

The Crisis Communication Plan Layout-Professor Schwab

http://www.nj.gov/humanservices/dmhas/home/hotlines/MH_Dir_COMPLETE.pdf

https://www.jfedgmw.org/community-directory/jewish-service-for-the-developmentally-

disabled-of-metrowest

https://www.jfedgmw.org/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4237187/

http://www.nursingceu.com/courses/468/index_nceu.html