public relations interview about the medical field
TRANSCRIPT
She Said He Said
JEFF
GRAY
INTERVIEW
Emergency
medical
transport
program
connects
public
relations to
medicine
LIFEFLIGHT
Jeffrey Gray shares
his
connection
to
public
relations
ISSUE 1OCTOBER2016
public relations magazine
08 12
16
Wh
at's
Insi
de?
0304
Who is Jeffrey Gray?She Says He Says
page 2
Jeff GrayJeff Gray is the Manager ofEmergency Communicationsat Vanderbilt. UniversityMedical Center. Gray hasnurtured, grown and nowmanages the LifeFlightprogram at the hospital aswell. Prior to his 14 years atVanderbilt, Gray was in theArmy's military police
Teen MagazineSassyPage 33
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and emergency medicalservices (EMS). Gray agreedto interview with publicrelations student Ally Fuchsto give her an insight on whata public relationspractitioner does. In thefollowing article, Graydiscusses what its like to bein the medical field of publicrelations.
SheSays HeSays
A: There are people on call who have a medical
training background. They must be currently
licensed in order to understand medical
terminology as well as be able to assist once the
air ambulance arrives if necessary. I manage
those people as well as the department. I was
brought in 14 years ago to grow the LifeFlight
program so I oversee all of it.
Q: Mr. Gray, please describeyour department's structure
Q: Mr. Gray, what category ofpublic relations would you say youaddress the most?
Page 43Page 4
Q: what does your job entail?A; we are the first line of communication in
event of a disaster for the hospital. In addition
we communicate to the public about disasters
and crises (such as accidents). We also handle
all ambulance services to and from the
hospital. For the most part, we are the "behind
the scenes" guys. Besides from our function as
emergency services, we are very much one
way communicators unless a news reporter
requests more information or an interview.
Q: Do you consider yourself a publicrelations professional, why or whynot?
A: No. While I practice communications and
public relations, I have no background in it and I
do not have any public relations affiliations.
A: Crisis for sure.
Editor's note: The one way
communication sounds
like public information
from Grunig's models of
public relations.
A: Not to take anything personally. Whenever
there is crisis, people panic. They want all the
information possible and sometimes we can't
give it to them. Sometimes that due to HIPPA
and sometimes its because we don't have
updates to give them. In any case, people say
anything they can to learn more and you can't
let what they say get to you.
Q: What is something you wishyou had known before you becamea communications professional?
Teen MagazineSassy Page 5
Gurneys for when emergencies arise
weather conditions affecting ambulances
Q: Do you do anything supplementaryto maintain current knowledge ofpublic relations and applicablemedical practices?
A: Absolutely. Like many organizations, we have
monthly in-services where we discuss scenarios,
situations and current information
Q: What is the hardest part of yourjob?
A: Stating the right information at the right time in
the right way to the right people
Editor's note:
Sounds like
the news
framing
theory
Q: Do you think workingfor a hospital isany/much different thanworking for a firm?
A: Its very difficult. At a hospital
we focus on crisis communication.
Other firms handle all sides of
public relations. We have a much
narrower focus. However that
also means we have to excel that
field.
Q: What are somesimilarities between youand the doctors at thishospital?
A: We are both faces of the
hospital. We represent it and our
patients.
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References
Lifeflight call center
Vanderbilt LifeFlight - LifeFlight Staff & Leadership ... (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2016, from
https://www.vanderbilthealth.com/lifeflight/16046
Vanderbilt LifeFlight - Vanderbilt Health Nashville, TN. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2016,
from http://www.vanderbilthealth.com/lifeflight/