Crisis Communications

Crisis Communication Planning Is Essential for Health Care Marketers

Paul Wood kicks off UPMC’s Health Care Crisis Communications Summit, August 2018

What if your hospital is suddenly the center of national media attention for all the wrong reasons? What if a catastrophic event occurs and you must respond immediately? Do you know what to do? Do you have a crisis communications plan in place? In our new article, Paul Wood, vice president and chief communications officer Read More

How Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Handled Unthinkable Human and PR Crisis

This may not be what hospital communicators signed on to deal with, but it can — and did — happen. How would you handle the ensuing human and PR crisis? On September 12, 2017, a Rhode Island man drove up to Lebanon, New Hampshire, and entered the intensive care unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where his mother was recovering from an aneurysm. According to news reports and indictments filed against him, the man asked for some time alone with his mother. Once they were alone, he allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot her four times, killing her.

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Murder in the ICU: How To Manage a Crisis from a Human and PR Perspective

This may not be what hospital communicators signed on to deal with, but it can — and did — happen. How would you handle the ensuing human and PR crisis? On September 12, 2017, a Rhode Island man drove up to Lebanon, New Hampshire, and entered the intensive care unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where his mother was recovering from an aneurysm. According to news reports and indictments filed against him, the man asked for some time alone with his mother. Once they were alone, he allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot her four times, killing her.

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Strong Technology Infrastructure Boosts Your Community Impact

The technology landscape is rapidly evolving, creating new challenges — and also new opportunities — for marketers in all industries. For those working in the health care sector, this means that the time is right to draw on the latest tools to have the most meaningful impact in a variety of situations. Marketers need look Read More

What To Do When a Blogging Doctor Goes Off-Message

Physician-contributed writing provides a great way to provide thought leadership and to share your medical staff members’ expertise more broadly. It can also help to personalize your organization and make a deeper connection with patients. But it’s essential that any staff-contributed writing goes through a defined editorial process that ensures the content accurately represents your Read More

Drug Diversion: Response Strategies to Protect Reputation and Patient Trust

by Jennifer Busick At a health care center in Florida, patients who were undergoing radiology procedures believed they were receiving injections of a narcotic painkiller, fentanyl. What they didn’t know was that a radiology technician at the clinic was injecting himself with the fentanyl and then refilling the syringes with saline solution. Although fentanyl is Read More