Communication Crisis
HCS/320

Communication during a crisis is the most important part of any crisis. Being able to communicate effectively with all parties that are involved in the crisis from beginning to end is essential. Informing the public has to be done in a way that will not cause panic, but also keep the public informed of the crisis and what the public can do to protect themselves from disease, injury or even death. Getting information to the public will be a challenging factor in any crisis, but having the right people and all the facts is the first step in the communication process. The first thing that we need to make sure happens in a crisis is to have a well-drawn out plan. When crisis does happen things can fall apart very quickly. There should be a response plan, a prevention plan, know who you are dealing with and who your media representative will be (Hicks, Christina Mazzola Nicols MPH, & Martin, 2012). As the directory of the regional emergency management office I would want to make sure that an investigation is expedited immediately. Getting in contact with the Center for Disease control, poison control and Department of Health and Environmental Control agencies would need to be done immediately. These agencies would be the ones doing the investigation and testing of the water. Any information gathered would be given to me and I will approve what is released to the media. This all would have to be done as soon as possible to avoid any fatalities or illnesses to the public. I would want only a few representatives from each agency to be able to give any information found upon investigation to me and to have a communication liaison assigned to be the one that would speak with the media and public so there is less confusion or wrong information given. We also need to have local police, fire departments and EMT services informed of the situation at hand. These services will need to be available to help keep the public under control if panic does happen. They can also help in keeping the public informed as well by giving them information that I have allowed them to relay to the public. We need to make sure we have all information we need on everyone in order to contact them when and if necessary (Crisis Communications Plan). These local agencies can help us get any information we need to contact anyone that may know something of value to help with the investigation. The advantage of communicating with these agencies is to work together to achieve one goal, protecting the public. Communicating with the public can be difficult, but needs to be done immediatley. First we need to determine what type of audience we are dealing with (Crisis Communications Plan). The public has a right to know that there is something wrong with the water and that we are doing something about it. Cutting off the water supply in not what we want to do, but will be essential in this case. Having food and water available for everyone will be something that will need to be done. The Red Cross can assist with this process as well. The Red Cross can hand out food, water and shelter if needed to the local residents and all other parties involved. The disadvantages of communicating with the public are that there could be panic that ensues and misinterpretation of what is happening and how it will be fixed. We want to be able to tell the public in a way that will not cause panic by giving them the information that they need and that they know we are doing our best to resolve the issue at hand. We want the public to be informed, but keep them calm as well. In the beginning stages there will be much confusion and the public will want to know what is going on. There needs to be a communication representative to be able to speak to the media and get the message out in a proper and timely manner (Hicks, Christina Mazzola Nicols MPH, & Martin, 2012). From each scenario there is a great difference in the