HCS/320 - HEALTH CARE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
Communication and Crisis
Marcela G Trevino
June 01, 2015
Instructor: Evelyn Bell
Campus: ONLINE MAIN
Group ID: BSDC1GTRE2

Communication and Crisis
In any healthcare setting, good communication is the key for success during any type of emergency. Emergencies are unpredictable; therefore, preparedness can make a huge difference for your healthcare setting. It will be impossible to predict the magnitude of the crisis, which is why there is no right or wrong way to handle the situation. There is only the how we react to that particular situation and strive to recover normality as soon as possible, for the sake of those in your care.
According to Hick & Nicols “Crisis means a disruption that affects the normal operations of any organization resulting in extensive news media coverage and it could have a political, legal, financial or governmental impact in the setting.” An Emergency can be caused naturally or can be the consequence of humankind. For example: Natural disasters like: Storms, earthquakes, thunderstorms, wild fires, tropical storms, snow storms, tsunami, etc. are phenomenon that happened naturally. Human errors, management error, conflict of interest, violation, disagreements between two or more parties are caused by humans and are the result of the previous or premeditated actions. (Hicks & Nicols, 2012) Distinguishing between various type of crises, emergencies and disasters is important because the type of event influences the requirements for effective communication. (Seeger, August)
Healthcare professionals help to restore trust and respect between the healthcare setting and the residents/patients by stablishing good communication and communication skills. (Hicks & Nicols, 2012) Healthcare crisis or emergencies can affect in different ways and speeds any healthcare setting. This leaves the staff feeling uncertainty and fear of the unknown. Preventing good communication, training and preparedness to be able to succeeded and execute a well-planned plan. Failing to do so provokes a serious problem generally not known with in or out of the healthcare setting and it will ultimately generate negative coverage if or when it goes public. Another is sudden, that is a disruption in the company’s business that occurs without warning and is likely to generate news coverage. (Hicks & Nicols, 2012)
You and your healthcare professionals must be prepared to follow the adequate protocol to keep everyone safe. The protocol should include: Preparedness for a crisis/ emergency response. Prevent situations where crisis can occurred. Make sure you know your team, your patients, healthcare staff and media personnel. (Hicks & Nicols, 2012)
Best way to improve communication during a crisis is to put in place a strategic organizational change. This new process will improve quality and efficiency, plan for pre-even logistics, coordinate networks and most importantly accept uncertainty. Remember nothing works out the way it was planned. There is always one or more surprises along the way. (August, 2006) Understanding re-even planning, will be of great benefit since identifying risks areas and corresponding risk reduction, will help with the responses to decision making during a crisis situation more efficiently and identifying necessary response resources. (August, 2006) A protective strategy; which, includes forming partnerships, listen to public concerns, be available and honest. Honesty is a really important word in communication. Honesty produces trust, trust produces better understanding and cooperation from those around or participating in the crisis. Depending on the level of accessibility and immediacy the response from the participating individuals will vary. While few emergency mangers would question the need to be honest, candor and openness are difficult to achieve in the high uncertainty context of a crisis. (August, 2006) Strategic response, includes