From Cyberattacks to Netflix – Control the Narrative During a Crisis

Healthcare can’t seem to catch a break. From pre-pandemic when a nurse shortage impacted hospitals across the country through the crippling challenges associated with COVID-19, the crisis never ends. As soon as you began settling into a new normal, a plethora of new worries sets in.

Physician shortages; mental and behavioral health crisis; technology—solution or roadblock—all add to the anxiety. Looming ominously over the industry is the real and present danger of cyberattacks—up 141% from 2022 to 2023— and ransomware. According to the American Hospital Association, ransomware attacks targeting US hospitals have increased by more than 300%.

With ever-present phone cameras, there is also the concern of privacy invasive images showing up on social media or, even worse, streaming online. The possibility of a hospital being the subject of a documentary such as Netflix’s “Take Care of Maya” makes it crucial to have a crisis communication plan in place.

For healthcare marketers, control over many threats is limited, but you can be prepared to quickly control the narrative and avoid a reputation crisis.

Preparing for a crisis.

Predicting a crisis can be difficult given the inherent element of unpredictability in crises. You generally don’t know what and when one is going to happen until it happens. Who could have anticipated a pandemic that brought the world to standstill for nearly two years?

Not that we want to become pessimistic, gloomy Eeyore, but being prepared with a crisis communication plan helps you control the narrative rather than other way around.

Most healthcare systems have crisis and emergency communication plans. If your hospital has one, when was it last updated? Revising a crisis communication plan rarely tops the priority list—unless there’s an active crisis, and it’s already too late. Despite COVID-19 bringing the world to a standstill, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hasn’t updated its CERC Crisis + Emergency Risk Communication manual since 2018.

Whether a natural disaster, contagion outbreak or ransomware attack, be prepared to quickly disseminate information to your employees, patients, the media and community. Clear, reliable communication is key to keeping people calm, organized and safe and to continuing hospital operations while weathering the crisis. How an organization handles a crisis directly impacts its reputation.

When developing a crisis communication plan:

1. Identify the core crisis team; list cell phone numbers, email addresses, video conference links and digital channels where team members can access updated information. Provide hard-copy manuals in case of power or Wi-fi outages.
2. Plan a crisis response strategy. Keep it general to cover various scenarios.
3. Plan to act quickly and strategically and in lock-step with the emergency plan for your hospital when a crisis occurs.
4. Plan to conduct a post-crisis communication analysis and immediately update your plan with lessons learned. Conduct mock crisis exercises annually.

Following the 5 Cs of crisis communication.

When building and executing a crisis communication plan, keep these 5 Cs in mind:

1. Concern. Audiences respond to human language, not corporate speak. Communicate with empathy and concern.
2. Commitment. Let your audience know what steps the organization is taking to resolve the crisis and changes to prevent the same crisis in the future.
3. Competency. Ensure internal and external audiences that the organization is doing everything possible to protect their health and safety.
4. Clarity. Don’t assume; don’t guess; don’t speculate. State the facts, even if those need to be clarified in follow-up responses.
5. Confidence. Communicate with confidence to inspire confidence and trust in  your audience.

Executing when a crisis occurs.

Being prepared helps you communicate efficiently and quickly when an incident occurs. In doing so, your hospital can concentrate on mitigating or correcting the situation, protecting patients and employees, and continuing operations. While you can’t predict how the crisis may impact your brand reputation, following proactive best practices can help elevate the organization during a crisis.

1. Assemble the core crisis team and act quickly.
2. Gather all possible facts and define the severity of the crisis.
3. Prepare a holding statement if more time is needed to clearly identify the crisis.
4. Draft three key messages—clear, concise and consistent.
5. Identify internal and external stakeholders. Communicate to employees first; you don’t want them to find out about a crisis from outside the organization.
6. Be honest and transparent.
7. Stay calm, even when facing a storm.
8. Schedule debriefs with the core team to adjust plans as needed during the crisis and afterward to prepare for the next inevitable crisis.

Advance planning provides you with tools to control the narrative during a crisis, which helps protect your audiences and minimize damage to the organization’s reputation.

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TotalCom is a full-service marketing agency helping brands like yours tell their story to the right audiences. Email Lori Moore or call TotalCom Marketing Communications at 205.345.7363 to learn more about how we can help you tell your story.