Last Thursday we were pleased to hear from two PR practitioners who have incredible experience with crisis management. Craig Bielik works for Ogden Regional Medical Center, and Chris Dallin who works for Mckay Dee Hospital. Each shared his experience dealing with the Ogden shooting last year and the complications their respective hospitals had to deal with.
In order to avoid repeating their presentation I will just go over the lessons learned and helpful hints they gave us in order to improve our future careers.
First Craig talked about his experience at ORMC. He had several problems come to him in the form of the patients brought to his hospital had their information protected by HIPA so talking to the press was next to impossible. What he wanted us to be prepared for and the lessons he learned were:
1. Get help right away- You can’t do it alone and your going to need help so get to it as fast as possible. When you get the help turn them into a Go Team and get things started right away.
2. Soothe staff and community concerns- this should be done from several angles:
2.A. Use the media (News) to have healthy conversations about the situation.
2.B. Write blogs, and Facebook posts so the message gets out in all other forms of media.
Next Chris spoke about his experience with McKay Dee Hospital and gave this advice:
1. Create your message- Know what you want to say, make the point then stop. Have a clear concise positive message.
2. Be in the loop- Make sure you are talking to and getting information from everyone that is involved in the situation.
3. Be the boss- It doesn’t matter if the President of the United States is there YOU are in charge and call the shots. Confidence trumps competence.
4. Take care of yourself- Take time to sit and take care of your needs as well. Making sure you have people to help so this can be done.
In closing they suggested that we be proactive and look up others experiences, attend workshops, read case studies, and look at every situation and think “How would I handle that?” The information they gave is inspiring and is of great value. We will all be faced with a crisis that we have to manage and now we will all be better equipped to handle it when it comes. Thanks again guys you were the best.
5 Comments
It was a great presentation. Lots of good information and fun to listen to. Great summary!
I have studied some things in crisis management before but to hear from two experts paints a real picture of what can go on. Great points to follow in difficult situations.
This was a great presentation. We learned from first hand experience what it takes to successfully handle a crisis. Craig and Chris did a great job. Thanks PRSSA!!!!
It amazes me how the experience was so different for each hospital. McKay Dee’s plan was so well planned that they changed nothing to its plan when it was over. Then, while running on 40+ hours of no sleep the message was still being presented that McKay Dee provides world class health care. Fantastic presentation.
It was a real eye opener as to what these gentlemen dealt with during this crisis and they gave a great presentation on how to handle a crisis.