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Case Study: H1N1 Flu Crisis Communications
- 2. Spring 2009
- 12. Fall 2009
- 22. Fall 2009
Editor's Notes
- On April 29, 2009, the first reported U.S. fatality from H1N1 (swine) flu. The boy, who was visiting the U.S. from Mexico, passed away at Texas Children’s Hospital. While the hospital had been monitoring the spread of H1N1, we were spurred to action because the information was released via social media. We had already been discussing strategy and communicating with employees, but this forced our hand a bit. ©2008 AMA Houston
- Even before the death of the boy from Mexico, we had been communicating with our employees via Global News e-mails. Here’s a message from our Administrator On Call and Medical Director of Infection Control sent on April 27. We encouraged employees to use good hand hygiene and basic infection control methods. ©2008 AMA Houston
- The next day, we were still focusing on internal communications but anticipating interest from the media. This e-mail explaining the global, national and local situation re: H1N1, also reminded employees to contact Media Relations in case of a call from a reporter. We also explained how Texas Children’s was responding according to our existing pandemic emergency response plan. ©2008 AMA Houston
- The boy had passed away on April 27, and by April 29 Texas Children’s was ready to go public because we had gotten confirmation from the CDC that he had in fact died from H1N1. We communicated this to employees so that they felt like they were completely in the loop. ©2008 AMA Houston
- We held a press conference that day, April 29, and Dr. Jeffrey Stark, medical director of infection control, was our spokesperson. He is a doctor, not accostomed to speaking to reporters. So we worked with him and others within the hospital to craft a list of talking points and anticipated questions. These were developed by a collaborative team, which included doctors, executives, communications staff, and outside help from the Carbonara Group. Texas Children’s saw this as an opportunity to educate the public and calm fears, as well as position the hospital as an expert on the topic. And in fact Dr. Stark was quoted in multiple stories about the flu (it was still called the swine flu at this time) including the Chronicle. Our press conference was attended by other local and national news outlets, including all 3 major networks. ©2008 AMA Houston
- Here’s a screen shot of MSNBC carrying an AP story which features a nice photo of Dr. Starke and some other members of the medical staff. Dr. Stark also appeared on NPR and other local print and broadcast news outlets. This was thanks to proactive efforts on behalf of our communications team as well as the great job Dr. Starke did in interviews. He not only came across and a credible and reliable source, he also stayed on point with the message we wanted to get out to the public: Primarily that this death should not cause alarm. ©2008 AMA Houston
- Our external communications also included information on our Web site, which was promoted heavily during our interaction with the media. The messages we stressed to external audiences were: How to avoid the spread of infection When to visit the Emergency Room How to monitor flu symptoms on a child Updates on the number of flu cases When Tamiflu would become available and when to administer it ©2008 AMA Houston
- These continuing efforts to position ourselves as experts continued to pay PR dividents. Dr. Shook, medical director of our EC, was quoted in the New York times. ©2008 AMA Houston
- As the external communications were succeeding, we made sure to keep our employees informed. We continued with daily (and sometimes more frequent) e-mails to employees as well as a video from Dr. Starke that we placed on our Intranet. The key messages to employees were: Establishment of outside screening tent for patients Active screening for current patients Auto-dial program to communicate with TCPA parents Employee flu screening guidelines Establishment of a labor pool ©2008 AMA Houston
- And then in the fall… Increase in anticipated patient volume due to upcoming flu season – get your flu shots and H1N1 vaccine. Rather than waiting for the wave to hit, we decided to be proactive. ©2008 AMA Houston
- Education mode… What is H1N1 vs. seasonal Is the vaccine safe When to come to EC Based on spring experience, reestablish ourselves as the local pediatric leader on these topics Flu page – flu.texaschildrens CDC badge linking to their site Chron.com chats Spanish – gripe.texaschildrens Internal communications – continued daily (sometimes 2x) ©2008 AMA Houston
- We set up a special section on our web site about the flu. It was linked from our home page but we also set up a special URL: www.flu.texaschildrens Can see that this landing page had the CDC badge linking to their site – didn’t try to be primary source of all flu information – tried to target our information for our local population. Focused on key messages: What to do about flu symptoms Be aware of H1N1, but not alarmed When to come (or not come) to the emergency room Get vaccinated – and information about the 2 different flu vaccines ©2008 AMA Houston
- Also used our TCPA web site. TCPA is constellation of 45 pediatric practices in and around the Houston area. They were being beseiged with calls about when the flu vaccine would be available. We posted the latest info right on our home page. One practice even set up a twitter account to allow parents to get the latest updates. ©2008 AMA Houston
- Also partnered with the Houston Chronicle to conduct 2 online chats with our experts. The first chat, which focused on the H1N1 virus, was the Chronicle’s most successful non-sports chat in 2 years, with more than 1,500 participants. The second focused on the vaccine. We also linked to these chats from our web site. These were a great way for us to get our message to concerned parents directly and clearly. ©2008 AMA Houston
- At the same time, we were offering our experts as sources for H1N1 and seasonal flu stories (in English and Spanish). As part of our proactive strategy, we conducted a news conference to provide visuals of the first H1N1 nasal spray being delivered to one of our TCPA offices. This was picked up by the local media, including FOX26 news. ©2008 AMA Houston
- We were continuing internal communication by setting up a clear section on our Intranet to provide employees with clear messages about: Availability and location of H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines for employees Also focused on who should get the vaccine first (mostly patient care employees) Labor pool – in case we had a large number of ill employees OR a surge in patient volume Visitor policy This was updated regularly – sometimes as often as every day. Also ©2008 AMA Houston
- Continued to send out global news e-mail alerts to employees as well, reinforcing the messages on the Intranet. All this internal communication – as well as most of the external communication – was driven by the Incident Command center. The members rotated a bit, but mostly included representatives of the following areas: Operations Nursing Physicians Communication For most of October, this group met every weekday at 8 AM. ©2008 AMA Houston
- ©2008 AMA Houston
- Be proactive with the media. You hear this all the time but it really works. Go to them with information and experts – don’t wait for them to come to you because they might get it wrong and/or go somewhere else. Use consistent messages – both to you internal and external audiences. First of all, it’s easier. Second of all, that way everyone who is talking to non employees – whether patients, parents, news media – are all saying the same thing. We also used the same language. Related to that is to include and educate your employees. We probably erred on the side of too much information, but we tried to keep our employees in the loop on everything: vaccine supply, visitor policy, H1N1 virus, when Texas Children’s was going to be on tv or online. Leverage your online channels, whether that’s your web site, facebook page or twitter feed. They allow you to communicate the same message to large audiences asynchronously. ©2008 AMA Houston
- And then in the fall… Increase in anticipated patient volume due to upcoming flu season – get your flu shots and H1N1 vaccine. Rather than waiting for the wave to hit, we decided to be proactive. ©2008 AMA Houston