Healthcare facilities must prepare with a good crisis management plan if there is an emergency or something goes wrong. A crisis can refer to any disaster or emergency event. Any problem that impacts the normal operations of the healthcare facility might require crisis management.
What Is Crisis Management?
Natural disasters affect about 218 million people every year. While natural disasters are inevitable and unpredictable, other disasters can also affect hospital facilities, including pandemics and violence. Crisis management in healthcare starts with assessing these risks.
Facility leaders must understand the risks involved with the operations and what could constitute a disaster. One way to determine risk is to create scenario tables and assess the probability of various threats to healthcare professionals and their patients. Management refers to reducing the impact of multiple threats.
What Are the Elements of Crisis Management in Healthcare?
You need effective and responsive leadership to handle an emerging crisis. Create a team in advance, using representatives from management, the board of directors, human resources, department leaders, and marketing teams.
The team will outline what to do in a disaster situation. While emergency events can be unpredictable, looking at as many facets of potential scenarios as possible is critical. The plan should include goals, requirements for technology, and contact information. Furthermore, the plan should also include recovery procedures, rebuilding steps, mobile set-up plans, and tests.
Another aspect of crisis management is healthcare crisis management coverage. Insurance for emergency events covers potential damages to your hospital and your reputation or allows you to cover the costs of handling a disaster.
What Does Effective Leadership Look Like in a Crisis?
The medical facility must outline how to communicate during an incident. Which staff members will communicate with your patients, news media, or other organizations? Your organization must consider the audience when determining how to deliver a message. For example, if a natural disaster occurs in your area, the hospital can announce its number of patients. At the same time, leaders focus on providing quality care to a rising number of patients.
Communication Methods
There are various ways hospitals can reach their desired audience. While face-to-face communication is preferable in crisis management, the facility has options to handle communicating. Some examples include:
- Call centers
- Social media
- Corporate websites
- Press kits
- Presentations
When it comes to effective communication, be empathetic and honest. You need the public, patients, and stakeholders to view your facility as an authority in managing the crisis.
Communication Subjects
Identifying your audience is essential to tailoring your message during a crisis. Your first audience should be your patients and their loved ones. They need reassurance on how you plan to care for them and keep them safe. Next, if employees have safety concerns, communicate them clearly to your staff. Other audiences may include:
- Residents
- Corporate management
- Suppliers
- Government officials
- News media
Facilities that clearly outline how to handle communication during an incident tend to have an easier time drafting their responses to a crisis.
Crisis management refers to how your healthcare facility handles natural disasters, pandemics, emergencies, and other unforeseen events. With effective leadership, you can develop a disaster plan that covers a variety of worst-case scenarios.
About Connected Risk Solutions
At Connected Risk Solutions, we use our expertise and experience to provide insurance information and programs to those who serve long-term care and senior living facilities. Since 2007, we’ve been offering insurance and risk management plans designed to help our agents give their clients the ability to achieve continued growth while simultaneously protecting against loss, containing costs and increasing profitability. With three offices to serve you in Chicago, Illinois; Phoenix, Arizona; and Burlington, Connecticut, we do everything we can to make your experience with us as professional and transparent as possible. To learn more, contact us at (877) 890-9301.
