Feb. 8, 2008 at 2:34pm

When in crisis, think compassion-action-context

Posted by Kathleen Deakins in Internal Communications, Media Relations, Planning and Strategy
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“Dennis Quaid’s newborn babies were given a huge overdose of a drug two months ago at a hospital with a top-notch reputation.” So continues coverage in the LA Times of the tragic error.

It got me thinking about “deer in the headlights,” that stunned moment when you realize you or your reluctant exec has to step up to the mike. Now.

We have a mantra for times such as these: compassion-action-context. These three words are our formula for key messages in a crisis. They have helped us get through many a media storm, from a patient death to an explosion to a sex scandal.

Here’s how it’s worked for us:

Compassion. Research shows people discount what you say unless they know you care. Express genuine concern for the victim – and every crisis has a victim. This might sound like, “We feel terrible for the parents who are suffering from this tragedy,” or “Our employees are like family and there is nothing more important to us than their safety,” or “I apologize to everyone I’ve let down.”

If it is clear you screwed up, make a heartfelt apology. If that’s not appropriate or possible, you should still convey caring and concern.

This is your most important message. Repeat it throughout any interview.

Action. Next, get to the point and say what you’re doing now about the situation: “Specialists are treating the two children now and consulting with their parents and offering them support. We’re testing all patients on the floor to see if they may be affected. We’ll begin a thorough review soon, but our immediate concern is for the well-being of our patients and there families.” Another example: “We called the fire department immediately. We administered first aid to three of our employees on the scene, and we are now contacting their families. We have accounted for all of our employees and visitors and are notifying second shift not to report to work.”

Other actions you might include are: “We’re changing our procedures so medication doses are confirmed by a second professional.” or “We’re holding monthly fire drills.” or “We’ve formed a special task force to evaluate…”

The compassion-action-context formula can be effective in media statements, letters to victims, op-eds, conversations with employees, and other communications. How detailed to get is a judgment call and, of course, patient privacy must be respected.

In the case of the Quaid children, Dr. Michael L. Langberg, Chief Medical Officer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, was quite specific and detailed about action steps in a statement:

“The error was identified by Cedars-Sinai staff, who immediately performed blood tests on the patients to measure blood clotting function. Four additional patients in the unit were tested as a precaution. The tests indicated that four of the seven patients had normal blood clotting function…. Doctors continue to monitor the patients.”

Context. This one can be tricky to avoid sounding defensive, so keep it last. An MSNBC account of the Quaid babies’ overdose provides a great example: “How to battle drug errors is a particularly vexing issue because of the sheer volume and complexity of today’s medications. There are more than 10,000 prescription drugs on the market, and 300,000 over-the-counter products.” You might follow such a context statement with, “Still, even a single overdose is unacceptable.”

Other kinds of context messages might begin: “In my 25 years working here…,” “Of course we know that any surgery presents a risk and we perform 1,800 per year, even once in 1,800 is too often,” “As I look around at this devastation I am grateful there was no loss of life and that our 235 employees are safe.”

While there is no cure for that “deer in the headlights” feeling, we’ve found compassion-action-context to be an effective treatment. Here’s hoping you do, too.

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