b'COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGYCrisis communications: Lessons learnedBy Patrick NelsonW hen the pandemic hittrying to navigate an outbreak andlose the trust of your families thenlast March, we werekeep residents and staff safe.you have already lost the unprepared. Nationally, wecommunications battle. were short on personal protectiveThere is no one who believes equipment (PPE). In Ontario, we had acommunicating is more importantThe rule of no surprises is also testing regime that could not keep upthan providing care, but familiessignificant in a crisis, especially with demand. To top it off, our publiccant, and the media wont, wait.when dealing with family members. health system did not have the rightAfter a year of learning and helpingTransparency can be tough, especially data to know that COVID-19 wouldhomes manage through theirwhen mistakes have been made. But do the most devastation throughcommunications amid crisis, I offersharing information before it shows asymptomatic transmission, startingsome tips and lessons learned.up in the newspaper takes the sting with our long-term care homes.out of the criticism to come from the Families first, staff second naysayers. Transparency builds trust. From the outset, long-term careYour most important audience areAnd trust is the key to protecting your operators were short on resourcesresidents and their families. Thisrelationship with family members. and had the wrong direction from theis obvious, but too often we saw experts. By the time Canada, Ontarioadministrators overly focused onWe debated with several homes and Public Health caught up, it wasresponding to media rather than tothe merits of emails versus phone too late for hundreds of homes.families. With the media onslaughtcalls versus virtual townhalls. In the Operators were largely left to theirthat came in the spring, with reportersend, what matters most is that you own devices to find masks and tophoning in and cameras on the lawnscommunicate often, not what tool hire staff from wherever they couldof homes, who can blame an operatoryou use. In a perfect world, you have find them. Yet you persevered, evenfor fearing the consequences of notmonths to build out email lists beyond amid a barrage of criticism and blameresponding immediately to just the power of attorney, and to directed your way by government,every reporter? establish a regular newsletter or start unions and opposition parties.a Facebook page. Once the pandemic But families deserve to know beforeis over, take some time to audit your The unpreparedness, the lack ofthe media. Always. We found thatcommunications and survey your support and the devastation ultimatelywhen families were informed andfamilies to see what they prefer. In created a crisis and a communicationsresponded to quickly, they werethe meantime, pick a few lanes and challenge unlike any other. Imaginegenerally sympathetic and morebe clear and consistent. We found the challenge for a home, withoutunderstanding. Be relentless in yourthat a healthy balance of phone calls, a communications department, tocommunications with families. Tooemails and regular townhall meetings manage dozens of media calls whileoften is better than not enough. If youmade sense, with a leaning toward 26 LONG TERM CARE TODAY Spring/Summer 2021'