One of the most challenging moments in the more than 50 year history of Kent Hospital, a 359-bed regional medical center serving central and southern Rhode Island, came on the night of February 20, 2003. It was the night of The Station nightclub fire – one of the nation’s worst fire tragedies. The importance of emergency communication planning was brought home that night and during the days that followed. The hospital’s disaster plan enabled the entire staff to respond in a timely and effective manner to scores of critically injured patients. The communications component helped the hospital to respond to a deluge of contacts by local, regional, national and international news media. Since then, we have used our experience to enhance disaster communications and we continue to refine them as we address new emergency situations.

The key is planning. Our strategies cover natural and man-made disasters and use the Incident Command System (ICS) model that places public information at the command staff level. Although no plan can envision every situation, the key is be prepared but be flexible.

In addition to the presence of the Public Information Officer (PIO) in the ICS, Kent uses a separate area for public relations staffed by an administrative assistant who fields incoming media calls (as well as those from the community at large). The hospital has a stand-by ICS location and stand-by PR area in the event the primary sites cannot be used. The PR Department at Kent has assembled a disaster response kit which includes Nextel phones, two-way radios, laptop computers and other communications support devices. In short, we are completely mobile. In the event of a disaster code, we activate a community hotline for outgoing messages. Our website can post emergency related messages for easy community access. To handle a large volume of calls, the department can call on other support areas, such as the Fund Development and Education offices as needed.

On the night of The Station fire, the PIO was initially supported by an experienced PR Specialist and administrative assistant with other departments providing phone bank coverage. As the disaster elevated, communications professionals from our system hospitals provided additional on-site 24 hour coverage. (For a smaller, free-standing hospital, it is suggested that arrangements be sought with another agency to assist with long term disaster situations).

Kent Hospital has excellent working relationships with local/regional print and electronic media and this has been very helpful in an emergent situation. The TV stations know where they can position their uplink vehicles for clear microwave or satellite transmission. We have a pop-up tent that can be placed in an outside media holding area (away from patient/visitor entrances). This keeps the media in a central location, but still lets them do their job. In the event of exceptionally inclement weather, we use a standby interior location for media briefings. According to the level of the disaster, briefing schedules are created to assist the media in keeping up to date. We also have a group of clinicians trained in media response. At all times, the mandates of HIPAA are respected with the understanding that public emergencies allow for some relaxation in communication of patient identities. However, our patients’ privacy comes first and we are judicious in responding to interview requests, always working first through the attending physician.

Timely, accurate, credible updates are the key in a disaster situation. As noted, when dealing with a longer term situation, it is useful to provide the media with access to food, sanitary facilities, parking, power and security. The means that other departments need to incorporate these elements into their planning.

We parallel external communications with meeting our staffs need to know. We use e-mail, blast fax and voice mail and printed updates distributed by messenger if and as needed. We also have a dedicated emergency hotline for staff communication. We set communications schedules depending on the length and severity of the issue- ranging from hourly to shift-by-shift as appropriate.

You can’t plan for everything. But, regular drills help to hone skills and identify new needs. It’s important not to go it alone and to avoid burnout. Train backup and support staff to assist the PIO during long duration events. Every mass casualty incident or disaster will be different. A well-trained team is critical. Unexpected problems can arise, but with a flexible plan, you’ll be able to do what is right. As General Dwight Eisenhower once said, “In preparing for battle I have always found plans useless, but planning indispensable.”

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