Approach
• Empathy‐first messaging
• Cross‐functional team coordination
• Scenario planning
• Cross‐functional team coordination
• Scenario planning
Outcomes
• Senior living COVID-19 comms garnered positive coverage and trust
• Partnership announcement executed seamlessly across three organizations
• Cancer center legal dispute managed to stabilize reputation
• Partnership announcement executed seamlessly across three organizations
• Cancer center legal dispute managed to stabilize reputation
Deliverables
• Crisis plans with holding statements and rapid-response messaging
• Media strategy and press-event support
• Internal toolkits, FAQs and rumor tracking
• Media strategy and press-event support
• Internal toolkits, FAQs and rumor tracking
Healthcare is an ever-changing and complex industry, combining innovation and growth with significant societal impact and influence. The sensitive, targeted and timely nature of the industry makes healthcare organizations highly susceptible to crisis situations.
Over the past 61 years, Franco has worked with many healthcare clients to develop strategic crisis communications plans to help de-escalate, correct or manage reputation impacting issues.
While each situation is unique, our approach to managing crises for healthcare clients is consistent – with empathy, honesty and courage at the forefront. Some of our crisis communications work for healthcare clients has included:
- Franco supports crisis communications for one of Michigan’s largest senior living communities. Our work included communicating ever-changing protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic, responding to health-related allegations made by grieving families and rapid-response support during health-based emergencies.
- Our team led PR strategy for a complex partnership announcement between a Michigan-based health system, a comprehensive cancer institute and a leading research university. For weeks ahead of the public announcement (and prior to the deal closing), Franco worked confidentially behind the scenes to align these three high-profile organizations (and their leaders) around a cohesive message strategy. Franco worked with communicators from each organization on a media strategy that included a major press event with a very short lead time. Franco developed remarks for the press conference and subsequent interviews, produced the event, managed media attendees and conducted comprehensive follow-up. Franco also advised on the employee communications plan to ensure alignment with the external announcement.
- We counseled one of Michigan’s comprehensive cancer centers in a public legal battle with one of its hospital partners. Franco worked closely with the communications and legal teams to create appropriate responses to media inquiries surrounding the lawsuit and eventual settlement.
- Franco led a (behind-the-scenes) PR strategy for a major healthcare system during a very long and public contract dispute with one of Michigan’s largest insurers. When Franco’s client decided to take the negotiation public, Franco counseled on messaging and media strategy, working closely with the system’s CEO, CMO and legal team.
- We’ve counseled a Michigan-based healthcare system during the unexpected departure of one of its key executives. This included rapid response message development for internal and external stakeholders, managing media inquiries and tracking online speculation and conversations.
