Situation Analysis:
Long-term care facilities have been hit especially hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Arkansas Health Care Association (AHCA), the association that represents long-term care facilities in Arkansas, began preparing in February 2020 when the first positive case was confirmed at a Washington state facility. It was a matter of when, rather than if COVID-19 would occur in Arkansas. It was necessary for AHCA to act swiftly to plan safety, prevention and communications protocols. AHCA engaged MHP/Team SI to begin working on a crisis communications strategy. Fortunately for Arkansas, the first COVID-19 positive case did not occur in a long-term care facility until March 2020.
Evaluation:
There has been no shortage of challenges dealing with COVID-19. It has been a continuous struggle to prevent the spread of misinformation, including among media outlets. Human error, combined with a fluid and rapidly changing environment present constant daily challenges. Due to our proactive communications efforts with families and employees, oftentimes when family members are contacted by the media, relatives provide positive feedback on how the facility is handling COVID-19 and emphasize that their loved ones are receiving the highest-quality of care.
Additionally, our proactive media efforts forged long-lasting media relationships. Because of our approach, the media have come to call on AHCA and MHP/Team SI for all long-term care facility information. We have created an open and transparent relationship with media that has helped mitigate negative news coverage.
