Lessons Learned from Hospital Incident Command Centers During COVID-19
No one in health care communications could have predicted the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact, not only on our way of life, but the day-to-day function of our hospital systems. While the pandemic took many of us by surprise, most healthcare systems and organizations opened up incident command centers to navigate the crisis – to make decisions about PPE, working from home, communicating new policies with employees, canceling and reinstating elective surgeries to instituting new protocols on how to treat COVID-19 positive patients.
Hear from two incident command Public Information Officers about communicating during a time of crisis and hear about their lessons learned in healthcare communications during the pandemic. Also, come prepared to ask questions and share you own stories from working in healthcare in 2020. Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare External Affairs and Media Relations Manager in St. Paul Nick Hanson and Chief Experience Officer of River’s Edge Hospital in St. Peter Stephanie Holden will share their experiences from a rural and urban perspective during this chaotic time.
Speakers
Stephanie Holden
Stephanie Holden is the Chief Experience Officer at River’s Edge Hospital. For the past 6 years she has been serving as the marketing director and public information officer. She also leads the organization’s strategic planning, patient experience program, volunteer program, community advisory council, and oversees the hospital’s dining services department. Prior to joining River’s Edge Hospital, Stephanie spent 17 years in the newspaper industry, with 14 of those years as the publisher/editor of three community newspapers in southern Minnesota.
Nick Hanson
Nick Hanson has been working in healthcare communications for nearly 15 years at institutions including the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center, Mayo Clinic and most recently in his current role at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare -- where he manages media and social strategy. Hanson has expertise in crisis communication, public affairs campaigns, social media strategy and management, media relations and digital strategy. He has led media and social media campaigns that have resonated across the globe. Hanson has also spent time in the agency world as a digital strategist
Minnesota Health Strategy and Communications Network c/o Minnesota Hospital Association Capitol Ridge Building, 161 Saint Anthony Avenue, Suite 915, Saint Paul, MN 55103
