By: Lisa Alredge Powell, President Now that we’ve all debated the crazy meanings of Blue Ivy Carter -- the name of Jay-Z and Beyonce’s new baby (in case you’ve been under a rock) -- how crazy must it have been for hospital personnel at New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital? It’s been reported that the celebrity couple rented out, redecorated and sealed off an entire hospital wing for a large sum of money. However, the hospital denies that and told TMZ that the couple is housed in one of their executive suites. Regardless of the situation, other maternity patients aren’t feeling star-struck and this is creating a public relations issue for the hospital. A non-celebrity dad of twins told WPIX-TV that bodyguards prevented him from seeing his premature twin baby girls who were in the NICU. The dad says guards stopped him from entering and exiting the NICU and also cleared out the waiting room, kicking out his relatives. The TMZ story says other new moms are complaining and may file a lawsuit against the hospital. When working with a celebrity anything can happen, but let’s be honest, it’s not like Beyonce going into labor was a surprise. While she and Jay-Z were planning for the arrival of their baby, we can only hope the hospital used that time to make plans as well. If the couple had time to redecorate a wing for the birth, the hospital should have had time to plan for the care of other patients -- or at least make sure they don’t complain to the media. I haven’t worked with Lenox Hill Hospital, but I have worked with some of the top medical institutions in the country in my job as owner of MediaSource. Most of us in PR won’t be responsible for handling the birth of a hip hop princess, but we will likely have other crisis issues to handle. Here are some tips so you don’t have to deal with “99 Problems,” as Jay-Z himself says. MEDIA CRISIS PLANNING 1. Create crisis plan - Map out your overall plan and assign your team. 2. Identify talking points - Create your key messages including the tough questions. 3. Train spokesperson - Assign designated spokesperson(s) and make sure they are properly media trained. Even a veteran spokesperson can benefit from a media training refresher. Non-spokespersons who provide information to the media should also be aware and trained on the messaging. 4. Create multimedia materials - Create as much of the multimedia press materials as possible before the event or crisis. This may include fact sheets, press releases, photos, B-roll footage and video interviews. Lisa Arledge Powell is the President of MediaSource, a multimedia production and media relations company that works with many of the nation’s top hospitals and healthcare organizations, getting their message out to the masses.
By: Lisa Alredge Powell, President
Now that we’ve all debated the crazy meanings of Blue Ivy Carter -- the name of Jay-Z and Beyonce’s new baby (in case you’ve been under a rock) -- how crazy must it have been for hospital personnel at New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital? It’s been reported that the celebrity couple rented out, redecorated and sealed off an entire hospital wing for a large sum of money. However, the hospital denies that and told TMZ that the couple is housed in one of their executive suites. Regardless of the situation, other maternity patients aren’t feeling star-struck and this is creating a public relations issue for the hospital. A non-celebrity dad of twins told WPIX-TV that bodyguards prevented him from seeing his premature twin baby girls who were in the NICU. The dad says guards stopped him from entering and exiting the NICU and also cleared out the waiting room, kicking out his relatives. The TMZ story says other new moms are complaining and may file a lawsuit against the hospital. When working with a celebrity anything can happen, but let’s be honest, it’s not like Beyonce going into labor was a surprise. While she and Jay-Z were planning for the arrival of their baby, we can only hope the hospital used that time to make plans as well. If the couple had time to redecorate a wing for the birth, the hospital should have had time to plan for the care of other patients -- or at least make sure they don’t complain to the media. I haven’t worked with Lenox Hill Hospital, but I have worked with some of the top medical institutions in the country in my job as owner of MediaSource. Most of us in PR won’t be responsible for handling the birth of a hip hop princess, but we will likely have other crisis issues to handle. Here are some tips so you don’t have to deal with “99 Problems,” as Jay-Z himself says. MEDIA CRISIS PLANNING 1. Create crisis plan - Map out your overall plan and assign your team. 2. Identify talking points - Create your key messages including the tough questions. 3. Train spokesperson - Assign designated spokesperson(s) and make sure they are properly media trained. Even a veteran spokesperson can benefit from a media training refresher. Non-spokespersons who provide information to the media should also be aware and trained on the messaging. 4. Create multimedia materials - Create as much of the multimedia press materials as possible before the event or crisis. This may include fact sheets, press releases, photos, B-roll footage and video interviews. Lisa Arledge Powell is the President of MediaSource, a multimedia production and media relations company that works with many of the nation’s top hospitals and healthcare organizations, getting their message out to the masses.