Rhode Island Hospital's Response Seems Weak

Am I missing something? Nancy commented on my post below regarding Rhode Island Hospital, which operated on the wrong body part five times since 2007. Her link took me to an "Ask the president about patient safety at Rhode Island Hospital" site. There, the president defends the hospital for making mistakes. ("We perform about 25,000 surgeries annually and in each case, the physician is a competent and caring professional.") The hospital should have addressed the crisis before it was fined $150,000 and forced to add cameras in operating rooms and have clinicians observe the doctors.

I had knee surgery several years ago. My knee was marked with ink, and no less than three people verified that my right knee was indeed the right knee. There was no way the surgeon could have operated on the wrong body part. My point remains: Why didn't Rhode Island Hospital identify this smoldering crisis and change its procedures before a government agency told it to? And why isn't the hospital more aggressively reporting the actions taken than to simply post an obscure link to an ask-the-president site? Nancy, what does your crisis communications plan say about dealing with negative publicity such as this?

Rhode Island Hospital Caught Unprepared When Smoldering Crisis Ignited

I understand how one mistake can be called an anomaly. Two mistakes might be labeled an unfortunate coincidence. But by the time you screw up three, four, or five times, you should recognize the problem as a smoldering crisis.

Not so at Rhode Island Hospital, the largest in the state. It has been fined $150,000 for operating on the wrong body part five times since 2007. On top of the fine, Rhode Island Hospital must install video cameras in its operating rooms and have a clinician observe whether surgeons are marking operation sites. (http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/13703). This was the second such fine in as many years, said the Associated Press. The prior fine, for $50,000, was imposed following three wrong site neurosurgeries in 2007. According to state health director David Gifford, these are the only two fines ever issued by his department.

After the 2007 fine and two more mess-ups, the hospital was prepared to respond to inquiries, right? Wrong. "A spokeswoman for the hospital was not aware of the order and refused to comment." So the Associated Press knows about a state health order against the hospital before the hospital's spokesperson is made aware? Pitiful! Further, there is nothing on the hospital's web site explaining what measures are being taken, voluntary or otherwise, to ensure the right body parts of its patients are being operated on.

It appears no one responded appropriately to this smoldering crisis. Despite a fine two years ago, the crisis team was unprepared. Don't let this happen to you and your organization. Assess vulnerabilities. Be prepared to deal with them. Develop messages to key target audiences.

Recycling Is a Noble Act, Unless it Involves Recycling Unsafe Buses and Trucks

I wrote several posts in August 2008 about a pair of bus accidents, most notably one near Sherman, Texas. An Angel Bus Lines crash killed 17 people. Or was it an Iguala BusMex bus? Therein lies the problem, and the Government Accountability Office issued a report that the Angel/BusMex identity crisis is not unusual.

Hundreds of tractor trailer and bus companies, according to the report, ordered to shut down for violating federal safety standards, are reincarnated under the same management and use the same equipment but with a different name.(www.insurancejournl.com/news/national/2009/08/03/102684.html) Iguala BusMex was still waiting for its federal license after the government ordered Angel Bus Lines closed. The bus, carrying Vietnamese-American Catholics, blew a retreaded tire and slid off the road. Retreaded tires are illegal on buses. Angel de la Torre was the owner of both bus companies.

The GAO study found that close to 10% of the bus companies shut down for safety violations resurfaced with a new name. The violators had tens of thousands of unpaid fines for violations ranging from improper driver licensing to alcohol and drug use. Another 1,073 commercial trucking firms have used similar dirty tricks, using the same management, drivers, equipment, addresses, and contact information. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it has a number of new policies and procedures in place designed to catch these operators and get them off the road for good. But GAO responded that the federal agency doesn't even have the computer capability to weed out violators. About 300 people were killed in bus accidents last year. We can bet that more than 17 of them were riding reincarnated death traps.

What can we as communicators learn from this, other than don't take the bus? If you have responsibility for crisis communications at a charter bus service, trucking company, or even a school district that operates a bus fleet, prevent a smoldering crisis. It may be a challenge, but explore the history of your commercial organization. Was your company somebody else in a past life? Be sure to have statements ready in case a reporter sniffs around for a story. Be able to authenticate your genealogy and be ready to answer the questions you may be asked. Read the GAO report to ensure there's nothing there that could bite you. Peter DeFazio, D-OR, head of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, introduced a bill to "make sure these rouge operators don't rise from the dead." You need to determine the bill's status and its content. Most legislation like this goes too far and sweeps in honestly operated companies. Be familiar with your company's safety record and how it compares with the national average. If you are a communicator for a school district, get to know the head of your transportation department. Gain some understanding of the most important laws governing school buses, then keep your eyes open and your ears to the ground.

The best-managed crises are the ones that don't happen. Be ready for more scrutiny, which is pretty much inevitable.