Hcs 320 - Communication Crisis Paper

Crisis Communication Paper

Nishele Burnett

HCS 320

01/15/2016

Marina Voronin

Crisis Communication Paper

Currently, we reside in a world where we are continuously on security alerts.  Certain groups of people, abroad and within our own borders, strive to attack us on a regular basis.  The motivation behind these attacks can be political gains, religious beliefs or someone who has a grievance and feels the need to seek damaging retribution while gaining media attention.  Despite the reasons for such attacks or threats, they do occur, and our government officials must immediately notify the public of such threats and attacks.  The United States is enclosed by major oceans, lakes, rivers, dams, reservoirs, and streams.  These bodies of water are susceptible to contamination attacks through acts of terrorism or human, animal, and nuclear wastes.  The public has to be informed of these events particularly if they involve public drinking water.  The following paragraphs will examine these threats, how emergency management officials respond to such threats/attacks, and how they communicate with the public about these events. The role of news media, social media, and communication responses during crisis situations will also be explored.  

                        The Real Hazard to Drinking Water

The water supply in the United States is utilized by almost every part of our industrialized society, and because of this it is a potential target for terrorist activity (Meinhardt, 2005).  A disruption of any kind of water supply can have a significant impact on our society.  Additionally, an attack of any manner on the water supply can lead to serious medical and public health issues.  With the limited training of physicians and other health care professionals to recognize and respond to such occurrences can also have catastrophic consequences and effects on the nation’s public health (Meinhardt, 2005).

                        Emergency Management

Public health officials and other government agencies play a vital role by educating the public that such events could occur and are likely to occur as a way to diminish the impact of such an attack.  Despite the severity of the threat or attack, proper management and disease diagnosis and medical care by the physicians and other public health professionals will reconcile matters between a potential terrorist attack and a major public health crisis.  “Early recognition, timely outbreak investigations, accurate diagnosis, and conscientious reporting by the medical and public health community of suspected waterborne terrorism disease cases will be essential to maintaining water security and safety” (Meinhardt, 2005).