TCIP #020 – Managing The Ebola Crisis With Bill Boyd

Welcome to episode #020 of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast, with Melissa Agnes and Bill Boyd

As the Ebola crisis continues to make waves in the United States and around the world, the CDC, government, hospitals and countless others are being looked to to lead the public through this epidemic. With this responsibility comes the need for effective, credible and authoritative crisis leadership.

In fact, this Ebola crisis presents two severe issues that absolutely need to be addressed and managed proactively:

The first is the actual management and containment of Ebola. This includes caring for those infected and containing the disease before it escalates into a global pandemic.

The second is Fearbola. Fearbola is the irrational fear associated with Ebola, which can quickly escalate into panic, spiralling out of control and creating a crisis within the crisis.

Who is responsible for managing Ebola and Fearbola?

Within this episode of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast, Bill Boyd and I discuss the current state of the Ebola crisis and how the CDC, hospitals and government are fairing in their crisis communication and overall management of this escalating epidemic. In our discussion, we analyze the many aspects of this emergency, including:

The lack of preparedness in hospital attendants and first responders, not to mention the fact that the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital was quoted saying that they “had to learn on the fly” how to properly care for Thomas Eric Duncan (patient zero), who later died in their care and who managed to spread the disease to two nurses who were caring for him. We discuss what the CDC and the hospitals themselves need to be doing right now to address this concern and prevent something like this from happening again. Bill and I go into detail of what should be happening internally in every hospital across the country – and the world – including what their responsibility is versus what the CDC’s responsibility is in addressing, preparing for and actively managing this crisis.

We discuss how Frontier Airlines and the Boston Public Health Commission have gone above and beyond to keep the public safe – and how other organizations, private and governmental, need to start taking a similar and proactive approach in their communications and precautionary measures.

Who should listen to this podcast?

Whether you work for a city, a hospital, the government or a public or private organization, this is a podcast that you don’t want to miss. It’s filled with answers to many questions, as well as tips, strategies and “must do’s” when it comes to your crisis prevention and crisis management – whether your organization is touched by Ebola or not.

This episode of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast discusses:

• The current state of Ebola and its escalation as a global crisis.
• Fearbola: What it is and how to prevent and manage it.
• What hospitals and city officials need to be doing now, across the nation, to prevent Fearbola and instil trust and credibility within their communities.
• A thorough analysis of the CDC’s crisis management and crisis communication within this epidemic.
• The impact of the media sensationalism around Ebola, and how to get ahead of the stories to become the narrative of this crisis.

Running time: 1:01:02

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Learn more about Melissa Agnes
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Learn more about Agnes + Day, The Crisis Intelligence Firm.

Learn more about Bill Boyd on LinkedIn
Check out Bill’s awesome blog: www.chiefb2.com
Follow Bill on Twitter: @chiefb2
Send Bill an email: chiefb22enator@gmail.com

Here’s a link to Fox’s Shepard Smith Blasting the Media For “Hysterical,” “Irresponsible” Ebola Coverage, that Bill and I discuss within this podcast.

Thanks to Bill for having this important discussion with me!