Overview: A crisis in healthcare can cause damaging reactions, leaving affected audiences seeking information immediately. In this milestone, you will prepare a corporate press release in response to a healthcare crisis. 

Prompt: For this scenario, you will select a hospital or healthcare entity and outline the organization’s strategic efforts in the wake of a healthcare crisis. The press release will be issued by you in your role as the organization’s Public Information Officer and official spokesperson and contact. The press release will follow standard practices and be formatted for ease of digital transmission. 

In your release, you will provide a press release update in response to media inquiries regarding one of the following situations: 

1. A recently admitted patient has been diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), a respiratory infection caused by coronavirus and related to severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS virus. A hospital employee has since fallen ill. The public and hospital patients are concerned about their safety and the spread of this illness. 

2. The hospital’s patient database has been hacked and confidential doctor-patient information has been compromised. The discovery was made two hours ago, and the hospital is working diligently to assess the situation and comprehend the depth of the breach regarding personal identification and patient credit card information. Information was leaked to the press by an anonymous hospital source. Therefore, media teams are requesting confirmation or denial of the situation, as well as a status update. 

In support of your selection, you will offer the facts, a status update, and the necessary steps that are currently underway to address the situation. You will include a quote from the Senior Vice President/Chief Clinical Officer, the hospital’s top ranking official. The release will be shared with media teams, posted to the hospital’s website, and shared via social media platforms to offer transparency. 

As you create your press release, be sure to consider the following guiding questions: 

• Which strategic communication solution(s) will you use to address all of the critical issues of the selected situation? 
• How will you address the claims made by the hospital in your communication response of the selected scenario? 
• Does your press release format include all the necessary components within industry standards?
• How does the articulation of your response meet the ability to distribute your communication via multiple media platforms? 

Guidelines for Submission:  The paper must address the practice of contemporary communication and proper mass media format, be double-spaced with 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and must be cited in APA format.  Press release format must align with industry standards and include components of a modern-day press release. 

• Quote by high ranking official should be included in the press release. 
• Press release format succinctly aligns with industry standards. 
• Clearly analyzes the  communication framework for delivery of ethical, targeted messaging solutions.