Catastrophic crisis communication: a study of hospital crisis planning following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks

The purpose of this study was to determine whether hospitals in southern New Jersey and throughout the United States were prepared to respond to catastrophic crisis situations and find out if hospitals have changed or improved crisis plans since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. To examine preparedness and improvement of crisis plans since September 11, 2001, the researcher employed qualitative and quantitative studies. The researcher conducted in-depth personal interviews with public relations specialists from four southern New Jersey hospitals and sent email surveys to 40 hospitals throughout the United States to find out if these facilities felt prepared to respond to catastrophic crises and see if their crisis plans have been changed or improved since September 11, 2001. Findings of the study indicate that hospitals in southern New Jersey and throughout the United States do feel prepared to respond to catastrophic crisis. In addition, many hospitals update crisis plans on a regular basis