Grantham

General Baby
Crisis
Kaitlyn OConnor

Grantham General
Located in Grantham, Pennsylvania
One of the largest hospitals in central PA
Over 100 highly qualified doctors
Close to 50 births a week

The Crisis
Two women were discharge from the

mother/infant unit with the wrong children

Mix up discovered two days later when the

name on the wristband was incorrect

Confirmed based on two separate footprint

match ups

The Crisis
One of the mothers spoke to the media:

The hospital has not been cooperative as

my rightful child has not been returned

Real reason for the delay: The other mother

refuses to return the baby, claiming she has

already bonded with him

Plan of Action
Start investigating how this occurred

Question staff members involved

Apologize
Maintain communication with families

involved

Return babies to the rightful parents as

soon as possible

Plan of Action
Prevent information about the mother

refusing to return the baby from reaching

the public

Compensate the families involved,

recognize their needs

Could We Have
Prepared?
Yes, to an extent
Crisis plans for any potential situation
Difficult to put into action because of the

peculiarity of the specific scenario

This has never happened before, plan has

never been tested

Key Stakeholders
Moms and family involved
Staff members
Regular patients
The Media

First: Moms
First to be reached, closest to the crisis,

most emotional damage

Face-to-face meeting with doctor and

nurses involved

More personal and sincere, shows that the

doctors and nurses care

Second: Hospital Staff

The staff is a team, need to be informed
Staff meeting to discuss the situation
Best way to communicate with assurance

that the whole hospital will know

Familiar form of communication

Third: Our Patients

All the regular patients from the past 5

years

Mass phone automated message

Guarantees that everyone will hear the

message

Patients should hear right from the hospital

hopefully before the media

Goal: maintain loyalty and trust

Fourth: Media
Immediate press conference following the

mothers statement

Shows concern, sense of urgency

Hospital recognizes the seriousness of the

situation

Important to keep the media notified to

maintain control over public opinion

Apologia Theory
The organizations effort may deny,

explain, or apologize for the action through

communication discourse (Fearn-Banks 17)

Issue an apology but deny rumors about the

mom who refuses to return the baby

Conciliation: admitting guilt, apologizing,

asking for forgiveness from publics (FearnBanks 17)

Key Initial Messages

Moms:
We are deeply sorry, we want to make it right
Take full responsibility
We are working on a solution
They are our first priority

Key Initial Messages

Staff
Unity, we are seeking support and

understanding
Our plan of action
What role the staff plays in the plan
How to communicate with the media (what is
okay and not okay to say)

Key Initial Messages

Patients
This is very atypical of our hospital
We are very sorry for damaging their trust
We are actively working on a solution

Key Initial Messages

The Media
Similar to patients
We are typically a very reputable hospital that

can be trusted
We are sorry that we have let the public down
We are taking steps in the right direction
This will never happen again