The Associated Press reported that a healthcare facility called Hacienda HealthCare in Arizona is in a bad PR crisis after it was reported in the media that one of its patients (an incapacitated intellectually disabled women), had allegedly been raped by a nurse working at the facility and gave birth to a baby. The nurse has been arrested and charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of vulnerable adult abuse, according to court records. Source: Hacienda Heights is a long-term care facility based in Arizona. The mission of the company is to provide housing and care for disabled residents and seniors. The stakeholders impacted include: other residents housed by the facility, the facilitys employees, families of the residents housed by the facility, the womans family, partners of the facility and the local community. The company is using social media and traditional press (press conferences, etc), to attempt to manage this PR crisis. The company issued a statement to the media in response to the allegations that said x, y and z. The company also released a statement over its Twitter and Facebook accounts that stated x. A press conference was also held by the local police department that said the facility was cooperating with local law enforcement. The public was encouraged to follow the companys website for the latest news and developments concerning the case. I think issuing a statement to the media and allowing the police department to hold their own press conference were both smart moves from a PR perspective. The companys statement was brief, but to the point and emphasized that the company understood the gravity of the situation, that they were working with local law enforcement and that they were putting new security measures in place to ensure the safety of other residents and to help ensure this wouldnt happen again. The company attempted to show empathy in its statement without saying too much that could potentially make them even more vulnerable in the event of a lawsuit. I think it was smart that the company stayed away from having its CEO participate in a press conference as it bought them more time to investigate the situation and how it could have happened. If I were the PR professional involved I would have also provided a tipline for concerned citizens to call if they had any additional questions, concerns, or tips related to this story of other concerns of abuse and/or neglect.
