Chapter 9 - Pivoting from Crisis Management to Recovery

Summary

When health threats are mitigated, the emergency moves into what is known as the "recovery phase." During the recovery phase health officials communicate that the health threat has been mitigated and that the community will move toward a "new normal," express empathy, and continue to state the agency’s commitment to the community. Additionally, the health agency can engage in educating the public about lessons learned during the health response and how to prepare for future emergencies. This chapter outlines how to engage with policymakers after a health emergency. The chapter describes the importance of memorials during the recovery phase and how public health agencies can support communities that want to memorialize large-scale health emergencies. It will also address how agency leadership engages with staff as response operations de-escalate and surge staff return to their regular public health work. The chapter provides practical tips on how to write recovery messages and provides quick response communication planning and implementation steps such as identifying communication objectives, audiences, key messages, and channels and developing communication products/materials. This chapter also includes key tips related to spokespeople, partner agencies, and call centers to ensure message consistency is achieved during the response. Mindfulness is highlighted. A student case study analyzes the COVID-19 outbreak in Georgia using the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication framework. Reflection questions are included at the end of the chapter.