Communication During the Sheboygan TB Outbreak

1. Communication During the Sheboygan TB Outbreak

2. Steps Taken • Looked for lessons learned: Appleton Health Dept. • Met with SASD Administration: Set up a plan • Met with faculty in the AM • Drafted parent letters for that afternoon • Met with local media: Requested embargo until end of school day • Extra “on-call” nurses were in place and a scripted hotline was set up for overflow calls. • Briefed United Way 2-1-1 Fox Cities to assist with overflow and afterhours calls.

3. Consistently communicated through school, medical providers, media and public health All parents received a letter and a TB teaching sheet. Parents of contacts were sent a separate letter with a teaching sheet. They were told a phone call was coming. Letters were shared with local health care providers along with an update on the contact investigation plans. The teaching sheet and TB talking points were shared with Public Health staff, 2-1-1 and a version “in layman's terms”was shared with media.

4. After the release Parents • The next day, 8 calls came into public health • Less than 10 were fielded at SASD • No calls to 2-1-1. Media • Approximately 15 minutes after the online release of the Sheboygan Press article, Milwaukee TV affiliates were calling for interviews. • An hour after release, camera crews were in the lobby.

5. Response Scheduled a joint press conference with SASD Superintendent, School Nurse and Medical Director, County Health Officer and Program Supervisor

6. Lessons Learned • Build trust with repetitive messages through multiple sources • Timing is everything • The internet and social media speed up the message. Be ready to respond as soon as the story breaks. • It worked well the first time, when more cases were identified, this process repeated itself.