When Is a Crisis a Crisis?

There's one thing that seems to be on everyone's mind recently: Ebola. Ebola is a very serious illness that is causing serious problems. I am not here to talk about the illness itself though, I am here to talk about Ebola crisis plans.

Ebola has finally set foot in the United States and it is scaring people everywhere. Hospitals have more people coming in afraid that they have Ebola because of symptoms that may just be from the common cold. With this very serious illness going around, it is important for places to have a crisis plan set in place in case someone acquires Ebola in their vicinity.

The only question about this is, does everyone need a crisis plan? My stepfather is manager of a state park in Indiana and he was recently asked my a camper if he had an Ebola crisis plan. Is it really important for a state park to have a crisis plan for Ebola? I would say yes. It is important that employees and visitors of the park know what to do if Ebola finds its way into the state park.

There should be a plan for everything. Recently, residents of Putnam County were in a bridal shop at the same time a woman with Ebola was there. After finding this information out, Putnam County gathered in a meeting to figure out what their plan of action would be about this situation. If they had jumped on the unfolding crisis before realizing that it could actually hit that close to home, they would have been more prepared.

So the question is, when is a crisis a crisis and should everyone have a plan for it? The answer is yes! If there is one major take away from public relations, it is to be prepared for anything.