by Christina Crowe

On July 26, 2023, the UAB Department of Pathology welcomed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Crisis + Emergency Risk Communications team to host a day-long training session on crisis communications. The event was organized by the UAB Pathology communications team, Christina Crowe, Director, and Hannah Buckelew, Specialist, and included communications and administrative leaders from across campus, including the Heersink School of Medicine, the University Relations team, UAB Medicine communications teams, and Employee Assistance Counseling Center, among others.

The event was sponsored by the department as a professional development opportunity to engage our teams to be better prepared in the event of a crisis. We even had the pleasure of a break-time visit from a Hand in Paws volunteer dog and her handler to stop by for a moment of wellness.

Lisa Briseno, Health Communication Specialst, Noelle Kachinsky, MBA, Health Communication Specialist, and Ren Travis, post-grad fellow with the Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education (ORISE), joined us for a full-day workshop in the West Pavilion Conference center where we learned about the "CERC Rhythm" of how to address and implement best practices for communications in the face of a crisis situation. Attendees worked in small groups to work through a simulation of a crisis situation and develop action plans for a response. Each attendee received a certificate of completion at the program's conclusion.

“Participants were really engaged. They seemed excited to apply what they learned in the Introduction to Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication training in their careers at UAB. Our team truly appreciated how enthusiastic the participants were. It made for a fantastic class,” said CERC Program Leader Lisa Briseño.

We are grateful to the department for sponsoring this event, and to our colleagues for joining us for this important learning opportunity.