Health care organizations rally to dispense COVID-19 information

As coronavirus COVID-19 spreads worldwide, hospitals and health care communicators face a challenge of their own: informing employees and the public amid widespread alarm.

The heavy lifting is being done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with federal officials Monday urging the public to visit a Cornavirus.gov URL that links to the CDC website.

However, health care organizations, too, are upping their game as they seek to prevent the spread of misinformation.

“Fear is spreading faster than the virus,” Mary Renouf-Hanson, associate vice president of social and influencer strategy for Providence St. Joseph Health in Renton, Washington, said in a statement. “The best thing we can do is educate people on the virus, the symptoms, the risk factors, what to do to avoid exposure, and what to do if you think you’ve been exposed.”