| Course | NURS 6730 Public Health Nursing Leadership |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 9 |
| Paper type | Communication plan |
| Length | About 1,030 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for NURS 6730 Week 9
Who Hears First: A Communication Plan for Consolidating a Satellite Clinic in the Smallest County
Student Name
College of Nursing, Walden University
NURS 6730: Public Health Nursing Leadership
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Who Hears First: A Communication Plan for Consolidating a Satellite Clinic in the Smallest County
The Decision Being Communicated
At its last meeting the board of the composite three-county health district voted to close the satellite clinic in the smallest county and move its services to the office in the county seat, about 30 miles away, at the end of the next quarter. The satellite has been open two days a week for immunizations, WIC appointments and communicable disease follow-up. The decision followed the loss of the state grant that paid the satellite's lease and one nurse's time, and the board found no flexible money to replace it. Home visiting in the smallest county continues unchanged, and WIC families there will be offered remote appointments where program rules allow.
This plan does not revisit the decision. Its purpose is to make sure that every group affected hears the news accurately, from someone it trusts, in an order that does not leave anyone learning it secondhand.
Principles
Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication describes principles for communicating under threat, including being first, being right and being credible (Reynolds & Seeger, 2005). A planned clinic closure is unwelcome but is not a crisis, so this plan borrows only the principle of being first: people who hear bad news from the agency itself, early, are more likely to trust what it says next. Covello (2003) adds that the agency should accept the public as a partner, acknowledge uncertainty and speak with compassion, which shapes the tone of every message below.
The plan also treats staff as the first audience. Internal communication research argues that employees are a stakeholder group of their own and that leaders who inform them late lose their trust and their help in explaining change to others (Welch & Jackson, 2007). District nurses will be asked about the closure by patients and neighbors within hours of any announcement.
Sequence
Table 1 lists audiences in the order they will be told. All steps after the first take place within 48 hours, so no audience waits long enough to hear from another source.
Table 1
Sequence of Notification
| Order | Audience | Messenger | Channel | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Satellite and county seat nursing and WIC staff | Health officer and nursing supervisor | In person, satellite break room | Morning after the vote |
| 2 | Commissioners of the affected county | Health officer | Phone call, then letter | Same day |
| 3 | Commissioners of the other two counties | Health officer | Email with the letter attached | Same day |
| 4 | Critical access hospital and two family practices | Nursing supervisor | Phone call to each manager | Next morning |
| 5 | School nurses and the resettlement agency liaison | Nursing supervisor | Email and a scheduled call | Next morning |
| 6 | Residents | Health officer | Weekly newspaper article and regional radio interview | Next publication and broadcast |
| 7 | Dairy workers and their families | Bilingual WIC clerk | Spanish-language flyers posted at employers that agree, and in person at WIC visits | Same week |
Staff hear first and in person because they will carry the news further than any release. Commissioners follow the same day so no elected official learns it from a constituent. Partners who refer patients hear before the public so they can answer questions accurately.
Messages and Objections
Each audience's message was drafted from the objection it is most likely to raise first, not from what the district most wants to say.
Table 2
Message Grid by Audience
| Audience | Likely first objection | Response |
|---|---|---|
| Staff | Is my job ending? | No position is being eliminated; the satellite nurse moves to the county seat, and mileage is reimbursed during the transition. |
| Affected county commissioners | Our county pays levy and gets less. | Home visiting stays, and the district will report quarterly on service use by county so the commission can see what residents receive. |
| Hospital and practices | Where do we send patients now? | A one-page referral sheet lists the new location, hours, phone line and remote WIC option. |
| Residents | Thirty miles is too far. | Home visits continue, WIC can be done remotely for many families, and the county seat clinic adds one evening a month. |
| Dairy workers | Can I get there on my schedule? | The evening clinic and remote WIC appointments are offered first, in Spanish. |
Every response states something the district will actually do. None promises that the satellite might reopen, because nothing in the budget supports that promise.
Channels That Fit the Audience
Channels were chosen for where each group already gets information. The smallest county has a weekly newspaper read by most older residents and a regional radio station with a morning agriculture program; a release posted only on the district website would reach neither. Many dairy workers do not read English-language news and may be wary of government offices, so flyers are posted at employers only with the employer's agreement, and the bilingual WIC clerk, whom many families already know, explains the change in person. Translating an English release after the fact would reach this group late and in a voice it does not trust.
Holding Statement
If the news appears before the sequence is complete, the health officer will use one statement: "The board voted to consolidate the satellite clinic's services into the county seat office at the end of next quarter, after the state grant that funded the site ended. Home visits in the county will continue. We are contacting staff, partners and families directly this week, and residents can call the district's main line with questions."
Feedback and Limits
A dedicated voicemail box and a comment form at the satellite collect questions for the remaining weeks, and the nursing supervisor reviews them twice weekly and posts answers to common questions in the newspaper's community column. The district will report to the board after one quarter on the number of smallest-county residents seen at the county seat, by service, compared with the satellite's last quarter.
The plan also states what the district will not promise: it will not promise to reopen the satellite, will not promise transportation it cannot fund and will not describe the change as an improvement. Saying plainly that residents lose something is more credible than a message that pretends otherwise, and it leaves the district able to be believed the next time it has news.
References
Covello, V. T. (2003). Best practices in public health risk and crisis communication. Journal of Health Communication, 8(Suppl. 1), 5-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/713851971
Reynolds, B., & Seeger, M. W. (2005). Crisis and emergency risk communication as an integrative model. Journal of Health Communication, 10(1), 43-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730590904571
Welch, M., & Jackson, P. R. (2007). Rethinking internal communication: A stakeholder approach. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 12(2), 177-198. https://doi.org/10.1108/13563280710744847
Reading the NURS 6730 Week 9 instructions
Communication planning prompts in Week 9 usually ask you to plan how your agency will communicate a decision, risk or change to internal and external audiences. Plans run three to five pages and often include a table. State the decision and its reason first so every message shares one account. Identify every audience affected, then decide the order in which they hear, with a reason for each position. Choose messengers and channels that each audience already trusts. Draft messages from the objection each group is likely to raise, not from what the agency wants to say. Prepare a short statement in case the news leaks. Plan how questions will be collected and answered, and be explicit about what the agency will not promise.
Inside the NURS 6730 Week 9 example
The opening section states the board's decision, the lost grant behind it and what continues. A principles section cites Reynolds and Seeger on crisis and emergency risk communication and explains why only the be-first principle applies, adds Covello's guidance on candor and compassion, and cites Welch and Jackson on employees as a stakeholder group. Table 1 sets out seven steps with messenger, channel and timing. Table 2 pairs five audiences with their first objection and a response. A channels section justifies each choice, including the flyers posted only with employers' agreement. A three-sentence holding statement, a feedback process and a limits paragraph close the plan.
NURS 6730 Week 9 rubric: what earns full marks
Communication plans tend to be scored on audience analysis and sequencing. A grid built from each group's likely objection shows audience understanding more clearly than a list of stakeholders. Sequencing earns a heavy share when the plan explains why staff and elected officials hear before the public. Channel choice is credited when it matches how each audience actually gets information. Honesty is often scored in its own right, so a section on what will not be promised helps. Framework use counts when the writer applies a model such as CERC selectively and says why. Professional formatting, tables that summarize and APA references finish the grid. A holding statement usually earns credit for readiness.
NURS 6730 Week 9 help: mistakes that cost marks
Communication plans lose points when the public hears the news at the same moment as the staff who must answer questions about it. Another loss is a single message sent to everyone through one channel, usually a website post. Some plans translate an English release after the fact for groups who need a different messenger entirely. Others promise that the change might be reversed or that services will be better. State the decision, order the audiences with reasons, pick trusted messengers and channels, write from objections, prepare a holding statement and name your limits. The desk can draft a plan for the decision or risk your prompt describes. If your agency's policy fixes the notification order, follow it and explain it.
Get a NURS 6730 Week 9 example written to your instructions
Along with the Week 9 prompt and rubric, describe the decision or event your agency must announce and who it affects. The plan orders those audiences, pairs each with the objection it will raise first, and keeps every promise inside what your budget allows. First sample free, turned around in 24-48 hours.
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NURS 6730 Week 9 questions, answered
Why not follow CERC throughout?
Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication was built for emergencies, when people need guidance under threat. A planned clinic closure is unwelcome news but not a crisis, so the example borrows CERC's principle of being first with information and sets aside the parts meant for danger. If your Week 9 scenario is an emergency, a custom plan applies CERC more fully, naming each principle where it is used.
Why do staff hear before elected officials?
Because staff will be asked about the closure by patients and neighbors within hours, and learning it from anyone else damages trust inside the agency. Commissioners follow closely, before partners and the public, so none of them is surprised by a constituent. Some agencies must notify their governing body first under their own rules. A custom plan follows the order your agency's policies require.
Does the plan include the actual press release?
It includes a holding statement, a few sentences ready if the news leaks, and a message grid from which a release could be drafted. A full release is not part of this example because the prompt asks for a plan. If your assignment requires finished materials, such as a release, a board letter or social media posts, the custom version drafts them from the same grid.
Where can I find a free NURS 6730 Week 9 sample paper?
The complete communication plan, sequence table, message grid, holding statement and limits, is free on this page. A plan for the decision your own prompt describes can be requested.
How does the NURS 6730 Week 9 plan reach dairy workers?
Through Spanish-language flyers posted only at employers that agree, and in person through the bilingual WIC clerk families already know, instead of a translated press release.