In September, GAVIN partnered with Michigan Primary Care Association (MPCA) to lead a crisis communications session at the 2025 Annual Conference. The presentation focused on readiness, but it also served as a live pulse check. Through in-room polling and real-time insight analysis, we gathered a clear view of how organizations are preparing for the unexpected and where vulnerabilities exist.
While the session was built for community health centers, the insights reflect broader challenges facing mission-driven and regulated organizations navigating staffing shortages, political scrutiny, and financial uncertainty.
Who Owns Communications Strategy?
Data Point: 37% of health centers said their CEO leads communications strategy. Only 26% have a designated communications or marketing director in charge.
Takeaway: Strategy is still too often concentrated at the CEO level. While CEOs are the public face of the organization, they cannot also carry the burden of building and executing the plan. That split weakens both roles.
GAVIN’s Perspective: Resilient organizations empower a designated communications lead to own strategy, integrate into executive decision-making, and activate plans in real time. The CEO’s role is visibility and stakeholder trust — not writing the message.
What Challenges Caught Health Centers Off Guard?
Data Point: When asked what caught them off guard, 67% pointed to external shocks like funding cuts, Medicaid changes, and shifting policies.
Takeaway: Most crises begin with predictable external disruptions. Yet organizations still treat these issues as surprises rather than planned-for risks.
GAVIN’s Perspective: We help organizations build tiered response systems that match the level of urgency. When a new challenge hits, you don’t start from scratch—you quickly assess, assign a tier, and activate a practiced plan that protects your people and your purpose.
How Ready Are Organizations to Respond?
Data Point: Responses were mixed: 53% felt clear and confident, but nearly half described their approach as uncoordinated, reactive, or struggling.
Takeaway: Confidence without coordination is a liability. A leader may feel prepared, but if the team isn’t trained and aligned, response efforts can fall apart in real time.
GAVIN’s Perspective: The strongest crisis plans are practiced. Tabletop exercises, simulations, and media trainings reveal blind spots before real incidents do. We put executives and support teams through real-life scenarios so they build true readiness, not just confidence.
Where Are Organizations Least Prepared?
Data Point: When asked about their weakest areas, 35% cited message alignment, 29% said they didn’t know their gaps, and 24% pointed to internal communications.
Takeaway: Internal misalignment is the most urgent vulnerability. If staff, boards, or leaders hear conflicting messages, external trust will collapse.
GAVIN’s Perspective: Alignment starts inside. Boards, executives, and staff need consistent messaging, context for decisions, and feedback loops. Without this internal cascade, even the best external plan will crumble.
What This Means for Leaders Everywhere
The pulse check in Michigan confirmed what we see across the country: too much responsibility still sits with CEOs, predictable policy shifts are still treated as surprises, and internal alignment is still the Achilles’ heel of most crisis responses.
These gaps are not about resources. They are about readiness. Leaders cannot afford to confuse confidence with preparation or wait until headlines break to build the playbook.
Our perspective: Crisis communications must be treated as a core governance function. Plans should be tested, tiered, and ready to activate so that when disruption happens, the organization speaks with clarity and leads with trust.
Is your organization prepared for the next disruption? GAVIN partners with boards and executive teams to stress-test plans, train spokespeople, and build systems that protect your people and your purpose. Let’s start the conversation.
