Month: February 2024

OWC Secured a Segment on ABC 10 Sacramento for Abiomed

Posted on February 27, 2024 by - Client News

A Woodland mom, Belinda Loney, survived two heart attacks. She had her first when she was six months pregnant with her sixth child.

“At that point, they weren’t sure if it was stress or what it was, so they treated it as a minor heart attack,” Loney said.

According to the CDC, every year, more than 800,000 Americans have a heart attack. If it happens outside of a hospital, your chances of survival are about 10%.

On April 8, 2021, Loney realized something was off. She had experienced shortness of breath, which she attributed to her asthma, and back pain, which she said is chronic. Regardless, she asked her mother to take her to a Woodland hospital.

“I remember handing my ID to the clerk and that’s it. It shuts off,” Loney said.

She would wake up in Sacramento at Mercy General Hospital three days later. She was transferred there where doctors implanted a small device called “Impella.” It’s known as the world’s smallest heart pump and ended up saving her life.

Cardiologist Dr. David Lao performed the surgery that day. He said it’s important to know that signs and symptoms of a heart attack can be vague, especially in women.

See the full coverage: Woodland mom of 6 has this advice after surviving 2 heart attacks

OWC Lands Abiomed Coverage on TODAY.com

Posted on February 16, 2024 by - Client News

In November 2021, Hillary Steffen lost her sense of taste and smell and thought she had COVID-19. While she also had a low-grade fever that started a few days earlier, it didn’t feel “alarming,” she says. But then she experienced something unusual.

“I woke up and my arms were tingling and numb and it went into my fingers,” the 36-year-old from Turner, Oregon, tells TODAY.com. “I felt nauseous and an overall discomfort.”

Doctors sent her to intensive care unit and conducted an echocardiogram. They learned her ejection fraction — a measure of how effectively the heart pumps, according to the American Heart Association — was less than 10% — a sign she was in heart failure. A normal ejection fraction is between 55% and 70%.

At that point, her care team realized she needed an Impella heart pump and placed one in her femoral artery in her leg. The pump helped her heart function better, But it was too soon to know if it could save her from more serious interventions.

Read the full coverage: Mom, 33, almost dies of heart failure due to COVID after dismissing these signs: ‘Really confused’

Managing Communications During a Lawsuit | eNews from OWC

Posted on February 14, 2024 by - eNewsletter

CEOs know when a lawsuit is filed in the courts, reputations hang on the scales of Lady Justice. Most attorneys know this too, and for those in need of a reminder, OWC is approved by the State Bar of California to provide MCLE credit for our one-hour program in managing reputation during litigation. Here are some highlights of a crash course in surviving any legal collision:

Lawsuits are news: Reporters make daily scans of Federal Court Cases via Pacer or California court case records on courts.ca.gov to see what companies and individuals are cited. Does it warrant a story about the impact on a company’s stock price, valuation, leadership team, market sector, or executive indiscretion? Reporters are on the lookout for who’s involved, as well as for any juicy language that can be quoted in a news story.

Have a spokesperson: Assign someone who knows the media and the stakes. We start by recommending an attorney from the law firm filing the suit and ensure they respond to inquiries by email rather than on the phone, so ambiguity doesn’t ensue.

Monitor all media: Be the first to know what everyone is saying, especially on social. Listen hard, but promptly seek corrections when needed. Boeing faced intense scrutiny following crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft. Early responses were criticized for downplaying the issues and lacking empathy for the victims’ families. The company’s poor social media communication contributed to its public relations crisis. The CEO wisely reversed course and continued a mea culpa crusade.

Be available. If media reports claim harm to customers, employees, children or minorities, be ready with statements and data points approved by attorneys. Don’t hedge, obfuscate, niggle or fade, as when Wells Fargo’s unauthorized accounts scandal faced backlash for public statements that downplayed the scale of the issue. When accused, details matter.

Communicate aggressively: “No comment” sounds like “guilty” to many. Company CEOs and attorneys must be ready with a proactive public relations campaign that is aligned with a company’s core values. Under fire, Apple leans in with its core values of innovation and intellectual property rights through substantial investments in research and development.

Risk is real. Lawsuits related to employees, products, shareholders, defamation, intellectual property and trademark infringement often damage the bottom line.

The attorneys are ready. Every company must be, too.

IN THE NEWS

Dwell spotlights Alen air purifiers

OWC secured a feature in Dwell, a top home design publication, for Alen, an innovator of top-rated True HEPA air purifiers and filters with over 20,000 five-star reviews by customers. Read the full story here.

Awards season is here!

Not only are the Oscars around the corner, but so are business awards like EY’s Entrepreneur Of The Year®. This program spotlights accomplished business leaders, offering companies a chance to enhance their public relations. Click here to nominate someone today from the Greater Los Angeles area before the March 1 deadline.

PRNEWS features OWC CEO

OWC CEO Tracy Williams discusses the backlash surrounding the Kyte Baby controversy and how public relations teams should deal with crisis fallout. Read the full article here.