Best Practices: Emergency Preparedness

• To provide the tools, training, and resources for UGA employees to be prepared for their own safety and for the safety of our coworkers, students, and visitors when an emergency occurs on campus.

• Notifications and plans inform individuals about dangerous situations that may have serious impacts
• Establish policies, procedures, roles, responsibilities, and an organizational structure for responses to a major emergency
• Help ensure the safety and security of employees
• Provide training and tools to help individuals respond to emergencies
• Provide tools units need to continue business operations during an emergency

• Emergency Notification

  • UGAAlert - Enrollment will allow an individual to receive pertinent information when an emergency situation occurs on a UGA campus.

    • Go to UGA Alert Notification Emergency Notification System 

    • Select which campus you want to receive alerts for:

      • Login using your MyID

      • At the top of the page next to My Account you will see a tab for Opt-in Lists. Click that tab and then check the box that corresponds with the campus for which you want to receive alerts.

      • Additional information about an emergency will be posted on Emergency News & Information as it becomes available.

      • Additional updates from UGAAlert are available through the following Twitter accounts:

        • @ugaalert

        • @universityofga

        • @ugaoep

• Building Emergency Action Plan (BEAP)/Building Safety and Security Representative (BSSRs)

  • Each academic building at UGA has a Building Emergency Action Plan (BEAP) that provides information that can be useful during an emergency situation. This includes:

    • List of members of the Building Safety Team (BST)

    • List of Emergency Floor Coordinators

    • Building Hazards/Areas of Special Concern

    • Building occupants with special needs (e.g. deaf)

    • Information regarding individuals with disabilities who may occupy that space

    • Staff with First Aid/CPR training

    • Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) locations for that building

    • Locations of First Aid Kits in the building

    • Fire Evacuation assembly sites

    • Bomb Threat evacuation sites

    • Tornado shelter areas in the building

    • NOAA weather radio locations in the building

  • Each building on campus has a Building Safety and Security Representative (BSSR). This person works with the Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP) to develop a plan for handling emergencies in their respective building and can provide further information on what you can do to stay safe during emergencies.
  • It is important for all employees, recently hired or established to review this information annually to ensure they know what to do in the event of an emergency.
  • To determine your BSSR, go to UGA Building Safety and Security Representative (BSSR) Building List or visit Building Safety and Security Representatives (BSSRs) Program for more information.
• Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is the practice of planning how your department will provide services or conduct departmental business during or after an emergency or disaster that may have both short-term and long-term consequences. Because these plans may contain sensitive information, they should be shared internally and not posted on the internet.
  • If you are a first-time BCP user or if you are registering for access to a new department, please go to: 
    • University of Georgia Emergency Preparedness
  • Once here you will select Register to access the BCP. Once registered, OEP will review your request and grant access if allowed. Once access is granted, you can create/modify your departmental BCP.
• Completion of Classroom Preparedness Checklist (if applicable)
• Use of emergency posters, guidebooks, and the LiveSafe app
  • Emergency posters can provide quick instructions on what to do in a variety of emergencies such as severe weather, fire, a chemical spill, active shooters or medical emergencies. Each poster and podium card have building-specific information in the lower right corner which will tell occupants where to shelter in case of severe weather or where the fire evacuation location is for that particular building.
  • Emergency Response Guidebooks are a quick reference guide for UGA Faculty and Staff that contains emergency numbers, emergency notification methods for UGA, and information on what to do in an emergency on the UGA campus. These are provided to UGA Faculty and Staff free of charge.These would be good to include in onboarding packets for new employees, along with summary BEAP information.
  • LiveSafe app is a free mobile app made available by the University of Georgia. This app is designed to prevent crime and enable timely and effective incident response. Through the LiveSafe app, smartphone users can communicate directly with safety officials through a cloud-based dashboard. This dashboard is monitored by communication officers within the University of Georgia Police Department.
• AEDs/Stop the Bleed kits on Campus
  • Each academic building on UGA’s campus has at least one wall-mounted Automated External Defibrillator (AED), which can be used to provide help to someone who is suffering from sudden cardiac arrest. In addition to the AED, each cabinet has a Stop the Bleed kit that contains life-saving equipment to use in the event of a bleeding emergency.
  • It might be helpful to include an emergency phone list inside the AED cabinet.This list could be useful if someone needed to be notified regarding the emergency.
  • To determine where your AED/Stop the Bleed kit(s) are located, please speak to your Building Safety and Security Representative (BSSR) or contact the Office of Emergency Preparedness at (706)542-5845 or prepare@uga.edu
• Familiarity with UGA emergency plans
  • Campus Emergency Management plan
  • Emergency Notification Plan
  • Plans can be found at Campus Wide Emergency Plans
• Participate in emergency response training
  • Basic Emergency Preparedness Class
  • Bleeding Control (B-Con) aka Stop the Bleed
  • Campus Emergencies: Response to Violence
  • Campus Emergency Response Team (CERT)
  • Conflict De-escalation
  • CPR/AED Certification through the American Heart Association
  • Disease Prevention
  • Evacuation Chair
  • Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)
  • Planning for Emergencies in the Classroom/Building
  • Plan, Prepare, React: Active shooter/threat response for Students, Faculty, and Staff
  • Taking Care of Business: How Departments Can Continue After an Emergency
  • Travel Safety and Security
• To inquire about any of these classes, please contact OEP at (706)542-5845 or prepare@uga.edu
  

• UGAAlert Emergency Notification System Activation Protocols

• University of Georgia Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Program Guidelines

• University of Georgia Bleeding Control Kit Guidelines

• University of Georgia Building Safety and Security Representative (BSSR) Policy

• University of Georgia Evacuation Chair Program Guidelines

• University of Georgia Emergency Preparedness

• UGA Alert Notification Emergency Notification System 

• Emergency News & Information

• Safe & Secure Annual Fire Safety and Security Report 

• University Health Center

• Disability Resource Center

Contributed by Savannah Hembree

Last updated 05/17/2021