On Wednesday, April 1, the Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) will activate the monthly test of Emory's emergency notification system. CEPAR requests that the Emory community – faculty, staff and students — respond to the emergency text message with "IMOK" to test a methodology for accounting for students, staff and faculty in the event of an emergency.

In an actual emergency, CEPAR would send out a message asking individual recipients to acknowledge they are safe.

The Emory Emergency Notification program is a multi-modal system for alerting students, staff, faculty and visitors of an emergency affecting the Emory community. The wide array of notification options affords Emory the flexibility to convey emergency information in the most appropriate manner.

For additional directions on what to do during a campus emergency, check out information and links available on the CEPAR website, including:  

• "Just in Time" Guide to Campus Emergencies, for both Atlanta and Oxford campuses.
• Emory's Emergency Notification Program, which promotes options in signing up to receive weather or law enforcement emergency alerts via email, text messaging, Twitter or Facebook.
• Preparedness Checklist, which provides handy reminders for advance actions to take and numbers that can be called in the event of an emergency or campus accident.
• "Run, Hide, Fight" video, which offers safety tips on what to do in the event of an active shooter in the workplace or classroom.

In addition, there are simple steps individuals can take now that will pay off when severe weather or unexpected emergencies occur in the future, according to CEPAR.

Consider adding these tasks to your own safety preparedness plan:  

• Enroll or update your personal contact information in Emory's Emergency Notification Program.
• Program the emergency numbers for the Emory (404-727-6111) or Oxford (770-784-8377) police departments into your cellphone.
• Enter an "In Case of Emergency" number into your personal cellphone.
• Establish a personal communication plan. Do friends and family know how to contact you in the event of an emergency?
• Know how to exit your building if the primary pathway/door is blocked.
• Follow campus signage to locate shelters, in the event of severe weather or tornados.
• Know how to readily access Emory emergency contact numbers.
• Consider taking a basic first aid or CPR class. Your ability to respond in a crisis could help those around you.

For more information, visit the CEPAR website at emergency.emory.edu