Emergency Response Plans

The goal of proactive risk management is to prevent crises from occurring in the first place, but it is equally important to proactively plan how you will respond in that event that a crisis should occur. Intentionally developing an emergency response plan prior to your events or activities will empower your organization to respond more effectively to any crises. Emergency response plans may vary greatly depending on the nature of your organization and the event/activity at hand, but the key and consistent factor is educating all members and constituents to be prepared to follow the plan. Those developing crisis response plans must disseminate information about the chain of notification, location of nearest emergency facilities, contact person(s) in case of an emergency, etc. to everyone involved in the event.

Your advisor(s) and the Risk Management staff from the Department of Student Activities are able to assist you in the development of crisis management and contingency plans for your event or activity. The Event Planning Form also asks some guiding questions to help you consider your plans for preventing and responding to various crises that may arise.

Assessing The Situation

In your immediate response, you should begin by gathering as many facts as you can about the crisis at hand. Verify these facts before using them to prepare any official statements or moving forward with medical or legal proceedings. Some key facts to gather include:

• Who will serve as the organization's spokesperson;
• The chain of events for the crisis;
• Who was involved with the crisis and each person's perspective;
• Specific dates, times, and locations for the situation;
• Any evidence or reasoning about the causation of the incident (why and how it occurred);
• Any property or other facilities-related damages sustained;
• The nature and scope of any physical or emotional injuries sustained; and
• Any applicable university and/or organizational policies or procedures involved or affected by the crisis.

In your longer-term response to the situation, ensure that all proper documentation has been filed and all future leaders of the organization understand the causes and effects of the crisis situation. Learn as much as you can from the emergency, and apply those lessons to improving the safety and success of your organization in the future. Consider what you can do to prevent this or other similar situations from happening in the future. Also consider what other events or activities from your organization could merit more review or effective planning, based on the lessons learned from this crisis situation.

Medical Emergencies

If medical attention is needed for a member of your organization or other participant at an organizational event or activity, contact 9-911 if you are on campus or 911 if you are off campus to get the appropriate help needed. Anyone present with First Aid or CPR training may attempt to assist if the medical emergency is within the scope of his/her experience or certification. Provide any medical care that is reasonable or within your abilities, but remember that you may be legally responsible for any medical assistance beyond that which is reasonable that you provide to an injured person. If your participants signed waiver forms or you have other access to medical information for the injured person(s), consult with the medical release forms to ascertain whether or not the person has special medical needs and/or provided you with his/her medical insurance information to use in case of an emergency. The key point is to attend to emergency medical needs first before doing anything else.

Once the immediate medical needs have been attended to, then follow your pre-established chain of notification. Notify the University Police Department at (979) 845-2345 if you have not yet done so, and UPD will contact the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) as appropriate. Contact your advisor and any others in charge of the organization or event, such as your Chief Student Leader and Risk Management Officer. If necessary, contact any other appropriate authorities (such as your national organization liaison, travel liaison, etc.).

Transportation-Related Accidents

If anyone is involved in a transportation-related accident on the way to, during, or leaving an organizational event, it is important to follow some key steps. Stop immediately and notify the local police of the accident. Attend to all medical emergencies first and foremost (see previous section for more information). Fill out a Police Report for documentation and insurance purposes, and be sure to obtain the names and addresses of all witnesses to the accident. At the scene of the accident, obtain all needed information for a Motor Vehicle Report. If the vehicle involved is inoperable, call the local Transportation Center or nearest dealer for the make of your vehicle for towing service. If any of the vehicles involved was a university vehicle, be sure to fill out an accident report with the department through which the car or van was rented as soon as you return to campus. Remember that the student organization is liable for the first $1,000.00 of damage on each vehicle for each incident.

It is also important to be careful with your words in the case of a transportation-related accident. Do not make any official statements about who is at fault for the incident, as fault or legal liability will be determined by the proper authorities. Consult with your advisor and any other constituents (such as a national representative) to discuss what things should be included in any formal statements or press releases. Should you have any media inquiries, it is best to state simply that the situation is under investigation and more information will be revealed when available, and that your organization sympathizes with all affected by the accident. Be sure to cooperate fully with the authorities investigating any transportation-related accidents.