Frequently Asked Questions

The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) coordinates University-wide efforts to prepare for, prevent, mitigate, respond to and recover from emergencies and disasters.

The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) website contains a host of resources and information about what to do in an emergency and how to be better prepared. You can also find a great deal of information on emergency preparedness in the LiveSafe app in the “Emergency Management Procedures” section.

OEM can be contacted at emergencymanagement@georgetown.edu or by calling (202) 687-8234 during business hours. For more information, please visit our staff information page.

In the event of an emergency, Georgetown University’s students, faculty and staff will be alerted by HOYAlert, the University’s emergency alerting system. The system communicates important information via email, text and tweet. All students, faculty and staff are automatically enrolled in HOYAlert. For more information, please visit our HOYAlert page.

Students can choose to add their parents or others to their HOYAlert account by adding those email(s) or cell number(s) to their accounts. There is a limit to how many contact methods can be added to the system. In addition, anyone can follow @HOYAlert on X (Twitter).

Students, faculty and staff should follow the guidelines within the HOYAlert. Updates will be sent when available, including an all-clear when the incident has been resolved.

During inclement weather, Georgetown University will alert members of the community of any changes in operating status via HOYAlert. For more information on how to prepare for inclement weather and Georgetown University’s operating statuses, please visit our page on preparing for inclement weather.

LiveSafe is a mobile safety app for Georgetown University’s students, faculty and staff. The LiveSafe app allows community members to submit tips to GUPD, offers Safewalk features, Talk or Chat options with GUPD, instant emergency connections to 911 or campus police and important information on what to do in an emergency. For more information, please visit the UIS LiveSafe app page.

The Building Emergency Coordinator (BEC) program allows staff to voluntarily serve as conduits for disseminating emergency preparedness-related information to their fellow building occupants and to assist during emergencies. BECs receive training and equipment to support them in this role and have opportunities to participate in emergency preparedness activities throughout the academic year. For more information on the BEC program, contact the Office of Emergency Management.

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a computerized medical device that can check a person’s heart rhythm and recognize a cardiac rhythm that requires electrical shock. AEDs use voice prompts, lights and text to tell the rescuer what steps to take.

Georgetown University has placed AEDs in strategic locations on all campuses. A map of AEDs located on Georgetown’s Hilltop Campus can be found on the campus map in the tab marked “Health and Safety.” Please visit the AED Program webpage for more information.

Bleeding control kits are collocated with all publicly accessible Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in a number of locations across all of our campuses. Each AED includes at least one bleeding control kit; there are six multi-pack kits strategically placed throughout the Hilltop campus.

Locations of AEDs and bleeding control kits can be found on the Georgetown map, under the Health and Safety tab.  
Interested in learning how to “stop the bleed”? Send an email to emergencymanagement@georgetown.edu to set up training.