To: The Health Sciences Community

From: Mort Grusky

Date: December 8, 1999

Subject: Y2K Preparations for the New Year

Staff at the Health Sciences Division have been preparing for the Y2K event for some time now. The effort has focused on assessing and fixing problems associated with the date change from 1999 to 2000, as well as preparing for events that we do not expect to happen, but could. We are writing to you with information and advice about final preparation for the New Year.

Contingency Planning

While we do not expect Y2K - related systems problems such as power failure, loss of water or telephone service, loss of heat, etc., we are setting up a special command center on New Year’s Eve, and senior administrative personnel, including myself, will be here that evening. We will also have staff from many central administrative units on hand - including Security, Environmental Health & Safety, Facilities, and the Institute of Comparative Medicine.

Monday, January 3, 2000 is the start of classes for the Spring semester in the School of Medicine and in the School of Dental & Oral Surgery. (Nursing and Public Health programs start later in January.) You might wish to check the Health Sciences Hotline at 305-7300 over the weekend for an update, but we are expecting January 3 to be a normal business day for Columbia University.

Your supply of water for water coolers as well as fuel and supplies of any kind for vehicles, experiments, or other uses should be re-stocked. Computers (and associated peripherals) should be turned off or unplugged prior to leaving on your last working day in December. Researchers should not have experiments running on December 31 at midnight. Please review Richard Sohn’s "Researcher’s Guide To Preparing For Y2K," distributed early in November, which provides additional advice to researchers. The guide is available from Grants and Contracts (P&S 2-421) or on the web, at: http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/research/y2kbrchr.pdf (use Adobe reader).

Important PC files should be backed-up, and you should print out hardcopies of any documents to which you would want access in an emergency.

If you have remaining Y2K-related questions, you should call the following people (depending on the nature of the question):

Niyazi Bodur (ITS) - 305-3730

Richard Sohn (Research) - 305-4191

Salmen Loksen (Radiation Safety) - 305-0303

Dennis Kohn (Institute of Comparative Medicine) - 305-3823

Bob Lemieux (Facilities) - 305-1347

Kathleen Crowley (Environmental Health & Safety) - 795-3067

George Smartt (Security) - 305-8100

David Roe (General Info.) - 305-0767

We will be compiling a special Y2K emergency contact list and we request that each department revise their telephone tree for internal communication. The department chair or director should provide Galene Kessin at 305-3671 with names and phone numbers of the chair and his/her designee.

Hotline

Health Sciences’ hotline will be available if you have questions or concerns: 212-305-7300 (7-3700).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!