Code Red/Code Blue/Code whatever....what do you have/what are they for?

[HappyNurse2005]

Seeing the thread about Code Pink's for rude docs, and others mentioning Code Pink meaning peds cardiac arrest, made me think about the diff Codes we have.

Different Codes:

Code Blue-adult cardiac or resp arrest

Code Kinder -peds cardiac/resp arrest

Code Secure -violent/aggressive pt/family-need security asap

Code Red -fire

Code Lindbergh -abducted infant/child

Types of "alerts":

trauma alert -a trauma coming in (we are a level 1 trauma center)

gold alert -multi system unstable trauma

heart alert -someone comes in who may need the cath lab asap

There are others for bomb threat, natural disaster, etc. Those are the ones we actually hear occasionally.

[WVUturtle514]

Code 99 - cardiac/respiratory arrest

Code Pink - infant/child abduction

Code Grey - elderly person missing and/or abducted

Code Orange - bio/terrorist threat

Code Black - bomb threat

Code Red - fire

At my hospital they stopped calling pediatric codes over the intercom system b/c they said it made people too upset and frantic, but then they changed it after they realized that people will usually respond MUCH faster if they know it's a pediatric code.

[Ivanna_Nurse, BSN, RN]

we just switched to code red for fire and code blue for resp/cardiac arrest. used to be green grass and code 99

[Balder_LPN, LPN]

Code Strong - Restraint team

[tonet0908]

At our hospital the codes are:

CODE ADAM=PEDIATRIC ABDUCTION

#7=EXTERNAL DISASTER

#4=INTERNAL DISASTER

#5=SECURITY

126=CARDIAC OR PULMONARY ARREST

I had to look on the back of my ID for these. The only one I knew was 126 because I hear that all the time.

[Antikigirl, ASN, RN]

Let me see if I can remember...LOL, lucky for me they have signs posted in all nursing break rooms and by the pixis (I am agency so different facilities have different code colors).

Red means fire

Blue means cardiopulmonary arrest

Green means violence

Pink means infant abduction

Purple means natural disaster

Black Triage I means emergency staffing need r/t overflow or divert status.

Black Triage II - III I don't remember but has to do with emergency to the facility itself and need for staff to gather or more staff needed STAT, but I think III is related to terrorism or threat of terrorism.

Of course us nurses have our own codes too, in the privacy of the nursing break room only, or when you need to say something about the patient but people are around so you speak in code...code brown means poopie mess, yellow means urine mess, code gold is emisis mess, silver is doc in the house, code block is a demented/aggressive tendency, code marathon is extremely needy patient that wil have you running for things every 5 minutes. Code star is a perfect patient. and ECT is a dying patient making their way to the eternal care unit (said with respect too...not a diss, it is a nice thought to be in the eternal care unit of the Lord).

Of course there are others, but said very tongue and cheek when things are hectic....but we won't go there here..LOL!

And in the event that an overhead message can not be given (like in terrorism) the colors are paged by number to all pagers...like in the list above...01 means red, 02 means code...etc. Scary though to have that huh????

[Athenas83]

I'm not a nurse yet, but when I volunteered on the med/surg floor they would call out Mayday on the intercome when someone codes, and all the nurses and doctors run to the room. Mayday?? lol

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

Code Yellow- Bomb

Silver - Hostage

Blue - cardiac/resp arrest

Pink - infant abduction

Orange - hazmat spill, nuclear

Black - Utility failure or cyberterrorism

Gray - Security

Red - fire

Stroke - CVA coming to the ED in need of clotbusters

Stemi - cardiac cath needed in ED

BOLO - (Be On the LookOut) missing person, followed by name & description

As always we have the traumas (level I trauma ctr) -- trauma 1, peds, OB traumas

Code Elvis is creative.

[WolfpackRed]

Dr. Armstrong, to area xxx...disruptive person at area xxx, need security.

[loricatus]

Dr. Red to XXXX-fire (but, I like the Dr. Firestone one better)

Dr. Spock-infant abduction

Code H- post-partum hemorrhage

Code CC (stands for crash cart)-cardiac arrest

Peds code A- pediatric cardiac arrest

Code D- internal or external disaster

[grace90, LPN, LVN]

RRT to room XYZ: rapid response team needed

Code Blue: cardiopulmonary arrest

Code Yellow: visitor/associate emergency

Code Green: out of control patient/visitor, all male staff and security needed:uhoh3:

Code Blue Junior: peds cardiopulmonary arrest

Code Pink: infant/peds abduction

Code Bear: bomb threat

Operation Assembly: Community disaster, prepare for large influx of patients

[HappyNurse2005, RN]

Code H- post-partum hemorrhage

there is a code for postpartum hemorrhage? do you call it over the loudspeaker? why? what happens then?

when we have one, we just do what has to be done, no code called. but we are a large unit with many nurses/md's/anesthesia/OR available immediately. interesting, i would have never thought of a code for that

[EmmaG, RN]

Code Elvis.....for a patient that has escaped off the unit

LMAO!!!

That is hilarious.