Did you know? "Code Brown" means tornado. . .LMAO!

[delphine22]

So we all have these color codes, and in both hospitals I work at they are printed on a buddy badge that hangs behind my ID badge.

We all know Code Blue, Code Red for fire, Code Green for mass casualty, etc.

At both my hospitals Code Purple means natural disaster. At one hospital, this includes weather events. At my other one, I recently attended orientation, and the safety officer (not a medical person) described another color, Code Brown, for tornado.

"I think it's a shame," he said to the group, half of which were RNs and CNAs, "that these colors aren't standardized around the state and the nation, so there's no confusion."

Oh, there's no confusion, all right. We allllll know what Code Brown means. I can only imagine what would happen if they announced that on the overhead page.

(Special note: I'm in a state well known for hurricanes, but rarely tornadoes. Perhaps the new owner of this facility is based in a tornado state, and the very thought of a twister causes them to have a. . .well. . .Code Brown.)

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

Ours are black= bomb threat, red= fire, blue= cardiac arrest,purple= hostage taking, green= evacuation.white=psychiatric emergency( violent patient), brown= chemical spill, pinl pediatric emergency, yellow= missing patient, rellow bonnet=missing baby

Thats ts similar to my hospital. I think codes are pretty standard across hospital. Although we have Code Yellow Adam for missing child.

and the newest is Code Grey for a mechanical failure ( or similar problem) ie fans in OR breaking, floor etc.

[Twinmom06, ASN, APN]

code green is an elopement or missing adult patient.

in my tired state of mind I read this as a code green is an ELEPHANT!

[Fiona59]

My hospital uses Code Brown for a toxic spill. Seriously.

Same here. Maybe it's a Canadian thing?

Black = bomb

White = violence/aggression

Orange = nasty weather

Grey's been around for a while, air exclusion thingie.

We do a code pink for L&D emergencies. Yellow is for missing anybody.

[RunninOnCoffee]

Good question. When did hospitals do away with DNR bands? I have not seen one in at least 3 to 4 years.

The last hospital I worked for considered it to be a violation of privacy and they were also worried about family disagreements with code status when they came in and saw a DNR on momma. I call bull on that and would much rather have them. That way no one has to go running for a chart to see if they have a DNR or bit when something happens.

[Mr. Murse]

I think the colors are pretty standard at American hospitals, for the most part. Most of the ones people have mentioned in this thread are the same as mine. Difference being we call ours "phases" instead of all "codes". Code blue is still code blue, but all the other ones are phases (phase red, phase black, phase brown, etc). So "code brown" still has its own meaning as opposed to "phase brown". ha.

[judybsn]

When I worked in S. Cally Code Brown meant a bomb threat.

[nicole_west]

We have standardised codes in Australia but isn't sad that this isn't international? So many nurses travel and work abroad and it is very confusing to unlearn what you know and learn a new way!

Code Blue - medical emergency

Code Black - personal threat

Code Red - Fire

Code Orange - Evacuate

Code Purple - Bomb Threat

Code Brown - external disaster

Code Yellow - Internal emergency

What are yours?

Nicki West Tasmania

[cancer.sucks]

Code Brown was a bomb threat at my previous hospital. I really thought it was ludicrous.

[DRNurse1]

Code Brown was a weather emergency down South, and it is 'officially' absent at my current hospital. New Jersey mandated a common color code system for all the acute care facilities in the state, and FMEA has a lot of influence on pre-hospital processes. Maybe we can get some coordination between the state DOH and FEMA to coordinate the 'color codes in hospitals' and maybe the arm band issue can be standardized as well.

[APRN., DNP, RN, APRN, NP]

I'll take the large bowel any day over small bowel issues......lol