How is code blue announced at your facility?

[deespoohbear]

At our facility our admininstrator has decided that "Code Blue" cannot be announced over the overhead system. Instead the switch board opetrator announces "Code 4464" overhead. I just don't think that a series of numbers cut it. There are so pages overhead during the couse of a day you tend to tune them out. The so called rational behind this is to keep from upsetting familes who may think it is their loved one who is in big trouble. I was just wondering if any other facilities had similar policies and how are they working for you. Another question, when a code blue is called, do they just announce the floor where the code is occuring or do they announce room numbers? I would like to know how other facilities handle code blues?

[shyviolet78, LPN, LVN]

We use Dr. Heart instead of saying Code Blue. Code Red is a Fire, Code Green is a Fire Drill and Code White is an Infant Abduction. I was in the cafeteria one day when a Dr. Heart was paged near the cafeteria elevators. A large mass of people (not hospital employees/doctors) left their food and rushed out to the elevators to watch, so apparently, everyone knows what a Dr. Heart is anyway.

[radnurse2001]

We have a tone that is used for code blue, fire and trauma alert. The tone is followed by either blue team and floor, trauma alert and time frame(ie 5 min, now etc..), or coding 333(fire) and the location. The tone also preceeds neuro alert. It is nice because all members of the blue, trauma and neuro teams know to respond and where. It also alerts the ancillary departments like x- ray to respond or Cat scan to get ready to accept a patient. The tone is nice because it says pay attention to this overhead page. Question, does anyone have a system to differenciate adult vs pediatric blue teams?

[Genista, BSN, RN]

We call a code as "code blue" and then they announce the floor or unit (no room numbers usually). All our codes are announced with colors, ie code red, code pink, etc. The other day they called a code grey & half of us fogot what that was (luckily, the codes are itemized on the back of our photo ID badge). After consulting the flip side of my badge, Code grey was a combative person code, it turned out.

[CEN35]

announced code blue, icu, ccu, csicu, 3 east, 3 south, 3 west, etc etc

me :)

[tyger9966]

I am not a nurse yet (I will be starting my nursing prerequisites in Jan.), but I do work at a hospital. We don't use colors here, we use numbers. A code blue is "Stat Code 99" and the floor. We don't announce the room number either, I guess thinking along the lines of not wanting to alarm pts.

I know this is unrelated to codes, but I have to say that I usually am not interested in any kind of discussion boards, but this one is great! It really helps me get a good idea of what being a nurse would be like, good and bad. It's really strengthened my desire to become a nurse!

[misti_z]

My hospital uses "Code 99" followed by the room number. We are a teaching hospital with the residents running the codes, each night there is a code team that carries pagers, the operator pages them after s/he calls the code. The code team also includes the IV nurses and, of course, repiratory, an administrator also comes to take care of the family and get a room in the unit ready if the patients makes it.

[kewlnurse]

We announce "house staff attention, code blue (floor, ie 11 north) and telephone extension the emergency number was called from. It's amazing how stupid administrators are, call it what it is for chrissake

[texaslvn]

We use "DR. 10", and the location. When the code team arrives they know which room because the team consist of: ER doctors and nurses, lab, respiratory, house supervisor, chaplain, security and so on.

[CashewLPN, LPN]

we have a couple codes...

code 99-- 'the' code... followed by unit and room number(eg. 4A10B)

code 66- Disaster code, followed by status(status I means full lockdown, d/c all pts asap that can go turn the ... status II means, prepare the ER and medical-surgical floors for admits... status III is somewhere far, far away... where we have to be 'ready' but, dont expect much)

code pink is missing baby... I've never heard that one..

code bells is fire... the bells just start ringing, and you start counting...

ok... gotta scram now... (got to get the bro from school)

--Barbara

[ClariceS]

At the hospital I trained, they announced overhead "one-one-one" followed by the floor number.

Where I work now, they do not announce overhead but use a code pager system. It is very rapid. The code pagers have a different tone (and is much louder) than other pagers so it is not easy to ignore. When we have a code, we dial a specific number and tell the operator "Code Blue, Room ***". She accesses one button, keys the room number and everyone carrying a code pager gets paged at the same time. Time from our call to people arriving is usually 30 seconds or so.

[Zee_RN, BSN, RN]

Overhead paging system announces "CODE ALERT, ROOM 4006...CODE ALERT, ROOM 4006....CODE ALERT, 4 NORTH" so you got the room number twice and the floor once too. We do distinguish between adult and pediatric codes...It would be simply "PEDIATRIC CODE ALERT, etc...." if not adult. We all shiver when we hear that but fortunately it is very rare (not a big pediatric unit). We announce ICU and ER codes too because people like respiratory therapy and IV team come too.

There's a button in each ICU room to push for codes. On the other floors, there's one button on the phone that you push and enter the room number. In the ER, however, there's a button on the wall right next to the LIGHT SWITCH...so, we frequently hear....CODE ALERT, ER...CODE ALERT, ER...etc. We just stand and wait....CANCEL CODE ALERT ER....CANCEL CODE ALERT ER....

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=55422&t=8609#post55422

I got to the other thread first. :) Same questions there.