code blue

I am not getting much of a response from my last posing in "how do you announce codes in your facility". I am going to start a thread in hopes of results. I am a radiology nurse in a busy hospital. I deal with a lot of children, mostly sedated. We do not differentiate between adult and pediatric codes. I want to. I may need the ED to respond to a ped's code with their braslow cart. They would have no way to know.(the ED responds to all our codes for back up). Does anyone have a pediatric code call? What is it? Wouldn't you ED nurses like to know what you are responding to? By the way I do have a pediatric airway cart for sedations. Help please.

[misti_z]

For adults we call "code 99" for peds "code 77" is called. I think it is helpful to know what your going to have to deal with--not only in supplies but emotionally for the code team.

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

Adults Code 99 and the floor or department

Children Code 3 and the same

Fire Code 500 and the same

Child abduction Code Green

Internal disaster with evacuation Code 1000

External disaster (sorry I've forgotten that) we did drills 4x a year you'd think I would remember!

[kaycee]

We generally don't admit kids to our hospital. However there has been occasion when an outpt T&A or emergency appe or something has to stay overnight. Our code blue is announced with the room #. The code team has beepers so they know where to go. Having a different code for Peds is important and we should probably have one even though the instance is rare.

I think either have different numbers like misti said or different beepers. We don't have a Peds unit so room #'s wouldn't be a clue.

And yes as an ED nurse working where there is the only peds cart, I would certainly want to know that I needed to bring it before I already got there. I'm glad you brought this up radnurse, I need to suggest this in my own hospital.

Sorry I missed your other post, sometimes I don't pay enough attention.

[e-nurse]

Adult is code 5 and pediatric is code 7.

[Zee_RN, BSN, RN]

Very simply: "PEDIATRIC CODE ALERT" is announced three times with the location via overhead paging. We all turn three shades of pale. ICU has a box of pediatric code medications. God forbid, though, because I have never been trained in PALS. Pediatrics codes are very rare and usually limited to ER (God bless those folks). We have a very small pediatric unit and do not take complicated pediatric cases.

[Doey, BSN, RN]

For adults and peds a code is called overhead followed by the room number or unit. ICU,ED and telemetry rotate on the code team, except on nights when the ED is not on the code team.

ICU has a pedi cart as well as ED and the part of the med-surg floor that has pedi patients. Generally speaking no code is called for birthing because usually it's an infant so anesthsia and docs, respiratory are there. If a code is called for birthing it usually means mom is in trouble and the code team is needed for adult ACLS.

I'm in a 200 bed community hospital and our peds is small. Usually one or two pts, somtimes none. More serious stuff goes to the trauma center about 10min away. Thank god!!

[ToofunnyRN]

Code Peter Rabbit for kids

Code Pink for babies

Code Blue for adults

We keep both carts on our floor and do mock codes every month for peds