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.

[ayla2004, ASN, RN]

we dont use a PA system in hospitals in the UK. to alert people to a crash cardiac/respiratory arresst we use the emergency button gets the ward running to the room via call lights. to get the crash team they are paged to the right ward/room.

[Roy Fokker, BSN, RN]

• code blue: cardiac/respirator/medical emergency
  
• code red: fire
  
• [color=dimgray]code grey: stroke
  
• code 99: combative patient
  
• code pink: abducted infant
  
• code brown: utility failure
  
• code bravo: bomb/security/hazard threat.

our rapid response codes and weather codes are by regular announcements.

hmmm... i don't know the code they use for "mass casualties imminent". :uhoh21:

at a hospital i did my preceptorship at, instead of code blue, they used "dr. starling" [why? i don't know. maybe from the frank-starling law of the heart/starling's law?]

cheers,

[neneRN, BSN, RN]

Our hospital wide overhead announcements:

Stat Code: 99 for cardio/resp arrests

Stat Code: 14 for trauma alerts

Stat code: 5 for unruly pt/visitor, needs security

Stat code: 1 infant abduction

Stat Code: 3 fire

Stat code: 100 any anesthesiologist

Code Purple: ER is oversaturated and pts will be going to hall beds on the floors upstairs (happens fairly frequently in the winter)

Then we have a overhead pager system just heard in the ER; on this we call

Code STEMI- acute MI going to cath lab

Stroke Alert- pt with stroke Sx presenting within 3 hr window for tpa

Code Busy- anytime a nurse is getting overwhelmed, we call a code busy to that area, and all available staff (nurses and techs) respond to try to get the area caught up or a very sick pt stabilized

[southerngirl67]

Code Adam is our newborn abduction.

Code blue-resiratory arrest

code green-external disaster

Code red-fire

Code yellow-bombthreat

code black-bad weather

code strong-lifting help

code orange-evacuate

It is a headache just to remember it all!

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

Code Blue -Cardiac Arrest

Code Pink - pediatric cardiac arrest

Code Brown - chemical spill (not the Code Brown nurses are used to!)

Code White - Violent Patient

Code Yellow - missing pt

Code Yellow Adam - missing child

Code Orange - External Diaster

Code Green - evacuate

Code 111 - extra hands needed (this one can be Code 111 RNs, Code 111 all available personnel,)

Code Purple - Hostage Situation

Code Red - Fire

Code Black - Bomb Threat

Gridlock Phase 1, Gridlock Phase 2, Gridlock Phase 3 - ER is overrun with pts needing beds, phase depends on number of pts.

Obstetrical Alert - I think this means a delivery with baby or Mom at risk.

I think thats all! They keep adding more. Funny how Code Blue and Code Red seems the same everywhere, but the rest change place to place.

[loricatus]

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

Just heard it overhead last week in the ED. I am new to the facility, so I questioned it the same as you are. The overhead said "Code H, L&D OR" What I was told is that a surgical trauma team (this is a teaching hospital, level II trauma center) is called, blood bank sets up a rapid response, an ED physician must run there and some other things I can't remember. My response to them was something like-"Does it happen so often that you got to give it is own code?" I was told that with the fertility clinic being so popular, multiples are pretty much the norm; and, with multiples, you get higher amounts PP hemorrhages L & D isn't my specialty, so I can't confirm if this is true. Is there anyone out there that can give insight into this???????

[angel's RN]

Our hospital just initated a new code-- "Code Silver". This is a patient that leaves "AMA". I kid you not.

[EmmaG, RN]

Our hospital just initated a new code-- "Code Silver". This is a patient that leaves "AMA". I kid you not.

Now that is just plain silly lol.

[Hoozdo, ADN]

Code Strong - Restraint team

Ours is Dr. Armstrong

[ERRNTraveler, RN]

Our hospital just initated a new code-- "Code Silver". This is a patient that leaves "AMA". I kid you not.

If that were called every time someone left the ER AMA, some nights it'd be an hourly announcement...

[nurseofalltrades]

Code red = fire

Code blue = any code (cardiac, resp)

Code green =missing patient

Code yellow=weather related emergency such as tornado

[EmilyUSFRN, RN]

these all are so interesting... i especially love the code elvis. ours are:

red: fire

orange: chemical leak/spill

yellow: missing person

green: disaster

purple: pt/staff/visitor injury

blue: cardiopulmonary arrest

pink: infant abduction

gold: in house stroke alert

navy: er full capacity

brown: autopsy (for the medical students)

white: utilities outage (heard nearly everyday for the pneumatic tube system)

gray: unruly patient/visitor

black: bomb threat

luckily, the hospital gives us all 6 little laminated cards to keep on our badge clips, with the code listing being one of them... otherwise i sure wouldn't know what they all were.

you don't hear code blue called for any of the icus or er, but you do hear "anesthesia/respiratory to 5c stat"