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.)

[roser13, ASN, RN]

And there need to be fewer. Code White is hostage but Code Silver is active shooter? Can we just have one code (Code Charcoal?) for "person with weapon threatening people"? Waiting for codes Puce and Chartreuse....

Code White for me is IT. Computer systems down, must write with pen on (white) paper.

[OCNRN63, RN]

How about standardized colors for the various armbands as well? We've gotten some transfers from other facilities with one color band that to their hospital is limb alert (don't use for bp, IV, etc) whereas our band with that color is latex allergy.

how about crimson? Red was taken for fire, so that's our postpartum hemorrhage code.

​I was in the hospital a few weeks ago, and they have no armband for DNR. I have a DNR, so this concerned, esp. since I was having surgery. I told the nurse if anything happened to me and I woke up on a vent I would be seriously unhappy. (I'd bite the ETT too, though I didn't say that. I have very strong teeth.)

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

​I was in the hospital a few weeks ago, and they have no armband for DNR. I have a DNR, so this concerned, esp. since I was having surgery. I told the nurse if anything happened to me and I woke up on a vent I would be seriously unhappy. (I'd bite the ETT too, though I didn't say that. I have very strong teeth.)

My hospital has no arm band for DNR, or falls, or anything. Just white for regular, orange for allergies. I've said numerous times we need bands for DNR status, but management doesn't agree.

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

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

[danceyrun]

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

My hospital uses them.

[Twinmom06, ASN, APN]

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

we still have them also, however just about no one in our hospital is a "true" DNR - we have a code level buffet. Level 2 code has varying degrees if one wants compressions, intubation, cardiac drugs, bag valve device, some of the above, or none of the above. Level 3 code is a "no code" and is generally reserved only for those people on comfort measures. Apparently our upper eschelon feels that even if one is a Level 2 "no" to everything on said buffet they can still get antibiotics. Level 3's don't (which is stupid) - either we code you or we don't. But I digress....

[CelticGoddess, BSN, RN]

I used to work PRN at a hospital that had a Code Brown. Are you ready for this? Code Brown meant bomb threat - I would have snapped a picture of the back of my badge to prove it but I had to turn it in when I resigned that job before I started graduate school.

Facility I used to work with had Code Brown for a bomb threat then they changed the code system and any internal disaster (bomb threat, shooter in the ED, knife wielding patient, etc) became a code safety.

Now, where i work, they have way to many codes: the standards (red, blue, Adam, pink) but now we have black, silver, grey, alert, command, search, black seismic (why not just code seismic and btw, by the time you guys alert us to it, we'll have felt it!) and my absolute favorite: PI. Because you can't call a blue on someone who isn't a patient. No, gotta call a PI (personal injury) even if the person is having a bloody heart attack in the ED waiting room. At least they'll call them for the parking lot.

One day, they are going to come up with a code for a ****** off nurse who has to figure out what code to call. I say we call it code steam!

[wooh, BSN, RN]

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

At least it's easy to remember! Hahaha!

[loriangel14, RN]

Yes where I work Code brown is toxic spill as well.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Now, where i work, they have way to many codes: the standards (red, blue, Adam, pink) but now we have black, silver, grey, alert, command, search, black seismic (why not just code seismic and btw, by the time you guys alert us to it, we'll have felt it!) and my absolute favorite: PI. Because you can't call a blue on someone who isn't a patient. No, gotta call a PI (personal injury) even if the person is having a bloody heart attack in the ED waiting room. At least they'll call them for the parking lot.

One day, they are going to come up with a code for a ****** off nurse who has to figure out what code to call. I say we call it code steam!

I like how many people in this thread have said "the standard ones" when even those aren't standard. One place I worked wouldn't call a Code Red for fire, because they didn't want to scare people, so they would "Paging Dr. Red to..." wherever the fire was. And every freaking morning when the kitchen got there and would burn something, Dr. Red got paged to the kitchen. Because why wouldn't you page a physician to the kitchen?

My favorite is inclement weather. Here it's usually a tornado. So first we have to figure out what the color they called stands for. (Bomb? Shooter? Spill? Oh! Weather!) Then we check a tv and have to hear there's a tornado warning. Or is it watch? And then we have to argue amongst ourselves about which one is the "bad one"? Then finally check google to figure it out. By the time we know what is going on, we've either blown away or it's passed. And it happens EVERY TIME there's a tornado. Why can't they just call a "Code Tornado: The bad one"? :)

[SeattleJess]

I used to work PRN at a hospital that had a Code Brown. Are you ready for this? Code Brown meant bomb threat - I would have snapped a picture of the back of my badge to prove it but I had to turn it in when I resigned that job before I started graduate school.

Yep that's the code at the LTC where I work. Are you kidding me? Previous talks with nurse friends gave me a totally different idea of what this code is all about!

[bagladyrn, RN]

My favorite was a hospital at which the code for an approaching tornado was a "Code Dorothy"!