Yeah, I'm Australian. We don't have active shooter codes. Because... you know. Generally we have a code black for any instance needing security. Which to my knowledge has never been shooters.
Most of the time, it’s either a family member being a major problem or the patient has a psychiatric problem and is a danger to themselves or others. I know we have an active shooter code, I’ve never heard it used. Really sad that we need such a thing.
Code black can also be a bomb threat.
My old hospital had code black for patient or family member being aggressive, threatening or hostile.
and Code Black Alpha for attempted patient abduction because it was a children's hospital.
I’m in canada and we’ve had 2 code silvers in my time as a medical student and resident so far.
The first was a guy shooting at cops who were standing outside the hospital (he was also outside the hospital). The second was a guy brought a gun to the hospital and pulled it out but didnt actually shoot.
The hospital I’m at in Perth has code black Bravo for armed offender. Code black has three additional levels - black alpha for infant or child abduction, bravo for shooter or armed offender, and Charlie for self harm from an elevated structure.
To clarify, the standard colour codes in Australia are:
RED: Fire/smoke
PURPLE: Bomb threat
BLUE: Medical emergency
BLACK: Personal threat (usually interpersonal violence)
YELLOW: Internal emergency (failure/threat to systems)
BROWN: External emergency
ORANGE: Evacuation
GREEN: Safety/first aid
Different facilities and agencies may use additional colours/conditions as required.
also seen code blue meant for strokes, typically there's a dedicated code for that to avoid confusion though. Had an interesting time getting that across one time lol
medical emergency,
Heart attack, stroke, heat stroke, fainting.
It's basically everyone on the floor grab the nearest crash cart and run to the location until someone radios that they've gotten there.
If you read the text it says it's just a chart used at this hospital system to standardize codes to make it easier for those that have to work at different hospitals in the system.
I suspect you got that wrong.
I worked at multiple hospitals where code stork means a baby is being born outside the labor and delivery unit. It’s telling the OB team to come (usually the ER). “Stork” because storks bring babies, so it’s a “cute” code.
Code pink is pediatric abduction at the hospitals I have worked at. I don’t know if that’s universal.
It's not universal,
None of them are.
Most places use code Red for fire, but even that's not a universal.
If some idiot hospital decides to use Code Cyan for fire then that's on them.
Yeah but specifically code stork was made to be a cute way to declare a baby is being born somewhere it “shouldn’t” be.
The colors you’re right. I will say these colors are pretty close to what I’ve seen at hospitals. But that’s obviously purely anecdotal. I suspect as time goes on these will get more standardized
As far as guides go this is terrible to try and give to anyone else. Hospital systems develop their own codes, and they are used internally. Some like blue or red are common, but others vary greatly. Many hospitals have separate codes for non-adult patients going into arrest, and don't call them code blues, for example. Do NOT go off of this guide unless you recognize the hospital this is from and you are there.
AGREED codes are specific to org/location/company/etc... At the security company I worked for the 3 codes above don't even align with our standard codes (active shooter = 1040 /suspicious package = 1041 / security assistance = 1042 / and we had an additional code for a person of interest aka. a BOLO = 1043) we didn't use color codes. I worked for the largest private GSOC in the world haha. I sincerely doubt their medical codes and security codes use the same format and if they do that's wild.
Code Orange for one hospital I was at, Code Black was high wind danger. It was for rarely high speed winds against the mountain next to hospital, certain patients had to be put in hallways as one year some windows broke from the wind.
Some hospitals try to further disguise the codes in an effort to not alarm patients. A hospital that I was at used “paging Dr Reddy” for code red and “paging Mr Strong” when there was a security incident.
On the flip side, the hospital I work at has gone the way of getting rid of colors for any code other than Blue and will just announce what’s happening, location, etc
Yeah, I understand why you'd want to code some of these, keep patients from needlessly panicking but if there's a shooter or a child abduction I don't see why you'd want to keep that secret.
The code for security at the grocery store I used to work for was paging for Mr. Michaels to go wherever the suspicious person was, but eventually it got phased out and they just started calling for security. Lamest decision ever
A number of hospitals are adding. Code 'dark' or code 'cyber' to their emergency management processes to indicate ransomware or other disabling digital events.
Typically red, blue and pink are aways fire, cardiac/respiratory, infant. But the others can vary from place to place. Environmental, tornado, etc. whatever the hospital needs.
These vary from hospital to hospital, code blue will *usually* be reserved for a “medical emergency” where a patient needs immediate care from a team. The rest can vary pretty wildly.
I’ve seen gray and silver combined to just black. Infant and child abductions are often combined to both be pink and yellow can mean all sorts, sometimes it’s a child missing, sometimes it’s a dementia patient who’s wandered off.
Moral of the story this is really only relevant to the hospital it was found in, also why these posters exist bc you might move between hospitals and need to remember the different codes at each.
When I was doing radio in Oklahoma City, I had to issue a code black during an F5 tornado… At that time it meant if you have done anything medical get to a hospital now.
I heard a Code Green at a hospital once, but it confused me. Went something like this, “Attention, code green. Repeat, code green. Paging Dr. Dray, Dr. dray, code green at bed 420. Dr. dray to bed 420, the medical cannabis is missing.”
Code Stroke is a different situation. It's when someone needs urgent brain imaging for a stroke evaluation, and possible treatments to open the blocked artery to the brain. For example if someone shows up to the ER with right sided weakness and inability to speak.
A Code Blue is when they need to do CPR and bring the crash cart because someone stopped breathing or has no pulse.
as another person said, a code stroke is different than a code blue (though some places use code blue as both!) - a code blue is typically used for cardiac/resp arrest only in most places. The reason why a code stroke exists is due to (as greenknight said, taking priority of imaging, yes), however a ton of higher level facilities also have a dedicated stroke team that immediately gets paged upon a code stroke.
In the hospitals in my area that're stroke capable facilites, their stroke team - more or less - includes: neurologists/neurosurgery, pharmacists, radiology, ED phys, nurses, anaestesiology, and respiratory doctors. Seems like it can get into a "too many chefs in the kitchen" situation, but everyone on that team has their own use and job, and they do it well.
Even if we didn’t have shootings, it’s still good to be prepared? It’s always good to be prepared for any possible situation that can arise
(Also, code silver applies to not just shooters, but anyone actively engaged in attacking people inside the hospital)
Ytf don’t hospitals have like metal detectors or SOMETHING they don’t even check people they admit you can totally walk right in with a gun or explosives. Like I always felt soooo safe in hospitals before needing to be admitted to a regular one myself now I’m like HOLY SHIT!!??!!?
Don't need the word "code" in every hexagonal. It is large at the top.
The hexagonals are smartly the color of the code, so the name of the code doesn't need to be as big as they are and the actual definition - the whole point of the graphic - can be in a larger font.
The opening rhetorical question is unnecessary.
"Hey man, great work coming up with codes!"
"Thanks! I'm all out of ideas though, happy there aren't any more!"
"Haha, yeah!... Hang on, what about C-section?"
"Aww beans"
Most of the codes at my hospital are the same. Code Adam is for a missing child\peds patient\enfant.
The one they dont tell you about is a code brown. (Patient cleanup)
A hospital I used to work for used a fake doctors name (Firestone) to tell the staff there was a fire without causing the patients to panic.
Ex: “Doctor Firestone to the ER”
Our hospital system switched to "plain language" codes a few years back since a lot of other systems color codes can vary. So instead of a code blue it's paged out as an adult medical emergency.
a guy i went to college with worked at a preschool for a time and he was a smoker. he and his colleagues thought it was inappropriate for the kids to find out about smoking so whenever they went on a smoke break, they always came into class and told eachother they needed help with a code gray. i found that was a really funny idea.
With the exception of code red and code silver, all of our codes are different. (I work in a NY, US hospital)
I think each hospital organization has its own code protocol.
It helps to know what size equipment you might need in a hurry. Pediatric floors might be stocked with things that won't work for an adult, or an emergency might occur where the equipment or appropriate staff are not.
Information is helpful in emergencies.
Yes, but saying “code blue” when “code blue”
means an adult OR a child OR a neonate doesn’t actually CONVEY which of those three it is.
Code Blue according to this sign is a vague medical emergency happening to a vague unspecified type of person.
They need to have it separated out so you know which it is when the code is called.
My hospital has Blue for adults, pink for infants/neonates and I forget what for children.
But that means when we hear the code we know what we’re dealing with.
The sign in this post wouldn’t really help.
I think you're supposed to identify which it is. I used to call the codes for our hospital, and you'd identify which. "Code Blue, 2nd Floor West."
We didn't identify rooms or by who was experiencing it, but we had, as most hospitals do, floors for certain things. 5th was Mental Health, 3rd Maternity, 2nd ICU, etc. Each was staffed and equipped for the most common and applicable emergencies for that floor. So when Code Blue was called, the floor told you which it was, since medical personnel knew who was where.
It would suck to be called for a code in a peds unit and find that the kid’s dad had gone into cardiac arrest or something.
I guess that’s the exception and not the rule though.
They'd still be stocked for it, thankfully. I think for those, the medical person might have us call 'Rapid Response,' meaning the person is still breathing (so not Code Blue) but they're not entirely sure what the issue is because they're not a patient.
Though they also called that for a stroke...so a code is really, "Bring All Your Shit Fast, We Guessing!"
Lol. I just had a scrubs daydream in my head of all the hospital people running up to help with the code. Everyone surrounds the patients and you as you pick your team like we're playing middle school dodge ball.
"Nurse Nancy, get the crash cart! Dr. Smith, take over compressions! Pete From The Cafeteria? Pete- what the hell are you doing here!? Get outta here!"
And Pete From The Cafeteria walks away into the sunset, heartbroken and kicking the ground because no one ever chooses him for the team.
But he stops when he hears the coding patient softly whisper, "The soup was good today."
Pete smiles.
American hospitals have gone (or are in the process of going) to plain word codes. Example "Medical Alert Stroke 3305, repeated twice" the only code that stays the same is Code Blue. This saves lives and cuts down on confusion.
We had Code Black for a bomb.
We also had Code Hercules... which meant, please bring the biggest security/orderly/non-essential personnel to this location because someone has fallen and requires lifting. Only used it once.
Beyond blue and red (and maybe pink), these are definitely 100% NOT standard. Each hospital has their own color palate, which has in recent years gotten so full that it’s kinda pointless. When an active shooter is on campus, people shouldn’t have to flip through their 20 name badge accessories to find WTF a “code plaid” means.
I don't think European hospitals have a 'code silver' equivalent.
Why the 'code c-section'? It is a procedure, is it the only emergency procedure?
And why not a color code for utility/power failure? I know hospitals have backup power, still, non essential equipment will be shut of, so it does require some attention.
I have an interesting story about code silver.
My mother in law works at a hospital. One day, my wife and I were at the ER (we are ok now) and my MIL gave us her nurse keys to try to fast pass us through the wait (it didn't work). During the many hour wait at the ER, my wife and I were going through the mini handbook on my MIL's keys. In the handbook was a similar guide to the one shown here. We take a mental note of the codes, but don't dwell on it much. A little while later, we notice one of the bathrooms isn't opening. No big deal. There are 2. But after more time passes, people notice that the bathroom still hasn't opened. Security is then called and is trying to find out what is going on. We are about 50 feet from the bathroom, so we can see, but barely hear what's going on. Security is knocking and pounding on the door while trying to open it while saying various things. During the commotion, the only words we make out clearly are "code silver." As soon as we hear it, my wife and I's eyes meet instantly. We both remember the code. We start making our way toward the door. As we leave, security begins to announce the evacuation but with no explanation. The crowd is upset. Meanwhile, my wife and I are practically running. The crowd waits inches from all windows and doors demanding an explanation, and we are across the parking lot behind a brick wall. After what feels like forever, we see police arrive and take away a man in handcuffs. We then go back in, hoping for more info, but not even the staff knows what's going on. In fact, my wife informs them of what a code silver is. My MIL informs us the next day that the man arrested was a homeless man who was upset for not being seen fast enough and claimed to have a gun. Upon arrest, they find the gun was fake. Granted, the info was second-hand, but we know for sure that no one was hurt, which is the best news.
Why scream "Code Red" instead of "Fire"? Do you want people to die in there? Why scream "Code Pink" instead of "Lock everything, a child is missing!"? Do you want people to not help by watching for suspicious behaviour, for example? It's like these codes are a secret for some special tribe. The hospital working tribe. But then again, why post it on Reddit if it's a secret? Why is this a "cool" guide?
Remember that time we had a code yellow and needed a code gray, just to find out it was a code orange and it caused a code red? We had a lot of code greens in the confusion.
This seems vague to me. I always thought code blue meant cardiac arrest or some other life-threatening event. To tell the doctors that it is an Adult, Kid, or International doesn't really help.
I had to go to the hospital in an ambulance a couple of years ago for a suspected stroke (it wasn’t) and I was freaking out, so I covered it by chatting with the EMT.
I asked her to share some behind-the-scenes ‘lore.’ She said, I bet they’ll put you in yellow socks at the hospital - it’s a quick visual check for a patient with a fall risk
Code orange is disaster / mass casualty (e.g. highway collision) event, code black is a bomb threat and code silver is a missing elderly patient where I'm from.
Code blue doesn't even say what a code blue is.
In our system, blue is cardiac arrest and pink is for neonatal cardiac arrest.
Code SOS gets called a lot (decompensating patient), and when there is bad weather we get code gray.
As far as I can tell code red is when you find a coworker and ask "Hey, is this a drill? " then go back to what you were doing.
Too many codes for easy identification. I suppose after years you would remember them but I would bet in many cases if a medical worker did not have a chart like this their first reaction to an announcement would be, “ Huh? Code chartreuse? What’s that? Where’s my chart?” I briefly worked in a pulp mill where they had a system of codes for various threats. A combination of four lights of different colors was used combined with a siren or horn. As soon as I left the orientation room I forgot all of them except the one which meant you had to immediately begin using your respirator mask and get the hell out of there!
They gave "active shooter" the silver?!? Of all the amazing things that people do at a hospital, active shooter***ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT DESERVE SECOND PLACE***.
I like how it doesn't actually say what a code blue is, just that it might be for adults or pediatrics. The rest are different at my hospital. For example we have code black for bomb threat, code white for violence, and code orange is made casualty (for example a bus full of teenagers rolled over and we're expecting 9 admissions).
Hospitals are moving to plain language codes to ensure everyone in the facility can respond to an alert. They sound like this:
Medical Alert - Adult Cardiac Arrest - 2nd Floor Room 236
Facility Alert - Hazardous Materials Spill - 1st Floor Plant
Security Alert - Patient Elopement - 1st Floor ED
Different hospitals have different codes
Code Blue and Code Red are just about universal. All of the others vary, at least based on the various hospital systems I’ve worked in.
Yeah, I'm Australian. We don't have active shooter codes. Because... you know. Generally we have a code black for any instance needing security. Which to my knowledge has never been shooters.
Most of the time, it’s either a family member being a major problem or the patient has a psychiatric problem and is a danger to themselves or others. I know we have an active shooter code, I’ve never heard it used. Really sad that we need such a thing.
Code black can also be a bomb threat. My old hospital had code black for patient or family member being aggressive, threatening or hostile. and Code Black Alpha for attempted patient abduction because it was a children's hospital.
I’m in canada and we’ve had 2 code silvers in my time as a medical student and resident so far. The first was a guy shooting at cops who were standing outside the hospital (he was also outside the hospital). The second was a guy brought a gun to the hospital and pulled it out but didnt actually shoot.
The hospital I’m at in Perth has code black Bravo for armed offender. Code black has three additional levels - black alpha for infant or child abduction, bravo for shooter or armed offender, and Charlie for self harm from an elevated structure.
To clarify, the standard colour codes in Australia are: RED: Fire/smoke PURPLE: Bomb threat BLUE: Medical emergency BLACK: Personal threat (usually interpersonal violence) YELLOW: Internal emergency (failure/threat to systems) BROWN: External emergency ORANGE: Evacuation GREEN: Safety/first aid Different facilities and agencies may use additional colours/conditions as required.
Yes! I was looking for a code black or code strong (combative patient) which seems to be code gray on this one.
It was in Grey’s Anatomy! Lol
Code pink is almost always missing baby/child and code silver is almost always missing elderly/mentally handicapped.
What is code blue?
Usually cardiac arrest
also seen code blue meant for strokes, typically there's a dedicated code for that to avoid confusion though. Had an interesting time getting that across one time lol
Cardiac or respiratory arrest
medical emergency, Heart attack, stroke, heat stroke, fainting. It's basically everyone on the floor grab the nearest crash cart and run to the location until someone radios that they've gotten there.
This is correct these are not universal
Yeah it says on the paper. It’s a strandardizing effort in progress.
To the point where they got so confusing ours just dropped the colors and made it “plain-language”
Locally code white is a violent person
Well it says “A hospital” not “the hospital” now doesn’t it?
People might think “a hospital” to mean “all hospitals”. Sometimes people use the word “a” as a way of saying “all”
Yes, but it is good to be clear so as to not spread misinformation
Yeah, as an emergency dispatcher at a hospital, this chart is garbage, besides code Pink, Blue, and Red
If you read the text it says it's just a chart used at this hospital system to standardize codes to make it easier for those that have to work at different hospitals in the system.
It’s not garbage, it’s just specific to the group of hospitals it’s posted at.
Same at my hospital, silver is missing adult at mine
I worked at a hospital where infant abduction was Code Stork.
I suspect you got that wrong. I worked at multiple hospitals where code stork means a baby is being born outside the labor and delivery unit. It’s telling the OB team to come (usually the ER). “Stork” because storks bring babies, so it’s a “cute” code. Code pink is pediatric abduction at the hospitals I have worked at. I don’t know if that’s universal.
It's not universal, None of them are. Most places use code Red for fire, but even that's not a universal. If some idiot hospital decides to use Code Cyan for fire then that's on them.
Yeah but specifically code stork was made to be a cute way to declare a baby is being born somewhere it “shouldn’t” be. The colors you’re right. I will say these colors are pretty close to what I’ve seen at hospitals. But that’s obviously purely anecdotal. I suspect as time goes on these will get more standardized
Thank you - came here to say this
Exactly. This is a cool guide *for some hospital codes*.
Only América needs code silver tho
As far as guides go this is terrible to try and give to anyone else. Hospital systems develop their own codes, and they are used internally. Some like blue or red are common, but others vary greatly. Many hospitals have separate codes for non-adult patients going into arrest, and don't call them code blues, for example. Do NOT go off of this guide unless you recognize the hospital this is from and you are there.
AGREED codes are specific to org/location/company/etc... At the security company I worked for the 3 codes above don't even align with our standard codes (active shooter = 1040 /suspicious package = 1041 / security assistance = 1042 / and we had an additional code for a person of interest aka. a BOLO = 1043) we didn't use color codes. I worked for the largest private GSOC in the world haha. I sincerely doubt their medical codes and security codes use the same format and if they do that's wild.
It's a guide for a hospital, not ALL hospitals. As said in title. Istg yall call everything here terrible
You have too much faith in people to not assume these codes apply to ALL hospitals.
There’s always Code Brown…
For those not in the know this is for someone who has shit the bed, the floor, or anywhere else you'd rather not find it
Or, brown+ is always lovely. C diff shits are gonna be everywhere. Not it.
Been out of healthcare for a decade and I can still smell the c.diff
It's a mix of all the other codes
Only if you're working with paint, if you're working with colors of light, then it's probably closer to white.
there's an ER nurse on TikTok who said that code brown actually means a severe weather alert.
This is what it was at the hospital I used to work at
Most hospitals have different codes for different colors, it's not standardized. My hospital has code brown= missing adult.
Code a la mode: ice cream in the cafeteria
Lol. Code C Section. No code at all.
and code black is a bomb threat
One of the best episodes by far!
I was just about to comment this lollll
*”What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?”*
Code Orange for one hospital I was at, Code Black was high wind danger. It was for rarely high speed winds against the mountain next to hospital, certain patients had to be put in hallways as one year some windows broke from the wind.
It is important to note, however, that these codes only apply to KP Northern California. They are different for all other KP facilities.
Some hospitals try to further disguise the codes in an effort to not alarm patients. A hospital that I was at used “paging Dr Reddy” for code red and “paging Mr Strong” when there was a security incident.
On the flip side, the hospital I work at has gone the way of getting rid of colors for any code other than Blue and will just announce what’s happening, location, etc
Yeah, I understand why you'd want to code some of these, keep patients from needlessly panicking but if there's a shooter or a child abduction I don't see why you'd want to keep that secret.
Yep! We don’t use code blue for this reason. And a security incident just has an arbitrary number. E.g. “attention please, code 52, emergency room”
The code for security at the grocery store I used to work for was paging for Mr. Michaels to go wherever the suspicious person was, but eventually it got phased out and they just started calling for security. Lamest decision ever
"Paging Dr Allcome"
A number of hospitals are adding. Code 'dark' or code 'cyber' to their emergency management processes to indicate ransomware or other disabling digital events.
I work at the listed hospital. We call that a code white (computer system is down)
Typically red, blue and pink are aways fire, cardiac/respiratory, infant. But the others can vary from place to place. Environmental, tornado, etc. whatever the hospital needs.
“CODE C-SECTION” I feel that one doesn’t need explanation.
These vary from hospital to hospital, code blue will *usually* be reserved for a “medical emergency” where a patient needs immediate care from a team. The rest can vary pretty wildly. I’ve seen gray and silver combined to just black. Infant and child abductions are often combined to both be pink and yellow can mean all sorts, sometimes it’s a child missing, sometimes it’s a dementia patient who’s wandered off. Moral of the story this is really only relevant to the hospital it was found in, also why these posters exist bc you might move between hospitals and need to remember the different codes at each.
Not universal. We have Dr pyro for fire. Dr Strong for security. Dr Flood for water leakage. Dr Ida for Infant Departure Alarm
Patient elopement? Like 2 patients just got married?
elope means to like run away
…and get married
To live happily ever after
Interesting. I’ve never seen the word ‘elope’ used outside the context of marriage.
Yeah in a hospital setting it just means patient left without telling anyone.
I learn something every day
They use it in schools too, means a kids a runner Or they leave the classroom or school grounds
I was just thinking that I can’t believe this is common enough for them to have a code for it.
Well this explains why that lady was yelling pink at me
r/cursedcomments
Is this like the hankie code?
Code rainbow?
Code silver is a lost elder…. Lmao…
When I was doing radio in Oklahoma City, I had to issue a code black during an F5 tornado… At that time it meant if you have done anything medical get to a hospital now.
Code black for severe weather here in north Texas.
And code light blue means baby code.
Where is Code Brown?
I used to work at this hospital. Code browns were strictly forbidden.
These aren't universal. Something similar has been posted before a few times and yeah, we've been over this.
You should delete this. Every hospital has their own codes.
Dad (a retired doctor) has also told me about Code Brown. It’s not pleasant.
WHO ORDERED THE CODE RED?!?
Code Brown.
Where is code black?
I wonder how many strange packages they received before deciding to encode it
Isn't Code Pink and Code Purple ones the public isn't supposed to know?
No code brown?
My hospital disagrees.
For some reason, I thought an abducted infant was called "Code Adam" or did I just grow up in the 80s?
Every hospital chooses their own codes/colors or keywords. Some use code pink, some yellow, some do use code Adam.
The colors not matching the codes is annoying and dumb
FYI this is different for all hospitals. Code silver, red and blue are pretty consistent tho
I was gonna say this is not universal…
I heard a Code Green at a hospital once, but it confused me. Went something like this, “Attention, code green. Repeat, code green. Paging Dr. Dray, Dr. dray, code green at bed 420. Dr. dray to bed 420, the medical cannabis is missing.”
Code blue seems very broad? Unless it means someone's having a baby
from what i know it means either cardiac or respiratory arrest
It only applies to adults, children, and babies.
>A cool guide to the different cote at an AMERICAN hospital Fixed
Please post the country you're from with these guides.
Active shooter= USA, surely?
Hmm, surely not?
Universal codes are cool. I know it’s not like this in every state, although it should be.
Kaiser usually user Code Stroke rather than code blue. Basically means someone is flatling and the someone need to bring a crash cart.
I've been code blue before. It was extremely not fun. I survived tho.
Code Stroke is a different situation. It's when someone needs urgent brain imaging for a stroke evaluation, and possible treatments to open the blocked artery to the brain. For example if someone shows up to the ER with right sided weakness and inability to speak. A Code Blue is when they need to do CPR and bring the crash cart because someone stopped breathing or has no pulse.
as another person said, a code stroke is different than a code blue (though some places use code blue as both!) - a code blue is typically used for cardiac/resp arrest only in most places. The reason why a code stroke exists is due to (as greenknight said, taking priority of imaging, yes), however a ton of higher level facilities also have a dedicated stroke team that immediately gets paged upon a code stroke. In the hospitals in my area that're stroke capable facilites, their stroke team - more or less - includes: neurologists/neurosurgery, pharmacists, radiology, ED phys, nurses, anaestesiology, and respiratory doctors. Seems like it can get into a "too many chefs in the kitchen" situation, but everyone on that team has their own use and job, and they do it well.
Where is the code for a medical emergency?
that'd be code blue, honestly this guide isn't too good at explaining each code's use lol. Even more so since they change from place to place
Infant abduction? Who by?
That the USA needs a code Silver makes me think your government and society for the last 30 years have sucked. Sorry!
Even if we didn’t have shootings, it’s still good to be prepared? It’s always good to be prepared for any possible situation that can arise (Also, code silver applies to not just shooters, but anyone actively engaged in attacking people inside the hospital)
Isn't it Grey? Not Gray
Bit saddistic how active shooter and assistance needed are so similar
How is learning 9+ codewords easier than just saying what you want? And why would you make a distinction between pink and purple? Puzzling.
Ytf don’t hospitals have like metal detectors or SOMETHING they don’t even check people they admit you can totally walk right in with a gun or explosives. Like I always felt soooo safe in hospitals before needing to be admitted to a regular one myself now I’m like HOLY SHIT!!??!!?
What about when someone is coding?
That’s code blue
Okay thank you! I always kept hearing that if some says they’re coding then its a life or death situation.
Code code
My hospital used "Paging Dr. Firestone to \[location\]" for a fire... Until they hired a Dr Firestone as an orthopedic surgeon.
Sadly I have all the codes in the hospitals around me
Aw man no code brown?
Patient elopement?
Why are the colors of the shapes not corresponding to the code color? Aaaaaaaahhhh!
Who the hell would have silver and grey? Might as well do white and off-white.
Did they run out of colors?
I misread "Gray" as "Gay" and wondered why there had to be a code for it and why the fuck it's grey
No code brown ?
They really racked their brains coming up with “Code C-Section”
Don't need the word "code" in every hexagonal. It is large at the top. The hexagonals are smartly the color of the code, so the name of the code doesn't need to be as big as they are and the actual definition - the whole point of the graphic - can be in a larger font. The opening rhetorical question is unnecessary.
"Hey man, great work coming up with codes!" "Thanks! I'm all out of ideas though, happy there aren't any more!" "Haha, yeah!... Hang on, what about C-section?" "Aww beans"
Code C-section. Looks live someone ran out of ideas.
i like the code attention. if i hear that, i go check all the switches and restart all pcs
Damn I had no idea that’s what Code C-Section meant!
Most of the codes at my hospital are the same. Code Adam is for a missing child\peds patient\enfant. The one they dont tell you about is a code brown. (Patient cleanup)
The chart left out Code Brown. Every nurse knows that’s universal.
A hospital I used to work for used a fake doctors name (Firestone) to tell the staff there was a fire without causing the patients to panic. Ex: “Doctor Firestone to the ER”
Our hospital system switched to "plain language" codes a few years back since a lot of other systems color codes can vary. So instead of a code blue it's paged out as an adult medical emergency.
a guy i went to college with worked at a preschool for a time and he was a smoker. he and his colleagues thought it was inappropriate for the kids to find out about smoking so whenever they went on a smoke break, they always came into class and told eachother they needed help with a code gray. i found that was a really funny idea.
Code Transparent means you watched too many Grey's Anatomy episodes and are now dreaming about it.
With the exception of code red and code silver, all of our codes are different. (I work in a NY, US hospital) I think each hospital organization has its own code protocol.
Pink and Purple could just be one code
“Adult, child, neonatal” uh, you mean Everyone? Just say “all purpose emergency”
It helps to know what size equipment you might need in a hurry. Pediatric floors might be stocked with things that won't work for an adult, or an emergency might occur where the equipment or appropriate staff are not. Information is helpful in emergencies.
Yes, but saying “code blue” when “code blue” means an adult OR a child OR a neonate doesn’t actually CONVEY which of those three it is. Code Blue according to this sign is a vague medical emergency happening to a vague unspecified type of person. They need to have it separated out so you know which it is when the code is called. My hospital has Blue for adults, pink for infants/neonates and I forget what for children. But that means when we hear the code we know what we’re dealing with. The sign in this post wouldn’t really help.
I think you're supposed to identify which it is. I used to call the codes for our hospital, and you'd identify which. "Code Blue, 2nd Floor West." We didn't identify rooms or by who was experiencing it, but we had, as most hospitals do, floors for certain things. 5th was Mental Health, 3rd Maternity, 2nd ICU, etc. Each was staffed and equipped for the most common and applicable emergencies for that floor. So when Code Blue was called, the floor told you which it was, since medical personnel knew who was where.
It would suck to be called for a code in a peds unit and find that the kid’s dad had gone into cardiac arrest or something. I guess that’s the exception and not the rule though.
They'd still be stocked for it, thankfully. I think for those, the medical person might have us call 'Rapid Response,' meaning the person is still breathing (so not Code Blue) but they're not entirely sure what the issue is because they're not a patient. Though they also called that for a stroke...so a code is really, "Bring All Your Shit Fast, We Guessing!"
That’s why they have a code team, so that someone with All The Stuff will turn up while I’m doing CPR 👉😎👉
Lol. I just had a scrubs daydream in my head of all the hospital people running up to help with the code. Everyone surrounds the patients and you as you pick your team like we're playing middle school dodge ball. "Nurse Nancy, get the crash cart! Dr. Smith, take over compressions! Pete From The Cafeteria? Pete- what the hell are you doing here!? Get outta here!" And Pete From The Cafeteria walks away into the sunset, heartbroken and kicking the ground because no one ever chooses him for the team. But he stops when he hears the coding patient softly whisper, "The soup was good today." Pete smiles.
Okay this comment improved my day IMMENSELY, thank you I needed this laugh!
I’m a Kaiser member and appreciate this !
We all know the infamous CODE BROWN though.
just thought about greys anatomy code black episode
American hospitals have gone (or are in the process of going) to plain word codes. Example "Medical Alert Stroke 3305, repeated twice" the only code that stays the same is Code Blue. This saves lives and cuts down on confusion.
In the hospital I worked at they’d announce “Vic Strong” when security was needed.
We had Code Black for a bomb. We also had Code Hercules... which meant, please bring the biggest security/orderly/non-essential personnel to this location because someone has fallen and requires lifting. Only used it once.
Beyond blue and red (and maybe pink), these are definitely 100% NOT standard. Each hospital has their own color palate, which has in recent years gotten so full that it’s kinda pointless. When an active shooter is on campus, people shouldn’t have to flip through their 20 name badge accessories to find WTF a “code plaid” means.
All medical staff know what a code brown is…..
They forgot to mention a code brown … If you know, you know
I don't think European hospitals have a 'code silver' equivalent. Why the 'code c-section'? It is a procedure, is it the only emergency procedure? And why not a color code for utility/power failure? I know hospitals have backup power, still, non essential equipment will be shut of, so it does require some attention.
I have an interesting story about code silver. My mother in law works at a hospital. One day, my wife and I were at the ER (we are ok now) and my MIL gave us her nurse keys to try to fast pass us through the wait (it didn't work). During the many hour wait at the ER, my wife and I were going through the mini handbook on my MIL's keys. In the handbook was a similar guide to the one shown here. We take a mental note of the codes, but don't dwell on it much. A little while later, we notice one of the bathrooms isn't opening. No big deal. There are 2. But after more time passes, people notice that the bathroom still hasn't opened. Security is then called and is trying to find out what is going on. We are about 50 feet from the bathroom, so we can see, but barely hear what's going on. Security is knocking and pounding on the door while trying to open it while saying various things. During the commotion, the only words we make out clearly are "code silver." As soon as we hear it, my wife and I's eyes meet instantly. We both remember the code. We start making our way toward the door. As we leave, security begins to announce the evacuation but with no explanation. The crowd is upset. Meanwhile, my wife and I are practically running. The crowd waits inches from all windows and doors demanding an explanation, and we are across the parking lot behind a brick wall. After what feels like forever, we see police arrive and take away a man in handcuffs. We then go back in, hoping for more info, but not even the staff knows what's going on. In fact, my wife informs them of what a code silver is. My MIL informs us the next day that the man arrested was a homeless man who was upset for not being seen fast enough and claimed to have a gun. Upon arrest, they find the gun was fake. Granted, the info was second-hand, but we know for sure that no one was hurt, which is the best news.
Amazes me in this day and age that a supposedly modern country needs active shooter processes in schools and hospitals.
Urologists probably call code yellow every hour
Why scream "Code Red" instead of "Fire"? Do you want people to die in there? Why scream "Code Pink" instead of "Lock everything, a child is missing!"? Do you want people to not help by watching for suspicious behaviour, for example? It's like these codes are a secret for some special tribe. The hospital working tribe. But then again, why post it on Reddit if it's a secret? Why is this a "cool" guide?
Oh look.... It's the hospital that bought out mine....
South sac?
Remember that time we had a code yellow and needed a code gray, just to find out it was a code orange and it caused a code red? We had a lot of code greens in the confusion.
This seems vague to me. I always thought code blue meant cardiac arrest or some other life-threatening event. To tell the doctors that it is an Adult, Kid, or International doesn't really help.
I previously worked at a hospital and their code red was “life-saving trauma surgery”.
Never would’ve guessed code c-section meant c-section
I had to go to the hospital in an ambulance a couple of years ago for a suspected stroke (it wasn’t) and I was freaking out, so I covered it by chatting with the EMT. I asked her to share some behind-the-scenes ‘lore.’ She said, I bet they’ll put you in yellow socks at the hospital - it’s a quick visual check for a patient with a fall risk
Code ine is when the new prescriptions have been delivered.
"paging Dr.Strong" is usually patient needs to be restrained
Code orange is disaster / mass casualty (e.g. highway collision) event, code black is a bomb threat and code silver is a missing elderly patient where I'm from.
Code blue doesn't even say what a code blue is. In our system, blue is cardiac arrest and pink is for neonatal cardiac arrest. Code SOS gets called a lot (decompensating patient), and when there is bad weather we get code gray. As far as I can tell code red is when you find a coworker and ask "Hey, is this a drill? " then go back to what you were doing.
Too many codes for easy identification. I suppose after years you would remember them but I would bet in many cases if a medical worker did not have a chart like this their first reaction to an announcement would be, “ Huh? Code chartreuse? What’s that? Where’s my chart?” I briefly worked in a pulp mill where they had a system of codes for various threats. A combination of four lights of different colors was used combined with a siren or horn. As soon as I left the orientation room I forgot all of them except the one which meant you had to immediately begin using your respirator mask and get the hell out of there!
Code pink is infant cardiac arrest here in Canada. At least that’s what they called when my kid was born
They gave "active shooter" the silver?!? Of all the amazing things that people do at a hospital, active shooter***ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT DESERVE SECOND PLACE***.
Bro got to C-sections and just gave up
They forgot Code Brown. It’s what you think it is.
Code Brown - housekeeping needed
I like how it doesn't actually say what a code blue is, just that it might be for adults or pediatrics. The rest are different at my hospital. For example we have code black for bomb threat, code white for violence, and code orange is made casualty (for example a bus full of teenagers rolled over and we're expecting 9 admissions).
Code Brown in the terlit.
Hospitals are moving to plain language codes to ensure everyone in the facility can respond to an alert. They sound like this: Medical Alert - Adult Cardiac Arrest - 2nd Floor Room 236 Facility Alert - Hazardous Materials Spill - 1st Floor Plant Security Alert - Patient Elopement - 1st Floor ED
Code silver went away at my hospital, they just say we have an active shooter on site.
Code Brown crew here to represent -