Code blue meaning, and the other hospital emergency codes

Code blue means a medical emergency, most often an adult in cardiac or respiratory arrest. The call brings the resuscitation team to the bedside. Code blue means the same thing in almost every hospital. Most other colour codes change from one hospital or region to the next.

Sources checked 18 October 2026.

What code blue means

In the California standard set by the Hospital Association of Southern California (HASC), code blue is an "adult medical emergency". Ontario hospitals follow the codes of the Ontario Hospital Association, where code blue is also a medical emergency. A separate code often covers children: code white in the HASC standard, and a paediatric code in some Ontario hospitals.

The call usually gives a location. The team that responds commonly includes a physician, nurses and a respiratory therapist, with the crash cart.

What the nurse does in a code blue

• If you find the client: check for a response, call for help and activate the code by your facility's method, and start CPR if the client has no normal breathing and no pulse.
• Send someone for the defibrillator and the crash cart. Use the defibrillator as soon as it arrives.
• When the team arrives, take the role the leader gives you: compressions, recording, medications or caring for the other clients on the unit.
• Afterwards, document the event and take part in the debrief.

Other hospital emergency codes

Two published standards show how the codes compare. Ontario hospitals add their own codes, so check your facility's list.

Why codes differ between hospitals

No national standard covers every United States hospital. HASC built its list because hospitals in California were using dozens of different codes for the same event. Before that work, a survey found 47 different codes for infant abduction. HASC still tells each facility to adapt the list to its own needs. Colours that match in one region can conflict in the next: code yellow is a bomb threat in California and a missing person in Ontario.

For a nurse, the rule is simple. Learn your facility's codes at orientation, and learn your role for each one.

The move to plain language

Many hospitals are dropping colours for plain-language announcements, such as "Fire alert, third floor, east wing." The Washington State Hospital Association has recommended plain-language alerts since 1 October 2024. Hospital associations in other states have made similar recommendations. Plain words help staff who move between hospitals, and visitors who do not know the codes. Many hospitals still keep "code blue" because everyone understands it.

Related safety pages: RACE and PASS for a code red and medical and surgical asepsis.

Practice questions

1. Question 1Multiple choiceSafety and Infection Control
   The overhead page announces "Code blue, room 412." What does this most often mean?

   An adult has a life-threatening medical emergency, usually cardiac or respiratory arrest.There is a fire in room 412.An infant has been taken from the unit.A visitor is behaving aggressively.
   Check answer
2. Question 2Multiple choiceManagement of Care
   A nurse starts work at a hospital in another state. What is the best way to learn the emergency codes there?

   Review the facility's emergency plan during orientation.Assume the codes match the nurse's previous hospital.Ask a client's family member.Wait until a code is called and follow the other staff.
   Check answer
3. Question 3Multiple responseSafety and Infection Control
   Under the Hospital Association of Southern California standard, which codes are matched with their meaning correctly? Select all that apply.

   Code red: fireCode pink: infant abductionCode silver: a person with a weapon or an active shooterCode yellow: cardiac arrestCode orange: fire in the kitchen
   Check answer
4. Question 4Multiple choiceSafety and Infection Control
   A code red is called for a room on the nurse's unit. Which action comes first?

   Move any client in immediate danger away from the fire.Open the fire doors so the fire team can get through.Take the clients to the ground floor by elevator.Collect all the clients' charts.
   Check answer