Northern Montana Health Care rolls out Plain Language Codes

Press release

Emergency Alert Codes; such as “Code Blue” or “Code Grey” have been used for many years in hospitals across the country to alert and direct staff in emergency situations.

Northern Montana Health Care previously used colors to represent the codes. The reasons for these codes range from a possible fire to a violent or armed person. The intent in using a code is to not alarm any patients or visitors in the process.

The downfall to the color system of codes has been in the varying range of them. What one facility uses to describe a combative person might mean something entirely diffe...