Seeing more color-coded alerts lately across our units, and it made me wonder: when did “code blue” become the common term, and what’s the actual origin? A preceptor told me in 2010 her hospital used “code 99,” so I’m curious who remembers the shift and why blue stuck.
We used “code 99” until about 2010, then switched to “code blue” when our system adopted standardized color codes; the origin’s pretty murky, but “blue” spread via ACLS and TV and got cemented by state guides. If you’re curious, check your hospital’s old emergency‑code memos for the switch date — Wikipedia has a decent overview: Hospital emergency codes - Wikipedia. And no, it’s not because the patient turns blue (grim mnemonic); when did your unit make the change?
And best breadcrumb I’ve seen is it started as 1960s pager shorthand — Bethany Medical Center in Kansas gets cited — , the origin stories don’t all agree. Our system switched in 2010 when the regional hospital association standardized colors, which tracks with your preceptor’s ‘code 99’ note, @golden-vector. If you want the local why, check your Emergency Management/HICS policy archive for the memo that retired the old code.