The HASC Safety and Security Committee met recently to discuss updating the emergency codes for health care organizations. Among the notable changes, Code Silver was updated to include a person with a weapon, an active shooter and/or a hostage situation.

Developed by HASC in 2000, the hospital emergency codes provide guidelines for appropriate responses in the event of a variety of emergencies within a hospital or health care facility. They are intended to convey essential information quickly and with minimum misunderstanding to staff, while preventing stress or panic among hospital visitors.

A statewide survey of hospital emergency codes completed in August will help to identify trends and best practices for future updates. The survey results will be reviewed at a workshop, Active Shooter — Steps to Mitigate Harm, scheduled for Sept. 21. The workshop follows the Disaster Planning for Hospitals Conference Sept. 19-20 in Sacramento.

For more information about emergency codes, download Health Care Emergency Codes: A Guide for Code Standardization and other safety resources at www.hasc.org/post/emergency-codes.