Hospitals Debut Uniform Alert Wristbands

BroMenn Healthcare and OSF St. Joseph Medical Center have banded together in an initiative to improve patient safety by using uniform wristbands to alert staff to critical information about patients.

Color-coded wristbands provide visual reminders to staff of patient allergies, fall risks, a restricted extremity, and/or the existence of a signed end-of-life document known as a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order.

"We have been collaborating on this project for more than a year," said Mary Anne Kirchner, MS, RN-BC, clinical education specialist at BroMenn. "This level of cooperation will substantially improve patient safety at both facilities by reducing the risk for inadvertent error. For example, the 'fall risk' wristband helps staff in non-nursing areas to know that the patient is at risk when they come to their area, and they must take precautions to avoid falls."

"Color-coded alert wristbands are used by hospitals to quickly identify a certain healthcare status, condition, or 'alert' a patient may have," explained Mark Dabbs, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, director of nursing at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center. "This visual communication is done so staff can provide the best care possible to our patients. We want to standardize as a community because patients can not only be transferred from one hospital to another, but it is also not uncommon for staff and physicians to work at both facilities."  

The color-coded bands are in addition to the standard hospital identification band. In keeping with the recommendations of the Illinois Hospital Association (IHA), a red band indicates an allergy; yellow identifies a patient at risk of falling; and purple indicates a DNR order on file. In addition, BroMenn Regional Medical Center and OSF St. Joseph Medical Center have designed a pink band for patients with a restricted extremity (an arm or leg that should not be used for procedures like blood pressure checks, intravenous infusions and blood draws).

Fourteen states currently use standardized colored wristbands. While the program remains voluntary, hospital associations across the country hope the majority of hospitals will convert to the standardized color-coded bands by March 1, 2009.