Armband Color Changes for Allergies, Fall Risk

To align with the American Hospital Association's armband alert colors, Cook Children's is changing the color-coded armband for patient allergies and fall risk. The changes begin Sunday, Jan. 23. Note: Cook Children's will NOT be adopting DNR armbands. CCMC will continue to utilize code sheets to signify resuscitation status. 

Red allergy band details: 

• Red bands pre-printed with “ALLERGY” should be placed only on patients with allergies 
• No NKDA bands 
  • If the patient does not have an allergy, they will NOT receive a band 
• Allergy bands will NOT list allergies 
  • No handwriting allergies on the band 
• Why red for allergies? 
  • Red signifies stop, reminding staff to verify allergies 

Yellow fall risk band details:

• Yellow “FALL RISK ” bands will replace the orange Humpty Dumpty bands 
  • This applies only to patients who score High Risk in the Humpty Dumpty Scale 
• Why yellow for fall risk? 
  • Yellow alerts everyone to take caution and slow down