Do you use Code Pink for a missing older child?
Most hospitals with an obstetrics unit have a protocol for announcing a missing infant, often named a Code Pink, but what do you when an older child is missing? Do you still sound a Code Pink?
You can, but with a modification, suggests John Rabun, ASCW, director of infant abduction response for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Alexandria, VA, and previously executive vice president and CEO.
The missing child could be a pediatric patient or perhaps the sibling or child of a patient, Rabun says. Some hospitals restrict the use of Code Pink to newborns so that there is no doubt about the meaning and what action should be taken, Rabun says. For older children, those hospitals often use a general announcement that a child is missing, which might not produce the same response as a Code Pink.
“If you want to use Code Pink for the 8-year-old oncology patient who wandered away to the gift shop without permission, you can use ‘Code Pink, 8’ so that everyone knows you’re not looking for an infant,” Rabun says.
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