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FL hospitals cite patient safety risk from LiveStrong wristbands

Patient Safety Monitor Alert, December 17, 2004

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Several hospitals in Florida are asking patients to remove their yellow, rubber LiveStrong wristbands, which raise money for Lance Armstrong's cancer organization, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Staff at these hospitals have identified the popular wristbands as a risk to patient safety because yellow wristbands stand for "do not resuscitate" in these facilities.

"It could be confusing, particularly in the situation of a code or a cardiac arrest where people have to think very quickly," said Lisa Johnson, vice president of patient services for Morton Plant Mease Health Care. "We wouldn't want to mistake a Lance Armstrong bracelet and not resuscitate someone we're supposed to."

Hospitals that have put this rule into effect include Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, Morton Plant North Bay Hospital in New Port Richey, Mease Dunedin, Mease Countryside, St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, and St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg. These hospitals use the same color codes: purple signifies the patient is at risk for falling, red to signify the patient has allergies, and white as an identification bracelet.

"It's very important that we constantly get the message out to our community that patient safety is our priority," says Johnson.

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