Crash carts, also called code carts or emergency carts, are specialized storage solutions designed to improve patient care in a crisis. Crash carts contain all the necessary medication and equipment to address a life-threatening medical emergency such as cardiac arrest. They provide medical staff with immediate access to the required equipment to provide life-saving care, even if the situation occurs outside of the emergency department.

Crash carts are critical solutions for hospitals and other healthcare facilities where medical emergencies occur. However, not all emergency carts are created equal, and many different design options are available. To provide the most efficient and quality care for your patients, consider which types of crash carts best meet your facility’s needs. (Check out more of our healthcare storage solutions here.)

Crash carts, also called code carts or emergency carts, are specialized storage solutions designed to improve patient care in a crisis. Crash carts contain all the necessary medication and equipment to address a life-threatening medical emergency such as cardiac arrest. They provide medical staff with immediate access to the required equipment to provide life-saving care, even if the situation occurs outside of the emergency department.

Crash carts are critical solutions for hospitals and other healthcare facilities where medical emergencies occur. However, not all emergency carts are created equal, and many different design options are available. To provide the most efficient and quality care for your patients, consider which types of crash carts best meet your facility’s needs. (Check out more of our healthcare storage solutions here.)

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What Facilities Need Crash Carts?

crash cartCrash carts are designed for emergency medical situations. The Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Training Center recommends that any facility that treats patients with the potential of a sudden deterioration in their condition should have a crash cart on hand.

State regulations require certain healthcare facilities to have an emergency cart. Beyond this, crash carts are recommended for many facilities, including the following:

  • Hospitals
  • Urgent care centers
  • Outpatient surgery centers
  • Nursing homes
  • Physician offices that perform diagnostic tests such as cardiac stress testing
  • Any medical center that performs conscious sedation

Types of Medical Crash Carts

emergency carts

All crash carts should generally contain a standard set of equipment and medications to address a medical emergency, including basic airway equipment, intravenous access equipment, a defibrillator and heart monitor, and medications for the treatment of cardiac arrest and allergic reactions.

However, an emergency cart’s specific organization and contents can vary based on the application. For example, pediatric carts should include medications and intubation equipment specialized for pediatric patients; pediatric equipment may also be included in a designated drawer in a standard adult crash cart.

Different healthcare facilities or hospital departments may also have specialized crash carts. For example, an anesthesia cart would contain specialized equipment to be used by anesthesia personnel. A standard medical crash cart might have different contents than a surgical, ICU, emergency room, or cardiac crash cart.

What Facilities Need Crash Carts?

crash cartCrash carts are designed for emergency medical situations. The Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Training Center recommends that any facility that treats patients with the potential of a sudden deterioration in their condition should have a crash cart on hand.

State regulations require certain healthcare facilities to have an emergency cart. Beyond this, crash carts are recommended for many facilities, including the following:

  • Hospitals
  • Urgent care centers
  • Outpatient surgery centers
  • Nursing homes
  • Physician offices that perform diagnostic tests such as cardiac stress testing
  • Any medical center that performs conscious sedation

Types of Medical Crash Carts

emergency carts

All crash carts should generally contain a standard set of equipment and medications to address a medical emergency, including basic airway equipment, intravenous access equipment, a defibrillator and heart monitor, and medications for the treatment of cardiac arrest and allergic reactions.

However, an emergency cart’s specific organization and contents can vary based on the application. For example, pediatric carts should include medications and intubation equipment specialized for pediatric patients; pediatric equipment may also be included in a designated drawer in a standard adult crash cart.

Different healthcare facilities or hospital departments may also have specialized crash carts. For example, an anesthesia cart would contain specialized equipment to be used by anesthesia personnel. A standard medical crash cart might have different contents than a surgical, ICU, emergency room, or cardiac crash cart.

What Facilities Need Crash Carts?

crash cart
Crash carts are designed for emergency medical situations. The Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Training Center recommends that any facility that treats patients with the potential of a sudden deterioration in their condition should have a crash cart on hand.

State regulations require certain healthcare facilities to have an emergency cart. Beyond this, crash carts are recommended for many facilities, including the following:

  • Hospitals
  • Urgent care centers
  • Outpatient surgery centers
  • Nursing homes
  • Physician offices that perform diagnostic tests such as cardiac stress testing
  • Any medical center that performs conscious sedation

Types of Medical Crash Carts

emergency carts

All crash carts should generally contain a standard set of equipment and medications to address a medical emergency, including basic airway equipment, intravenous access equipment, a defibrillator and heart monitor, and medications for the treatment of cardiac arrest and allergic reactions.

However, an emergency cart’s specific organization and contents can vary based on the application. For example, pediatric carts should include medications and intubation equipment specialized for pediatric patients; pediatric equipment may also be included in a designated drawer in a standard adult crash cart.

Different healthcare facilities or hospital departments may also have specialized crash carts. For example, an anesthesia cart would contain specialized equipment to be used by anesthesia personnel. A standard medical crash cart might have different contents than a surgical, ICU, emergency room, or cardiac crash cart.

Customizing Your Crash Carts

emergency code cartWhen choosing an emergency cart for your facility or department, first assess the specific needs of your application, including what type of equipment and supplies your crash cart needs to contain. With this in mind, you can customize your emergency cart to your requirements with dimensions, color coding, and locks.

Cart Dimensions

Crash carts come in many different sizes, and you can also integrate drawers of various sizes into the same cart for more efficient supply storage. We offer emergency carts in the following dimensions:

  • Overall cart widths: 18.5″ to 40.5″
  • Overall cart depths: 18″ to 25″
  • Interior drawer widths: 15″ to 29″
  • Interior drawer depths: 10.5″ to 16.75″
  • Drawer heights: 3″ to 12″
  • Number of drawers: 3 to 9

Customizing Your Crash Carts

emergency code cartWhen choosing an emergency cart for your facility or department, first assess the specific needs of your application, including what type of equipment and supplies your crash cart needs to contain. With this in mind, you can customize your emergency cart to your requirements with dimensions, color coding, and locks.

Cart Dimensions

Crash carts come in many different sizes, and you can also integrate drawers of various sizes into the same cart for more efficient supply storage. We offer emergency carts in the following dimensions:

  • Overall cart widths: 18.5″ to 40.5″
  • Overall cart depths: 18″ to 25″
  • Interior drawer widths: 15″ to 29″
  • Interior drawer depths: 10.5″ to 16.75″
  • Drawer heights: 3″ to 12″
  • Number of drawers: 3 to 9

Customizing Your Crash Carts

emergency code cartWhen choosing an emergency cart for your facility or department, first assess the specific needs of your application, including what type of equipment and supplies your crash cart needs to contain. With this in mind, you can customize your emergency cart to your requirements with dimensions, color coding, and locks.

Cart Dimensions

Crash carts come in many different sizes, and you can also integrate drawers of various sizes into the same cart for more efficient supply storage. We offer emergency carts in the following dimensions:

  • Overall cart widths: 18.5″ to 40.5″
  • Overall cart depths: 18″ to 25″
  • Interior drawer widths: 15″ to 29″
  • Interior drawer depths: 10.5″ to 16.75″
  • Drawer heights: 3″ to 12″
  • Number of drawers: 3 to 9

Emergency Cart Color Coding

hospital ermergency room medical cartEmergency carts store many different types of supplies, so implementing a color coding system can make it easy for staff to locate the supplies they need in an emergency. You can choose from 17 powder coat colors available in a two-tone or solid finish to color code the drawers on your carts for quick identification.

Cart Locks

Emergency carts have several different locking options to choose from. Breakaway locks are one of the most popular options because they provide the quickest access to stored equipment. Breakaway locks consist of a hinged bracket with an eye hole for a plastic or metal seal. The lock indicates at a glance whether the supplies have been tampered with. Individual or gang locks are available. Visit our online store to see our healthcare storage products.

Alternate options for crash cart locks include:

  • Key locks
  • Push-button locks
  • Electronic locks
  • Proximity readers

Emergency Cart Color Coding

hospital ermergency room medical cartEmergency carts store many different types of supplies, so implementing a color coding system can make it easy for staff to locate the supplies they need in an emergency. You can choose from 17 powder coat colors available in a two-tone or solid finish to color code the drawers on your carts for quick identification.

Cart Locks

Emergency carts have several different locking options to choose from. Breakaway locks are one of the most popular options because they provide the quickest access to stored equipment. Breakaway locks consist of a hinged bracket with an eye hole for a plastic or metal seal. The lock indicates at a glance whether the supplies have been tampered with. Individual or gang locks are available. Visit our online store to see our healthcare storage products.

Alternate options for crash cart locks include:

  • Key locks
  • Push-button locks
  • Electronic locks
  • Proximity readers

Emergency Cart Color Coding

hospital ermergency room medical cartEmergency carts store many different types of supplies, so implementing a color coding system can make it easy for staff to locate the supplies they need in an emergency. You can choose from 17 powder coat colors available in a two-tone or solid finish to color code the drawers on your carts for quick identification.

Cart Locks

Emergency carts have several different locking options to choose from. Breakaway locks are one of the most popular options because they provide the quickest access to stored equipment. Breakaway locks consist of a hinged bracket with an eye hole for a plastic or metal seal. The lock indicates at a glance whether the supplies have been tampered with. Individual or gang locks are available. Visit our online store to see our healthcare storage products.

Alternate options for crash cart locks include:

  • Key locks
  • Push-button locks
  • Electronic locks
  • Proximity readers

shopping cart iconSurgical & Supply Storage Solution Products

Stainless steel products, sterile core storage racks, basket drawer racks, hospital carts, stainless surgery packing tables.

Contact Us for Crash Carts

Southwest Solutions Group® provides design and installation services for emergency crash carts in hospitals and other healthcare facilities on GSA, Vizient, and various other Group Purchasing Organization contracts. We will also provide a free consultation to determine your exact needs and specifications before the design begins. To learn more or to speak with a specialist, call us at 1-800-803-1083 or send us a message today.

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Healthcare Testimonials

parkland hospital

“Southwest Solutions Group assisted us in the setup of equipment and services for our offsite medical record warehouse housing over one million charts. They have moved over 330,000 records from the main hospital to the medical record warehouse in a weekend time period, and converted thousands of charts for us. They have provided us a new chart tracking system, labeling system, and file conversion services over a multi-month process. Their IT group was able to modify our existing records management software to “talk” to our main software program so we could print color coded labels for our medical record charts. In addition, they have provided many other services to Parkland hospital including file shelving, hospital storage equipment needs, and software support. Southwest Solutions Group does exceptional work.”

Parkland Medical Hospital
austin gastroenterology

“Our experience with Southwest Solutions Group could not have been better. Matt (sales rep) was very knowledgeable and attentive to our needs. Our shelving project required many changes and revisions and Matt never flinched when thrown a challenge. Many thanks to the installation crew for putting in a twelve hour day to complete our project on time. We give a 100% satisfaction rating to Matt and the Southwest Solutions Group team.”

Austin Gastroenterology
Ronald McDonald House

“Thank you for your donation! I wanted to let you know that we ordered a donor sign for our storage room. The sign will be displayed outside the storage room located near the main kitchen/dining room. This should give you some good exposure!”

Ronald McDonald House

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