The American Hospital Association is calling on the White House to help increase the supply of IV solutions after a massive Baxter International Inc. plant was taken offline by Hurricane Helene.
Baxter's Marion, N.C., facility—which produces 60 percent of the IV solutions used daily—was closed due to flooding caused by the hurricane late last month and it is uncertain when the plant will reopen.
"While we look forward to returning to full operations in the future, there are many components to the recovery process given the nature of sterile drug manufacturing," Baxter said in an Oct. 3 statement. "We are working with the greatest urgency, but we do not yet have a timeline for when operations will be back up and running."
Some hospitals are already experiencing shortages, including Mass General Brigham, which said Oct. 3 it would be receiving a reduced supply of IV fluids.
On Oct. 4, systems across the country—ranging from Renton, Wash.-based Providence and Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare to Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and Providence, R.I.-based Lifespan—said they were not experiencing shortages but were watching the situation closely.
"We're not in a panic mode at this point but we're watching it closely," said Robert Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian.
Meanwhile, hospitals are employing conservation strategies that could include reusing a patient's IV bag if they required more than one bag. Greensboro, N.J.-based Cone Health said it is trying to conserve its IV fluid supply by using substitutes or opting for oral medications when possible.