A limited supply of intravenous fluids, derived from damage caused by Hurricane Helen, some hospitals in the US are being forced to postpone elective surgeries and other non-emergency procedures to protect their supplies.
Severe flooding from Helen Hit one of the country's largest company-owned facilities Intravenous fluids manufacturer Baxter International in North Carolina has temporarily closed service and reduced hospital shipments.
Adding to the concern, B. Brown Medical, the nation's second-largest intravenous fluid maker, announced Tuesday that it will temporarily close two of its facilities in Daytona Beach, Florida. Hurricane Milton Making landfall
The Minnesota Hospital Association, which represents more than 140 hospitals and health systems across the state, has been holding daily calls since last week with hundreds of health care providers concerned about limited supplies and deadlines. Baxter's North Carolina facility will be back online, according to a spokesperson.
UVA Health University Medical Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, is suspending some elective surgeries on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to help conserve its supply of intravenous fluids, spokesman Eric Swansen said.
Some elective surgeries at UVA Health hospitals in Culpeper, Haymarket and Manassas are also being rescheduled, Swansen said, although the facilities monitor their schedules daily to determine which surgeries need to be postponed.
He also said the medical center has “doubled down” on efforts to prevent wasted IV fluids, as it is the only Level 1 trauma hospital in the area.
How Hospitals Are Conserving IV Fluid Supplies
Baxter accounts for about 60% of the intravenous fluid market in the United States, and most of the country's hospitals rely on its products, which are used to deliver medications or water with electrolytes directly into a patient's bloodstream.
Intravenous fluids are essential during surgery – they keep patients hydrated, help control blood pressure and compensate for the loss of fluids, such as blood. Changing suppliers can be a challenge for hospitals due to contracts that have been signed with manufacturers for years.
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To conserve supplies, some hospitals have begun rescheduling non-emergency surgeries, such as tumor removals that don't require immediate treatment or heart ablation procedures for people with arrhythmias, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Hospital Association said.
A “gray market” is also starting to emerge, with people posting on Facebook that they have bags of intravenous fluids for sale, even if hospitals don't buy them, the spokeswoman said. “It’s the Wild Wild West.”
Health system spokeswoman Christine Hill said Minneapolis-based Hennepin Healthcare had to cancel or reschedule some surgical procedures. He also said patients are being informed.
“We are also communicating with other health systems to coordinate efforts and resources needed during this challenging time,” Hill said.
No new shortages have been announced yet
On Monday, the American Hospital Association, which represents 5,000 hospitals and health systems, sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to declare a national emergency over limited supplies of intravenous fluids.
Several intravenous products are already in short supply, including sodium chloride, dextrose and sterile water. The closure of the Baxter facility has not yet resulted in any new shortages of intravenous fluids, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services said the closure “will likely cause further disruption.” Meanwhile, the company said, the FDA has allowed the use of manipulated versions of the products amid the shortage.
Baxter is working with the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), an agency within HHS, to bring its North Carolina manufacturing facility back online.
Flooding from Hurricane Helen damaged bridges leading to the facility, but efforts to repair the plant appear to be progressing.
In an update publishEd. on its website Wednesday, Baxter said its goal is to return to “90% to 100% allocation” of “specific intravenous solutions” products by the end of the year. It also stated that, starting Wednesday, it is increasing the allocation of the most sought-after intravenous fluids from 40% to 60% directly to consumers and from 10% to 60% to distributors.
“Our goal remains to restore customers to 100% allocation levels as quickly as possible,” the company said.
It's unclear whether the end of a brief port strike on the East and Gulf coasts last week — which prevented the transfer of goods to the U.S. mainland — helped supplies. Baxter has other interests, including Puerto Rico. The company did not respond to a request for additional comment.
however, In Wednesday's statement, the company said its supply assessment was based in part on “internal product and expected shipping times,” suggesting it was bringing in product from other facilities.
ASPR spokesman Zachary Dembner said the agency is encouraging manufacturers and distributors to evaluate their supplies and asking health care providers to implement conservation strategies to preserve their stocks.
On Tuesday, the agency removed B. from the path of Hurricane Milton. Brown helped safely transport intravenous products from Medical's Daytona Beach facility, Dembner said.
Those facilities — which worked with ASPR for supplies — were closed Wednesday morning and are expected to resume normal operations Friday, B. Brown Medical spokeswoman Allie Longenhagen said in a statement.
Delay in service
Hospitals are anxiously monitoring the situation.
A spokeswoman for Enlo Health, a medical center in Chico, California, said it is closely monitoring its intravenous fluid inventory to ensure it has enough for patients who need them. The center is also looking for alternative suppliers.
Enloe Health suspended elective surgeries, although the spokeswoman said they were resuming “within specific clinical parameters.”
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium spokeswoman Shea Siegert said no surgeries are being postponed, but providers are taking steps to conserve supplies.
“NTHC is actively implementing conservation strategies to ensure continued availability statewide during anticipated shortages,” Siegert said.
