Hurricane Helene spurred IV fluid shortage may delay surgeries for weeks

Hospital officials said on Tuesday, Oct. 22, the aftermath of Hurricane Helene may delay scheduled surgeries for weeks after the storm washed out nearby bridges and water seeped into the factory. Baxter International’s North Carolina plant reportedly supplies 60% of IV solutions nationwide and sterile water for surgeries.

Health systems report rationing fluids and giving some patients Gatorade or water to drink instead of IVs, and hospitals have postponed non-emergency surgeries.

The federal government and medical suppliers are working to ease the supply shortage. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is temporarily importing fluids from other Baxter plants in other countries and is allowing some pharmacies to produce certain IV drugs in short supply.

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The supply chain issue also comes at a time when hospitals expect to fill more beds with cold and flu patients.

However, supply experts are hopeful the situation will get better but cannot guarantee whether these moves will fix the shortage of supplies, adding that hospitals usually have extra supplies on-hand to handle planned and emergency surgeries.

The North Carolina plant has reportedly been thoroughly cleaned and employees are testing and repairing equipment. Baxter says it hopes to restart production in phases by the end of the year.