Hospitals warn of IV shortage after Helen Baxter closes NC facility

After the devastation of Hurricane Helen, a health care company that makes IV and medical supplies suspended production at its North Carolina facility, raising concerns about a national shortage.

Baxter International, a leading supplier of IV supplies, temporarily closed its facility in Marion, about 35 miles east of Asheville, after severe flooding from the hurricane devastated the area.

“The safety of our employees, their families and the communities in which we operate is our highest concern,” said Jose E. Almeida, chair, president and CEO of Baxter International said in a statement

The health care company said in a message posted on its website that “there is no timeline for when operations will be back up and running.”

Despite the temporary facility closure, Almeida said Baxter International will “spare no resources” to help those in need.

“Remedial efforts are already underway,” he said.

Hospitals in New England, Florida issue warnings about IV supplies

Due to the disruption caused by Hurricane Helen, Baxter placed limits on the amount of orders customers could purchase.

“We implemented allocations to help ensure we are managing our inventory appropriately and minimizing disruption to patient care,” the company said.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is monitoring the situation and said on Tuesday that there were no shortages yet for products manufactured by Baxter International.

However, there have been reports of system disruptions in some hospitals.

Mass General Brigham Baxter, which operates a network of hospitals in New England, received only 40% of its normal supply of IV fluids, Dr. Paul Biedinger said at a news conference Friday.

Biddinger said Mass. Gen. Brigham is still facing “one of the biggest deficits,” CBS News reported.

“Patients are still getting IV fluids when they need them,” Biedinger told reporters Thursday. “We're continuing normal medical services but emphasizing backup, and we're monitoring this incident carefully to see how long it might last, how long we need to backup, and we're making sure we've identified all areas of our enterprise where services are affected. “

Meanwhile, the Florida Hospital Association said the temporary closure of the Baxter facility caused disruptions in the supply of intravenous and peritoneal dialysis solutions.

“FHA is closely monitoring state supplies and working with hospitals and state and federal partners to implement mitigation strategies to avoid disruptions to patient care,” the association wrote in X.

Baxter IV works to allocate supplies

Intravenous, or IV, fluids are given into the body through a needle in your arm or hand and may be given to patients for medication or nutrition.

Baxter International is working to allocate IV supplies of saline and dextrose.

“While Baxter is taking new steps to manage its inventory of North Cove presentations to ensure equitable access, FDA is also working with Baxter's additional facilities to increase supply and reduce the risk of new shortages until Baxter can remanufacture the affected products,” the FDA said.

The company is also working to allocate its PD Solution product, which is a solution indicated for patients with acute or chronic renal failure, the company explained.

“(The) FDA will also work with alternative suppliers, as needed, (to) manage gaps/shortages in the supply of critical products,” the FDA said.

Ahzane is a reporter on the National Trends team at Forbes USA Today. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email him aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads, and more X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.

Anthony Robledo covers breaking and trending news for USA Today. Contact him at arobledo@usatoday.com