NORTH CAROLINA, USA — Helene halted production at a major intravenous fluid production plant in North Carolina, and after Hurricane Milton, it could mean more hospitals here in Hampton Roads will be asked to cut back on using their resources.
North Carolina-based Baxter International is has a factory in Marion, North Carolina, and they produce medical equipment like IV bags and kidney medications.
The factory is responsible for 60% of the entire country’s production of IV fluids.
That’s why 13News Now asked the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association about what a stop in production from Baxter could mean for hospitals not only in Hampton Roads, but statewide.
Julian Walker, Vice President of Communications for the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, said, “What our members are saying is that they’re implementing conservation strategies to respond to this. They’re assessing the inventory that they have on hand, they’re, making sure they’re making the best use of what’s available.”
In a letter from the Virginia Department of Health on Tuesday, the organization said Baxter is struggling to get back up to normal production numbers.
Walker added some hospitals are already being asked to save at least half their IV fluid supply.
“Reduced allocations of some volume may endure for the next weeks or months, but I would tell you that remediation step are being taken already,” says Walker.
However, Walker said with Hurricane Milton just passing through, they’re going to ask hospitals in the state to start saving more of those resources just in case.
Walker added, “They’re going to be boosting some of their allocations from that 40-50% level to something more like the 60-70% level as we get deeper into October.”
For now, Walker says the shortage for IV bags and certain dialysis products could last for the next couple weeks to possibly the next couple of months.
A Baxter spokesperson said Wednesday they hope to restore 90% to 100% of customer needs by the end of the year.