Hospitals across Chicago have kicked in conservation measures to deal with a nationwide shortage of IV fluids resulting from Hurricane Helene.
Baxter International — which supplies 60% of the country’s IV fluids — was forced to stop production as flooding tore through its facility in Marion, North Carolina last month.
Now hospitals are grappling with shortages, and have no timeline for when supplies will be fully restored.
Several hospitals in Chicago and surrounding areas are looking into alternative treatments to conserve their supply.
Mount Sinai Hospital is shifting some patients from IV to oral medication, while checking the IV inventory daily, said Dan Regan, vice president of communications and marketing.
“We haven’t had to cancel patient procedures yet, but we are monitoring it and making sure we stay ahead of it,” Regan said.
Similarly, a Rush spokesperson said the health system’s hospitals in Chicago, Oak Park and Aurora are “working non-stop to bring in available products or substitutes and implement clinical or pharmaceutical practice changes” to conserve supplies and avoid postponing surgeries and elective procedures.
IV fluids are administered intravenously to treat and prevent dehydration, and to replenish fluids after injuries. They are also used during surgeries, when patients are unable to eat and drink.
The University of Chicago Medical Center is monitoring the situation and “working to carefully and appropriately modify our usage of these products so we can continue providing uninterrupted clinical care,” according to a spokesperson.
Though it was not clear when production would resume, Baxter said Thursday they have “full restoration of utilities, including electric capability, water and wastewater treatment” and are focusing on deep-cleaning the facility.
Regan said Sinai expects to continue to conserve IV supplies through at least the end of the year.
“It’s impacting everybody,” said Regan. “Our team was paying attention to this early. We were already closely monitoring the situation. There are a number of mitigations in place right now, and that’s put us in the best shape that we can be in at the present time.”
While the North Carolina facility remains closed, the Food and Drug Administration has given Baxter the green light to import IV fluid from its plants outside the United States, including from Spain, China and Ireland and the United Kingdom. The first such shipments were expected to arrive in the U.S. this weekend.
The company also saved “more than 450 truckloads of undamaged finished products” from the North Carolina facility, according to a company statement. The Biden administration has invoked the Defense Production Act to speed along rebuilding of the facility. That will allow Baxter to secure materials that otherwise would have been harder to come by, limiting their ability to restart production.