shortage

as-hospitals-struggle-with-iv-fluid-shortage,-nc-plant-restarts-production

As hospitals struggle with IV fluid shortage, NC plant restarts production

baxter, drugs, Fluid, health, hospitals, hurricane helene, iV, North Carolina, Science, shortage / /

The western North Carolina plant that makes 60 percent of the country’s intravenous fluid supply has restarted its highest-producing manufacturing line after being ravaged by flooding brought by Hurricane Helene last month.

While it’s an encouraging sign of recovery as hospitals nationwide struggle with shortages of fluids, supply is still likely to remain tight for the coming weeks.

IV fluid maker Baxter Inc, which runs the Marion plant inundated by Helene, said Thursday that the restarted production line could produce, at peak, 25 percent of the plant’s total production and about 50 percent of the plant’s production of one-liter IV solutions, the product most commonly used by hospitals and clinics.

“Recovery progress at our North Cove site continues to be very encouraging,” Baxter CEO and President José Almeida said. “In a matter of weeks, our team has advanced from the depths of Hurricane Helene’s impact to restarting our highest-throughput manufacturing line. This is a pivotal milestone, but more hard work remains as we work to return the plant to full production.”

Overall, Baxter said it is ahead of its previously projected timeline for getting the massive plant back up and running. Previously, the company said it had aimed to produce 90–100 percent of some products by the end of the year. Still, the initial batches now under production are expected to start shipping in late November at the earliest.

One of the many challenges to restoring the facility was the lack of access to the site; Helene had damaged an access bridge. In its latest announcement, Baxter said that a temporary bridge—built with support from North Carolina’s Department of Transportation and the federal Administration of Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR)—has allowed the transport of more than 885 truckloads of existing inventory out of the plant since Helene.  A second temporary bridge, expected to be completed in early November, will enable further access of traffic and equipment to the site.

As hospitals struggle with IV fluid shortage, NC plant restarts production Read More »

over-86%-of-surveyed-health-care-providers-are-short-on-iv-fluids

Over 86% of surveyed health care providers are short on IV fluids

baxter, fda, health, Helene, HHS, hospital, IV fluid, Science, shortage, surgeries / /

Trucks and Gatorade

Federal officials, meanwhile, are working with Baxter to help support increasing supplies, setting up temporary imports, and expediting consideration of any shelf-life extension requests.

In a letter earlier this week, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told health care leaders that the department is “working tirelessly to mitigate the sterile solutions supply chain disruptions” and, beyond the current crisis, is also working to diversify the supply chain so it is less reliant on a single plant.

For now, though, “HHS is encouraging all providers and health systems, regardless of whether they have experienced a disruption in their supply, to take measures to conserve these critical products,” the letter read. Some hospitals have already reported giving patients Gatorade and Pedialyte to conserve IV fluid supplies.

In one bright spot in the current disruptions, fears that Hurricane Milton would disrupt another IV fluid manufacturing plant in Florida were not realized this week. B. Braun Medical’s manufacturing site in Daytona Beach was not seriously impacted by the storm, the company announced, and production resumed normally Friday. Prior to the storm, with the help of the federal government, B. Braun reportedly moved more than 60 truckloads of IV fluid inventory north of Florida for safekeeping. That inventory will be returned to the Daytona facility, according to reporting by the Associated Press.

Over 86% of surveyed health care providers are short on IV fluids Read More »