Article updated Oct. 10 with information on Baxter International’s current and estimated manufacturing capacity, the continuing shortage of sterile water irrigant and links to communications from Baxter and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services containing recommended actions for health care providers.
Hurricane Helene’s destructive path through the Southeast continues to reveal profound impacts on patients and health care systems.
On the evening of Oct. 3, CDA learned that a manufacturing plant in North Carolina owned by Baxter International Inc. was significantly damaged by the hurricane and is temporarily closed. The plant produces roughly 60% of the IV solution supply in the United States.
As of Oct. 10, the FDA drug shortage database still reports a shortage of sterile water irrigant.
Dentists in California who rely on IV solution for patient care are encouraged to use their supply prudently. Due to the plant’s closure and significant challenges to reopening, shortages and delays are anticipated.
Some hospitals in the U.S. have postponed elective surgeries, NBC News reports, and it’s too early to tell what actions the health system might need to take if the supply shortage is prolonged.
In an Oct. 9 letter to health care leaders and stakeholders, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra encourages “all providers and health systems, regardless of whether they have experienced a disruption in their supply, to take measures to conserve their critical products.”
Additionally, Baxter International’s website provides suggestions for management and conservation for health care facilities.
Baxter stated in an Oct. 9 news release that it has increased manufacturing capacity of its highest-demand IV fluids at its other sites and that its “goal is to restart North Cove production in phases and return to 90% to 100% allocation of certain IV solution product codes by end of 2024.”
CDA is carefully monitoring this developing situation and will keep members informed of updates through the newsroom, weekly member newsletter and social media.