IV Liquid supplier damaged by Hurricane Helene, affecting hospitals nationwide

A major supplier of IV fluids based in North Carolina was badly flooded and temporarily closed after Hurricane Helene.

Baxter International, a vendor for Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said there may be shortages nationwide.

At VUMC, Baxter supplies many of the fluids that patients need, whether it ends up being for dialysis, hydration, tube feeds or blood loss.

However, after Hurricane Helene's tear through North Carolina, the regular output of products at Baxter was halted.

Mark Sullivan said at Vanderbilt, patients shouldn't be too concerned.

They recently received a new shipment from Baxter, and other suppliers are filling in the gap.

"We make sure to plan ahead for these things when they do happen so they don't impact patient care as much as possible, explained Mark Sullivan, the Chief Pharmacy Officer at VUMC.

He said what will mainly impact patients is the new wait time for elective surgeries. Those may need to be pushed back to save materials.

Sullivan adds this is a situation they've been through before and have under control.

"Drug shortages have been a challenge for hospitals for all pharmacies for the last decade, and we've all gotten pretty adept at managing the shortages," he concluded.

Baxter said they are currently distributing fluids, it's just a smaller amount than normal. They don't have a timeline on when they'll be 100% back to normal.

Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nikki.hauser@newschannel5.com.

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