Ballad Health adjusting after Helene wipes out major IV bag producer

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Hurricane Helene has had an immeasurable impact on health care in several states, and the Tri-Cities has not been spared.

Multiple Ballad Health hospitals were evacuated amid the flooding. Unicoi County Hospital was consumed by floodwaters, and more than 50 people had to be rescued from the roof on Sept. 27. Sycamore Shoals Hospital in Elizabethton was also evacuated but has since resumed operations . Greeneville Community Hospital evacuated on Sept. 28 due to water issues in the town, and Ballad plans to resume most operations at the hospital on Saturday with the exception of surgeries.

The hospital system faces another challenge due to damage that occurred outside of the region: a supply of IV bags.

Baxter International, which produces the majority of the nation’s hospital’s IV fluids, has faced setbacks after its facility in North Cove, North Carolina was struck by Helene.

“It’s more than 70% for the whole country,” Ballad Health CEO Alan Levine told News Channel 11 on Friday. “So it’s it’s created a potentially serious shortage nationally.”

Levine said IV bags, which are used to hydrate patients in the hospital, are difficult to make.

“The saline solution has to go through a pretty arduous process because it’s basically sterilized, and so it’s not easy to produce and it is low margin,” Levine said.

According to Levine, Ballad has been told its IV allocations are being reduced to 40% as hospitals across the country try to navigate the shortfall. A shortage has not yet officially been declared.

“We’ve been advocating and our group purchasing organization has been advocating that we try to prioritize hospitals that are in declared disaster areas for obvious reasons. That’s all we can do right now is advocate for that. At the same time, we’re working and collaborating with other health systems to come up with appropriate measures to conserve,” Levine said. “And so we leave that to physicians to work through what are the ways you prioritize the use of it. So that’s something that our team is currently working through.”

Ballad Health’s Chief Physician Executive Dr. Clay Runnels said the Baxter International issue should not be felt by local patients as of Friday.

“At this point, there should not be any patient impact,” Runnels said. “We’re not canceling any surgeries or making any changes to our clinical operations. However, we are at this point taking steps to reduce the unnecessary use of IV fluid.”

Levine joined News Channel 11 for a live interview on the First at 4 on Friday afternoon. During the interview, he discussed the IV challenges and spoke to other Ballad operations as the region reels from the effects of Helene.

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