Hurricane Helene's ripple effect: IV supplies dwindle; NM hospitals are on the watch

New Mexico hospitals are bracing for IV shortages created by the destructive weather events in the South.

Shortages are being created by a national strain on the supply of IVs after Hurricane Helene — the hurricane that hit the East Coast prior to Milton — damaged the Baxter International factory in Marion, North Carolina.

Troy Clark, president and CEO of the New Mexico Hospital Association, has been monitoring the situation closely and relaying updates to the state’s hospitals.

“I don’t know what their inventory levels are,” Clark said. “They don’t report that to me. Obviously, they communicate up to me when they’re having struggles and to say, ‘Hey, are there any other options out there that other states are finding?’”

A Presbyterian Healthcare Services spokesperson wrote in an email to the Journal: “At this time we are not limiting access to necessary use of IV fluids.”

Baxter’s North Carolina plant manufactures approximately 60%, or 1.5 million bags, of the nation’s IVs, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“Baxter, a primary supplier of IV fluids and some IV medications for Presbyterian, has been impacted by Hurricane Helene,” Tim Johnsen, chief operating officer for Presbyterian Healthcare Services said in a statement Thursday. “As a result, Presbyterian has been closely monitoring the situation. We are working to quickly secure additional supplies and conserve our current supply as appropriate to reduce any impact to our patients.”

IV stands for intravenous, which is injected into a person’s veins to restore fluid or provide medication.

“There’s a whole different range of what those IV solutions are, from strength saline to the ones that have dextrose or glucose,” Clark said. “(Baxter is) working with the federal government on different things to try and get production shifted to other plants.”

Clark added that Wednesday, Baxter increased the number of its most in-demand fluids that hospitals and distributors can order.

“Baxter is advancing multiple paths to help ensure we are appropriately managing inventory and minimizing disruption to patient care as we work to fully restore our North Cove manufacturing operations. This includes implementing allocations which limit what a customer can order based on historical purchases and medical necessity as well as available and projected inventory,” a letter to stakeholders from the company Wednesday said.

While New Mexico hospitals are preparing for the impacts of the supply shortage, Clark said he hasn’t heard of any hospitals in dire straits.

“I don’t know of anybody who is in what I would call a situation that they are out of supply,” Clark said. “But they are absolutely being proactive in their own hospitals, making their own decisions to be prudent, to try and make sure they don’t end up in a position where they’re out of supply. Because emergencies happen every day, whether or not you can give the IV supply.”