Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina more than a month ago, but the impacts are still being felt in the Bay Area right now in the form of an IV fluid shortage.
After the hurricane hit, the flooding caused Baxter to temporarily shut down its North Carolina plant where it produces 60% of the nation's IV supply.
As a result, Good Samaritan Hospital has had to provide care with just 40% of its usual supply.
Just last week, one public health department urged care providers to conserve.
“I've been working on medical protocols to make sure that we don't waste fluid and that we're very careful how we use it,” said Dr. David Ghilarducci, Santa Clara County deputy public health officer.
Sutter Health, which operates several Bay Area hospitals, including Alta Bates in Oakland, said it has already had to reschedule some patients' elective surgeries because of the IV shortage.
In a statement, Sutter Health said, “We are planning for a prolonged shortage and are making daily decisions to optimize our current supply and increase deliveries. As a result, some non-urgent medical procedures have been rescheduled.”
Local
Kaiser Hospital said that while it is not experiencing any impact to care right now, it is actively monitoring its IV inventories. So is Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose.
Health care leaders say that for now, it's all about managing the limited resource.
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“If the shortages continue, and we start to run low, then they may have to reserve the remaining stocks for emergency cases,” Dr. Ghilarducci said.
The Baxter plant is back up and running and the company just announced it is hoping to return to 90% allocation of certain IV fluids by the end of this year.
But local hospitals say they are not sure when they will be able to receive their usual shipment of IV bags.
