Hospitals are urging the White House to help shore up supplies of IV bags after a North Carolina factory closed due to flood damage wrought by Hurricane Helene.
Several hospitals have implemented conservation plans and warned the public of potential disruptions since Baxter International temporarily closed a manufacturing site in Marion, North Carolina, about 35 miles east of Asheville. The Marion factory supplied 60% of the nation’s IV fluids to health facilities. The factory also ships peritoneal dialysis solutions to dialysis centers.
On Monday, Rick Pollack, CEO of the American Hospital Association, urged President Joe Biden’s administration to take immediate steps to address the “substantial shortages of these lifesaving and life-supporting products.”
“Patients across America are already feeling this impact, which will only deepen in the coming days and weeks unless much more is done to alleviate the situation and minimize the impact on patient care,” Pollack said in a letter Monday to President Joe Biden.
The AHA, which represents nearly 5,000 hospitals and health care organizations, wants the Food and Drug Administration to declare a shortage of IV solutions and allow hospitals and health systems to prepare sterile IV solutions in their own pharmacies.
The hospitals also want the FDA to find international suppliers of sterile IV solutions and to extend the shelf-life of all sterile IV and peritoneal dialysis solutions that are nearing expiration or have already expired.
Hospitals also want the Biden administration to:
∎ Invoke the Defense Production Act to compel manufacturers to prioritize sterile IV solutions.
∎ Request that Secretary Xavier Becerra, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, declare a public health emergency which would relax Medicare and Medicaid rules and regulations.
∎ Direct the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to monitor and act if the supply disruptions cause price gouging.
Several hospitals have warned of impacts caused by supply disruptions.
Mass General Brigham, which operates a network of hospitals in New England, said last week it only received 40% of its usual supply of IV fluid from Baxter.
The Florida Hospital Association warned of supply disruptions of IV and peritoneal dialysis solutions due to the Baxter facility closure.
Pollack said hospitals and health systems have already implemented plans to conserve IV fluids and ensure patient access to care and services.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hospitals warn of IV bag shortage after Hurricane Helene
