Expand / Collapse search
☰

Georgia hospitals rationing IV fluid amid shortage; feds stepping in

By
Published  October 23, 2024 5:47pm EDT
Health Care
FOX 5 Atlanta

Hospitals experiencing IV fluid shortage

Hospitals nationwide are experiencing an IV fluid shortage. Here's how Georgia hospitals are trying to minimize the impact on patients.

The Brief

    • Baxter's North Cove facility in North Carolina, crucial for sterile fluid production, remains below full capacity due to Hurricane Helene damage.
    • Georgia hospitals are rationing IV fluids and sourcing alternatives, while federal efforts aim to ease import restrictions.
    • Hospitals prioritize critically ill patients, employ conservation measures, and explore permanent changes to fluid use in surgical practices.
    • Healthcare providers like Piedmont, Emory, and WellStar have implemented contingency plans to manage the IV fluid shortage.
    • Baxter anticipates IV fluid production to reach 90%-100% capacity by end of 2024, with immediate focus on meeting the needs of children’s hospitals.

ATLANTA - Baxter’s North Cove manufacturing site in North Carolina, which was significantly damaged by Hurricane Helene, is still not back to full capacity. It is the largest manufacturing facility for sterile fluids, producing about 60% of the nation’s IV and PD solutions.

In Georgia, hospitals are still rationing as the federal government is stepping in to help cut red tape to allow supplies to be imported into the country.

"Almost everything done in a hospital requires IV fluid," said Dr. Tim Paul, vice president of medical affairs with Tanner Medical System. "We've moved to a situation of when it's need instead of maybe we might need it."

Conservation is the name of the game for hospitals still adjusting. Finding ways to save these replenishing bags of water, potassium, salt, sugar and more.

"Decreasing the amount of IV fluids we are giving patients or using an alternative oral product like Gatorade or something like that," said Ron Hartman, assistant director of pharmacy with Tanner Medical System.

Priority is placed on critically ill patients and challenging surgeries. So far, surgeries here have not had to be postponed. 

How Georgia hospitals are coping with IV shortage

Piedmont Healthcare released a statement about its conservation:

"Piedmont has a supply resilience plan that includes the use of our own distribution center and enough inventory to manage through most supply disruptions such as the one we are currently experiencing."

Emory Healthcare also shared a statement:

"Our pharmacy and clinical teams are developing contingency plans to minimize the impact to patient care. We are also carefully managing the shipments we receive from Baxter and alternative vendors."

WellStar wrote:

"We are carefully managing our supply of intravenous (IV) fluids and other critical supplies as we care for our patients."'

Tanner says the conservation efforts may lead to permanent changes.

"The American Society of Anesthesiology says you can have clear liquids before your surgery. If you really push that, they really don't need fluids during surgery because the vascular volume, the amount of fluid is so high," said 

When will the IV shortage be solved?

Baxter released a statement on Monday which anticipated that IV fluid production will be 90% to 100% by the end of 2024.

As of Monday, production levels have remained the same since Oct. 9. Despite a slow-ramp up and distribution, things are slowly returning to normal.

"We recognize that not all customers are yet experiencing the increase in allocation. This may be due to a variety of factors, including the typical 1 to 2-week lag time for a product to flow through the full distribution network. We are doing everything we can to help balance the network and get product out as quickly as possible," the statement read in part.

Currently, the company is prioritizing children’s hospitals, allocating 100% of their needs. It is also ramping up production levels at other facilities.

The Source

  • The Associated Press contributed details about Baxter’s North Cove manufacturing site in North Carolina. Supplimental details about Baxer's production came from the company itself. Statements were provided by Piedmont, WellStar, and Emory health systems with Tanner being interviewed for this FOX 5 Atlanta original report.