Hospitals are requesting assistance from the White House to secure IV bag supplies after a factory in North Carolina was damaged by flooding from Hurricane Helene.

In light of Baxter International temporarily shutting down its manufacturing facility in Marion, North Carolina—approximately 35 miles east of Asheville—several hospitals have enacted conservation measures and alerted the public about possible supply disruptions. This facility was responsible for producing 60% of the IV fluids used by hospitals nationwide, along with solutions for peritoneal dialysis sent to dialysis centers.

On Monday, Rick Pollack, CEO of the American Hospital Association (AHA), urged President Joe Biden’s administration to take prompt action to resolve the “significant shortages of these essential medical supplies.”

“Patients across the nation are already feeling the effects, and this situation will worsen in the upcoming days unless more efforts are made to relieve the issue and lessen its impact on patient care,” Pollack stated in a letter addressed to President Biden.

The AHA, which represents nearly 5,000 hospitals and healthcare organizations, is advocating for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to recognize a shortage of IV solutions, granting permission for hospitals to create sterile IV solutions in their pharmacies.

They also request that the FDA locate international suppliers of sterile IV solutions and prolong the shelf life of sterile IV and peritoneal dialysis solutions that are approaching expiration or have already expired.

Additionally, hospitals have urged the Biden administration to:

∎ Activate the Defense Production Act to prioritize the production of sterile IV solutions by manufacturers.

∎ Ask Secretary Xavier Becerra of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to declare a public health emergency to ease Medicare and Medicaid regulations.

∎ Instruct the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to monitor for and respond to any incidences of price gouging resulting from these supply disruptions.

Multiple hospitals have reported effects due to these supply shortages.

Mass General Brigham, which operates a hospital network in New England, indicated last week that it received only 40% of its normal IV fluid delivery from Baxter.

The Florida Hospital Association has also issued warnings about disruptions to the supply of IV and peritoneal dialysis solutions following the closure of the Baxter facility.

Pollack noted that hospitals and healthcare systems have started making plans to conserve IV fluids while ensuring patient care and access to medical services.