NH hospitals, ambulance services discuss strategies to deal with IV fluid shortage

A major New England hospital system is temporarily deferring some procedures that require intravenous fluid after Hurricane Helene damaged a Baxter drug manufacturing facility in North Carolina. However, it’s a different situation in New Hampshire, according to local health care providers.In a statement sent to News 9, a media representative from Mass General Brigham said:”As healthcare providers across the country continue to confront the national IV fluid shortage following the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene, Mass General Brigham has made the difficult decision to defer some non-emergent, elective procedures requiring certain IV fluids from Sunday, October 13, through at least Wednesday, October 16. While we strive to minimize any impact on patients, these measures will ensure we are able to care for those in immediate need. Due to the unpredictable nature of this situation, we do not know when our supply of IV fluids will improve but we are closely monitoring and will continuously evaluate to ensure we can return to normal operations as soon as possible. We are contacting affected patients and will work to reschedule them as soon as we are able.”According to Dawn Beers, public affairs manager at Concord Hospital, this is not the case for their system.”We, at this point, are using these conservation strategies, being mindful of the situation, and obviously do not want to compromise our patients in any regard,” Beers said.Since Baxter is one of Concord’s suppliers, it’s monitoring the status of IV fluid coming out of their facilities. But Beers adds the pandemic helped them handle emergency situations like these and that there’s no current impact on their operations.”We were very well prepared to come together with key players throughout the health system to address the situation,” she said. “We had subcommittees that we set up working on recommendations.”Chris Stawasz, regional director for American Medical Response, said their ambulances use a different supplier for their IV fluid. Currently, they aren’t concerned about how much they have in their supply.”In the ambulance world, we tend to use resources as prudently as possible,” Stawasz said. “That will come into play even more in New Hampshire as these IV shortages come to play in the EMS area.”If a supply emergency did happen, the state has backup stores available. Right now, though, Stawasz said that won’t be necessary. “I don’t believe this is going to impact patient care in any way, and people should feel confident that their EMS provider will be able to have the IV fluids in their emergency departments to get the care that they need,” he said.News 9 also received a statement from Dartmouth Health on its supply situation:”Dartmouth health has a dedicated team that navigates supply shortages. We anticipate no disruption to patient care as a result of the ongoing shortage of Baxter IV solutions. We have reviewed our stock and usage rate, and with conservation methods in place, we have an adequate supply on hand to meet our system’s needs. We are also sourcing products from other distributors and have directed our teams to take steps to preserve the supply of iv bags we have on hand. Our supply chain team has taken the necessary steps to prepare for a delay in iv bag shipments in the immediate future as Baxter ramps up production in its secondary facilities. Our patients continue to receive uninterrupted life-saving care across our Dartmouth health locations.”The American Red Cross issued its own statement on the national status of the shortage:”Less than two weeks after Helene washed away entire communities, we are still beginning to understand the storm’s far-reaching impacts. The American Red cross is aware of the damage sustained to Baxter International’s manufacturing plant in North Carolina as result of the hurricane and its possible impacts to medical treatments. While the Red Cross cannot speak to the direct impact of IVF impacts, we are currently monitoring the situation closely to ensure saline products are available to support the collection, manufacturing and transfusions of lifesaving blood products. It is in thanks to the generosity of blood donors the Red Cross was able to send hundreds of blood and platelet donations to Florida ahead of both Hurricane Helene and Milton to ensure patients had continued access to the lifesaving care they need. People affected by these disasters need urgent help now, and we can’t do this alone. You can help by making a financial donation, an appointment to give blood or platelets, or signing up to become a volunteer by visiting redcross.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767).”How to donate now: Visit this linkNews 9 reached out to other major New Hampshire hospital systems, including Catholic Medical Center and Elliot, and is awaiting a response.

MANCHESTER, N.H. —

A major New England hospital system is temporarily deferring some procedures that require intravenous fluid after Hurricane Helene damaged a Baxter drug manufacturing facility in North Carolina. However, it’s a different situation in New Hampshire, according to local health care providers.

In a statement sent to News 9, a media representative from Mass General Brigham said:

“As healthcare providers across the country continue to confront the national IV fluid shortage following the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene, Mass General Brigham has made the difficult decision to defer some non-emergent, elective procedures requiring certain IV fluids from Sunday, October 13, through at least Wednesday, October 16. While we strive to minimize any impact on patients, these measures will ensure we are able to care for those in immediate need. Due to the unpredictable nature of this situation, we do not know when our supply of IV fluids will improve but we are closely monitoring and will continuously evaluate to ensure we can return to normal operations as soon as possible. We are contacting affected patients and will work to reschedule them as soon as we are able.”

According to Dawn Beers, public affairs manager at Concord Hospital, this is not the case for their system.

“We, at this point, are using these conservation strategies, being mindful of the situation, and obviously do not want to compromise our patients in any regard,” Beers said.

Since Baxter is one of Concord’s suppliers, it’s monitoring the status of IV fluid coming out of their facilities. But Beers adds the pandemic helped them handle emergency situations like these and that there’s no current impact on their operations.

“We were very well prepared to come together with key players throughout the health system to address the situation,” she said. “We had subcommittees that we set up working on recommendations.”

Chris Stawasz, regional director for American Medical Response, said their ambulances use a different supplier for their IV fluid. Currently, they aren’t concerned about how much they have in their supply.

“In the ambulance world, we tend to use resources as prudently as possible,” Stawasz said. “That will come into play even more in New Hampshire as these IV shortages come to play in the EMS area.”

If a supply emergency did happen, the state has backup stores available. Right now, though, Stawasz said that won’t be necessary.

“I don’t believe this is going to impact patient care in any way, and people should feel confident that their EMS provider will be able to have the IV fluids in their emergency departments to get the care that they need,” he said.

News 9 also received a statement from Dartmouth Health on its supply situation:

“Dartmouth health has a dedicated team that navigates supply shortages. We anticipate no disruption to patient care as a result of the ongoing shortage of Baxter IV solutions. We have reviewed our stock and usage rate, and with conservation methods in place, we have an adequate supply on hand to meet our system’s needs. We are also sourcing products from other distributors and have directed our teams to take steps to preserve the supply of iv bags we have on hand. Our supply chain team has taken the necessary steps to prepare for a delay in iv bag shipments in the immediate future as Baxter ramps up production in its secondary facilities. Our patients continue to receive uninterrupted life-saving care across our Dartmouth health locations.”

The American Red Cross issued its own statement on the national status of the shortage:

“Less than two weeks after Helene washed away entire communities, we are still beginning to understand the storm’s far-reaching impacts. The American Red cross is aware of the damage sustained to Baxter International’s manufacturing plant in North Carolina as result of the hurricane and its possible impacts to medical treatments. While the Red Cross cannot speak to the direct impact of IVF impacts, we are currently monitoring the situation closely to ensure saline products are available to support the collection, manufacturing and transfusions of lifesaving blood products. It is in thanks to the generosity of blood donors the Red Cross was able to send hundreds of blood and platelet donations to Florida ahead of both Hurricane Helene and Milton to ensure patients had continued access to the lifesaving care they need. People affected by these disasters need urgent help now, and we can’t do this alone. You can help by making a financial donation, an appointment to give blood or platelets, or signing up to become a volunteer by visiting redcross.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767).”

How to donate now: Visit this link

News 9 reached out to other major New Hampshire hospital systems, including Catholic Medical Center and Elliot, and is awaiting a response.

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