Disruptions to the supply of clinical IV fluids in Southwest and Southeast Florida are among major impacts from hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Hurricane Helene caused flooding at a Baxter facility in North Carolina, one of the country’s largest manufacturers of intravenous fluids.
WLRN’s Veronica Zaragovia reports that two hospital systems in Broward County have reached out to other major providers.
Broward Health told WLRN it uses other distributors and remains unaffected by the shortage. It’s looking into helping other health systems in the region. Memorial Healthcare System said its supply remains stable and hasn’t had to cancel any procedures.
These sterile solutions are intravenously injected so that fluids or medications can enter the bloodstream.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the federal government helped a different manufacturer in Daytona Beach move supply out of its plant ahead of Hurricane Milton.
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