Hawaii bracing for shortage of IV and dialysis fluids after Hurricane Helene disrupts production

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaii’s hospitals and dialysis centers are bracing for a shortage of two commonly used medical solutions after Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic damage to one of the nation’s few production sites.

We’re talking about IV fluids and peritoneal dialysis fluid.

IV fluids play a vital role in a hospital’s ability to prepare someone for surgery, treat the sick and administer medication, while peritoneal dialysis fluid is used to remove toxins from the bodies of patients in kidney failure.

According to Hilton Raethel, president of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, the islands could start seeing impacts “any day” now.

Baxter, a pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina that produces 60% of the country’s IV solutions, was forced to halt production after the facility was flooded following a levee breach caused by remnants of Hurricane Helene.

Not only did the storm leave the plant a muddy mess, bridges leading to the facility are impassable.

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Officials estimate the company likely won’t be operating at 100% until the end of the year.

“This impacts every hospital in the state. It impacts every surgery center. It impacts every dialysis center,” said Raethel. “If you run out of IV fluids, that is a critical situation.”

He says many of the state’s larger hospitals use hundreds, if not thousands, of liters of IV fluids every day.

Currently, health care facilities supplied by Baxter are receiving 60% of their normal orders. The only exception is for children’s hospitals. Raethel says 100% of those orders are being filled.

While conservation efforts can be put into place, they are very limited.

Raethel says some hospitals on the mainland are rescheduling elective surgeries.

There’s also a push from the American Hospital Association to have the Biden Administration extend expiration dates on these specific medical solutions.

Raethel said, “The good news is that our hospitals all work together. So, if we’ve got hospitals who have greater supply — and some are running short — we do have a mechanism for the hospitals to communicate with each other. And share these resources if necessary.”

The FDA just annouced it will temporarily allow the import certain medical solutions from manufactures in other countries.

Meanwhile -- a statement posted on Baxter’s website the company’s CEO said, “We will spare no resource — human or financial — to restart operations and help ensure patients and providers have the products they need.”

HNN Investigates also checked in with Honolulu EMS. Paramedic supervisor Sunny Johnson says the city gets its IV fluids from a different manufacture that was not impacted by the storm.

“Honolulu EMS is confident that we have enough supply for IV fluids for the next six months — to get us through the national shortage,” she said.

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