By Naveen Athrappully Contributing Writer The American Hospital Association is urging the federal government to declare a national emergency, warning that patient safety is at risk due to a shortage of IV solutions after Hurricane Helene disrupted supplies. Baxter International, the largest manufacturer of certain intravenous solutions in the United States, shut down its North Cove manufacturing plant in North Carolina recently after being impacted by Hurricane Helene. This has disrupted the supply of IV fluids to hospitals.
“As a result, our members are already reporting substantial shortages of these lifesaving and life-supporting products,” the AHA said in a Monday letter to President Joe Biden. The group represents almost 5,000 member hospitals, 43,000 individual members, and other health care organizations. “Patients across America are already feeling this impact, which will only deepen in the coming days and weeks unless much more is done to alleviate the situation and minimize the impact on patient care,” the letter reads.
The association asked the federal government to declare a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act. The AHA said that the North Cove plant produces roughly 1.5 million bags of IV solutions per day, accounting for about 60% of America’s supply.
With manufacturing disrupted, Baxter and other suppliers of IV solutions have instituted buying limits and are not accepting new customers, the group stated. “AHA strongly urges the adm.