The Health Collaborative says Greater Cincinnati area hospitals are working together to handle a potential nationwide shortage of intravenous (IV) fluids.
"We've activated what we call our Regional Request and Fulfillment standard operating procedures," says Tiffany Mattingly, chief engagement officer and vice president of clinical strategies with The Health Collaborative, adding that means local hospitals have agreed to help each other out.
"We're looking at contingency efforts across not just here locally in Southwest Ohio, but across the state and nationally. Baxter supplies 85% of the IV fluids in Ohio so it's certainly something that we are paying very close attention to."
The move comes after — and bridges leading to said facility — in North Cove, N.C. Baxter International is one of the largest makers of IV fluids in the nation, supplying 60% of nation's IV fluids. Its plant in North Cove produces 1.5 million IV fluid bags per day.
The North Cove facility remains closed and Baxter has been ramping up production at other facilities while also limiting supply allocations. The company Wednesday it was increasing allocations, adding "our goal is to restart North Cove production in phases and return to 90% to 100% allocation of certain IV solution product codes by the end of 2024."
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Mattingly says Cincinnati-area hospitals are using plans refined during the COVID-19 pandemic to work together and share resources.
"Right now, all of the hospitals still have all of the IV fluids they need on hand. What they're really doing is watching that supply and demand, and then implementing conservancy efforts to conserve that supply," she says.
She adds Wednesday's announcement increasing allotments will help, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may allow IV fluids to be imported. As of Oct. 9, however, IV fluids are not listed on the .
"At this point [for the] general public, I don't think that there's any reason for to be worried, but we are continuing to work behind the scenes to make sure that the hospitals continue to operate as normal," says Mattingly.
are a major part of patient care. They're used to get medications into patients, treat/prevent dehydration, and handle electrolyte imbalances. They're also integral in dialysis to remove waste from the blood.
In an Oct. 1 , Baxter listed several options dialysis providers and individual customers may need to consider, such as switching the type of peritoneal dialysis, switching to a different provider, or switching to hemodialysis.
