CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Hospitals in the region are grappling with an ongoing shortage of IV fluids, a situation exacerbated by hurricane damage to one of the nation’s largest production plants. Mark Clement, president and CEO of TriHealth, said, “You know the Baxter plant was devastated by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.”
In response to the potential IV bag shortage, Clement said, “We stood up our incident command center, brought our physician leaders together, that command center meets every day.”
Healthcare providers in the area are collaborating through a mutual aid agreement to manage the shortage. Dr. Helen Koselka, chief medical officer at TriHealth, said, “Everybody’s in a state of conservation right now, so that’s what we are doing.”
Tiffany Mattingly of the Health Collaborative explained that patients in emergency rooms might not receive IV fluids immediately. “The nurse or a doctor may ask them if they can tolerate hydration by mouth, taking a medication by mouth, before just starting that IV when somebody comes into the emergency department,” she said…