America's hospitals are bracing for a shortage of IV fluid, as Hurricane Helene's devastation has forced healthcare company Baxter International -- the top producer of IV fluid -- to shut down production at a critical North Carolina facility. 

"The company is working around the clock in close coordination with local, state and federal officials to assess the extent of the damage and implement a plan to bring the plant back online as quickly as possible to help mitigate supply disruption to patients," said Baxter in a statement.

This damaged bridge leading to Baxter International's North Cove facility in Marion, NC will delay a return to production (via HealthExec)

Deerfield, IL-based Baxter alerted hospitals to expect its provision of IV fluid to plummet by 40% from typical levels, according to Dr. Paul Biddinger, the chief preparedness and continuity officer at Boston's Mass General Brigham hospital, who spoke at a Thursday media conference call.   

Mass General Brigham is among hospitals that are already implementing measures to make the most of their inventory -- such as urging staff to consider using Gatorade or water in situations where that can fulfill patient hydration needs in comparable fashion to an IV drip. The hospital will also refrain from trashing partially-used bags when patients are relocated to new departments. 

“Patients are still getting IV fluids when they need them,” said Biddinger. “We are continuing normal medical services but emphasizing conservation, and we are carefully monitoring this incident to determine how long it may last, how long we may need to conserve, and making sure we identified all areas of our enterprise where services are affected.”

A thick layer of mud surrounds Baxter's flooded IV-fluid plant (Aerial Lens via HealthExec)

A breached levee was a factor in the flooding of Baxter's plant in Marion, North Carolina, which typically churns out 1.5 million bags a day. Its return to production will be made more difficult by Helen's destruction of bridges in the vicinity. The company said it's unable to set a timeline for the resumption of operations at the facility. Baxter shares fell 2.47% on Thursday, edging up 0.63% in after-hours trading. 

Before the Hurricane, Baxter commanded a 60% share of America's IV fluid market. Closely-held B. Braun Medical, which accounted for 23%, is pushing to ramp up its own production, telling NBC News it's focusing on the "most critical products," including large-volume bags of sodium chloride, sterile water and lactated ringers. 

That will help, but it won't head off a shortage. “We’re anticipating that there will be major constraints on the U.S. supply of IV fluids as a result of the production outage at Baxter’s North Cove plant,” a Braun Medical spokesman told NBC.

Nor can the U.S. count on tapping European manufacturers because of previously existing global shortages, said Soumi Saha, senior vice president of government affairs at Premier, a group purchasing organization for hospital supplies that serves thousands of medical institutions in the U.S. -- WSJ

News of the pending IV fluid shortage comes just after the Biden-Harris administration ducked a bullet in the form of a short-lived longshoremen strike that closed ports from Maine to Texas. Now, the White House -- and presidential candidate Kamala Harris -- face a rising tide of anger and frustration over its response to Hurricane Helene -- and a crisis in hospitals will only exacerbate that dynamic.