Patients, hospitals worry about shortage of IV fluids due to Hurricane Helene shutdown

The impact and fallout from Hurricane Helene are being felt in Southern California by hospitals and patients like 23-year-old Hailee Fobar.

"I have mitochondrial disease, which is a condition where my body doesn't produce enough energy," Fobar said. "As a result, I have another condition called pancreatic insufficiency, which doesn't absorb enough nutrients from food."

The Corona resident relies on total parenteral nutrition, or TPN, seven days a week. The IV-administered nutrition has helped stabilize her health for the past four years.

"I connect to it every night for 12 hours, and it gives me the calories and nutrition that my body needs that I can't get in orally," Fobar said.

The product is one of many Baxter International's North Cove facility manufactures at its North Carolina plant. The facility has been closed since Hurricane Helene hit the area, damaging and destroying towns in its wake.

Last week, the company notified medical facilities nationwide it would cap the supply on hand to distribute at 40% of normal allocations requested by customers.

"There is not a large backlog within the institution truly nationally -- no one has a large supply sitting in some warehouse somewhere in the back of their hospital," said Dr. Alan Williamson, Chief Medical Officer at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage.

Williamson said the hospital, like many nationwide, took immediate measures to ensure continuity of supply, as they did during COVID-19.

Today, Baxter International updated customers on its progress noting they did not identify any structural damage to its North Cove facility, and that power had been restored to the site. Already, mitigation crews were working to clear the site of mud and debris. The company also said it has taken finished products from its facility to another to be part of the supply distributed. Still, it could be weeks before production is fully operational.

Recognizing the potential disruption the company said, "Several of our global plants are scaling and ramping production to help meet the U.S. needs, and we expect to receive product from these sources throughout the month of October."

"What kind of regulations has gone through to make sure the safety and the quality are the same," asked Hailee's mother, Kari Fobar. "Is that going to affect her health? Is the quality going to be the same? And, how fast can we get it?"

Questions that patients and their families are asking across the country.

"This week, I am good. I am able to get all the things I need," Hailee Fobar said. "But, they have no idea what next week will bring."