NORTH COVE, N.C. — One of the nation's largest IV suppliers that was shut down by Hurricane Helene is expected to restart production within the next week, company officials said.
Baxter International's western North Carolina manufacturing plant has been closed for weeks since Helene battered the mountains. The Marion-based plant supplies 60% of the nation's IV bags, which left many health care providers on edge.
The company said all employees at the North Cove facility have been accounted for and are returning to work at pre-hurricane staffing levels this week. So far, the first temporary bridge has helped transport more than 720 truckloads of finished product to customers. Baxter says it continues to make progress on a second temporary bridge that will enable more trucks to access the facility.
"Looking at elective procedures and elective surgeries, we may need to postpone them for now," Christopher Chamberlain with the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania told WFMY-TV. "The challenge is those are short-term strategies."
A new survey from health care provider Premier found that 86% of providers are experiencing IV fluid shortages after Helene. The survey found that smaller hospitals were more likely to report receiving 0% of their ordered IV fluids due to Helene's impacts.
Baxter says its goal remains to get resume production at North Cove in phases by the end of 2024. The company said Thursday that it anticipates restarting the highest-throughput IV manufacturing line before Nov. 1. It's still unclear when the plant will resume pre-hurricane production levels.
To date, nine Baxter plants worldwide have increased inventory to meet customer demands. The FDA has authorized temporary importation of products from Thailand and Singapore until the company is able to ramp up production in North Carolina.