Baxter, a North Carolina company that supplies 60% of IVs across the United States, was heavily impacted by Hurricane Helene back in September. Unfortunately, the effects are still being felt across the nation as Baxter struggles to keep up with national demand. This ongoing national shortage has resulted in critically low inventory at Onvida Health. After careful consideration, we’ve made the difficult decision to pause elective procedures through December 10th. This will allow us to prioritize critical and emergency cases.
Decisions regarding procedures scheduled for December 11 through December 13, will be made as we monitor and assess on-hand inventory. We are waiting for further information from Baxter as to any additional allocations for both LR and normal saline IV bags. While we anticipate a larger shipment of saline solution in the coming days, it is our understanding that Baxter is allocating supplies based on order history from the last six months. Here in Yuma, this presents a unique challenge since our volumes are typically lower in the summer.
At this time, only emergent cases, fractures, and oncological procedures will proceed as scheduled. All other cases will be rescheduled for a later date.
We know this is frustrating for our patients and thank you for your understanding as we navigate this challenge together. Please know that this decision was not made lightly, and our priority is always patient safety.
