(Radio Iowa) – Hospitals across Iowa and nationwide are working to conserve supplies of intravenous fluid packets as one of the main suppliers of I-Vs, based in western North Carolina, was damaged and shut down by Hurricane Helene. Pharmacist Emily Mork, at Gundersen Palmer Lutheran Hospital in West Union, says she’s seen reports that some medical centers are being forced to reschedule or even cancel surgeries. “We’re not quite at that point yet. Our normal stock amount is, we have about a two- to three-week supply,” Mork says. “So we are in discussion right now with providers and surgeons and our ER providers and OB about limiting fluids as much as possible.”

Some patients can replenish fluids by mouth, she says, and won’t need to use an I-V. The next step is checking in with patients who’ve scheduled elective and non-emergency procedures, to see if they can be moved back. “We definitely have elective surgeries that we would consider rescheduling. The ones that we obviously cannot would be the emergencies, removing the appendix, emergency C-sections, gallbladders we couldn’t move,” Mork says. “We do colonoscopies throughout the week that are just preventative, so those could be rescheduled.” Baxter International had to close its plant in Marion, North Carolina, which produces about 60-percent of the nation’s supply of I-V fluids. It’s unclear when it may be able to reopen.

Mork says there are other companies that produce I-Vs, but they’re not cheap. “We have some secondary wholesalers that we’re able to reach out to,” she says. “When you look at costs compared to what we were buying, now we’re paying three times as much through these secondary providers, but their stock is also very limited, and then the prices are also skyrocketing.” It’s not considered price gouging, Mork says, but rather a supply-and-demand result from the shortage.

Axios reports UnityPoint Health, which operates dozens of Iowa hospitals and clinics, is facing I-V supply disruptions and has also implemented conservation measures.