The deadly impact of Hurricane María extends to US hospitals
Power outages set off IV bag shortages
By
Genevieve Leigh
13 January 2018
Hospitals nationwide are in the midst of one of the most severe medical product shortages in modern US history. With half of Puerto Rico still without power, the major medical supply giant on the island—Baxter International—has been unable to keep up with the production of the millions of IV bags upon which hospitals throughout the US mainland rely on for basic daily medical treatment of their patients.
Erin Fox, director of the University of Utah’s drug information service, told the Guardian “We’ve seen some pretty terrible shortages. This shortage proves that things can always get worse. … It affects every single medication that we are giving in our hospital.”
IV fluid bags are an essential part of modern medical care in hospitals, where they are used to dilute and administer medication.
This critical shortage has been exacerbated by a sharp increase in flu cases nationwide, sending patients to hospitals where they often require IV drip medications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting that 46 states are experiencing widespread flu activity, comparable to the peak of the 2014-2015 season, which was the most severe flu season in recent years.
Since flu season usually peaks in January and February many medical professionals have expressed grave concern about how the shortages will be handled in the coming months. The flu kills anywhere from 2,000 to 56,000 Americans every year, and puts 140,000 to 710,000 people into the hospital, according to the CDC. Already this year 27 people under the age of 65 have died of the flu in California alone.
The shortages have had far-reaching effects, hitting…