IV Bag shortage caused by Hurricane Helene hits El Paso County

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - An IV bag shortage is now impacting hospitals and people who are getting surgeries in El Paso County. It comes after Hurricane Helene caused mass destruction across much of the East Coast, hitting one of the biggest IV bag suppliers in the United States.

Memorial Hospital is just one of the medical centers in southern Colorado impacted by the IV bag shortage. UCHealth confirmed to KRDO13 that they are now postponing surgeries due to the shortage.

The damage and destruction that swept through North Carolina left one of the nation's largest IV bag suppliers, Baxter International, shut down for weeks. Now the company is playing catch up.

If you have a non-urgent surgery on your calendar at UCHealth you may be getting a notification soon that says it’s getting pushed back. 

These are surgeries for medical conditions where your life is not on the line. If it is an emergency hospital staff will be able to use the IV bags. Right now the efforts are all about conserving fluids and only using them when need be. 

If your surgery is postponed UCHealth says it will try to reschedule as soon as possible. 

Right now it’s unclear when the IV bags will be back to regular supply levels. 

UCHealth sent KRDO13 this statement regarding the shortage.

UCHealth’s top priority is patient safety and well-being. Due to the ongoing, national shortage of IV fluids caused by recent hurricanes, UCHealth has implemented conservation measures to ensure IV fluids are available for all patients who need them. As part of the conservation plan, UCHealth locations will begin postponing some non-emergent and non-urgent cases that require the use of large amounts of IV fluids. The goal is to preserve our supplies for patients with emergent and urgent needs. Patients will be notified, and we will reschedule these cases as soon as possible.

UCHealth Spokesperson

The hospital also wanted to make it very clear that patients will be notified directly by UCHealth if their surgery will be postponed.