Hospitals in Minnesota are bracing for a possible shortage of IV fluids.

Baxter International, the country’s biggest supplier of intravenous and peritoneal dialysis solutions, shut down earlier this week.

Their North Cove site is located about 60 miles outside of Asheville, North Carolina, in an area that saw unprecedented rain and extensive flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

According to the American Hospital Association, that site manufactures 60% of the country’s supply of IV solutions, producing 1.5 million bags per day.

The company stated heavy rain and storm surge triggered a levee breach, which led to water permeating the site.

RELATED: How to help those affected by Hurricane Helene

Late Thursday, Baxter International confirmed they will now have to limit the amount of product hospitals can order.

In a lengthy statement, the company said, in part:

“We have implemented allocations to help ensure we are appropriately managing our inventory and minimizing disruption to patient care. That means that after review and consideration of available inventory and the medical necessity of the impacted products, a specific limit on what a customer can order has been implemented. This allocation helps limit stockpiling and increases the likelihood of equitable access to available products. The current allocation includes saline, dextrose and PD solution products manufactured in all sizes.”

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to multiple healthcare systems in Minnesota to see what the impact of this will be here at home.

“We’ll absolutely feel the effect of this,” said Mike Waldt, pharmacy system director at North Memorial Health. “That is our primary supplier so, almost exclusively, Baxter supplies IV fluids for our locations.”

Waldt said those fluids are used for everything from surgeries to hydrating sick babies.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of shortages, but this one made me more nervous than I thought it would,” Waldt said.

In Thursday’s statement, Baxter International said there is no timeline for when the North Cove site would be back open:

“We are encouraged by the progress made since the storm and humbled by the work of the dedicated team on the ground. We know that many are eager for a specific date for when North Cove operations will resume. While we look forward to returning to full operations in the future, there are many components to the recovery process given the nature of sterile drug manufacturing. We are working with the greatest urgency, but we do not yet have a timeline for when operations will be back up and running. As our CEO, Joe Almeida, indicated in our press release, we will spare no resource — human or financial — to restart operations and help ensure patients and providers have the products they need.”

Hospitals like North Memorial said, for now, will try to conserve the supply of these critical products.

“This will require us to maybe be a little bit more creative than we’ve had to be in the past to be able to deal with the reduction in supply,” Waldt said. “All of the options are going to be on the table as far as different ways that we provide different therapies to our patients.”

Waldt said they are looking at many ideas for limiting waste of IV fluids, such as using the same IV bag before and after a surgery, along with offering oral hydration instead of IV fluids to some patients.

He said they are not currently considering canceling any elective procedures but noted that could change, depending on what happens with the supply chain.

“We don’t know what the duration of this is going to be and so, as more information’s coming out, we make new plans,” Waldt said.

M Health Fairview provided this statement to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS:

“M Health Fairview, like many systems across the country, is currently navigating the impact of the intravenous (IV) fluid shortage due to Hurricane Helene’s disruption of Baxter’s North Cove manufacturing facility in North Carolina. We are working closely with our supply chain partners and Baxter’s team to ensure that patient care is not compromised during this time. While Baxter has implemented allocation measures, we are taking proactive steps, including reviewing inventory and prioritizing essential usage, to maintain the highest level of patient safety and care. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and adjust as needed to support our patients and staff.”

Allina Health provided this statement:

“The situation in the southern states in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene is heartbreaking. Our thoughts are with the people of the region. Patient safety is our priority. We are in touch with Baxter daily and constantly assessing our supplies. We are also collaborating with state and federal partners and our local health system colleagues on a plan to secure additional IV solution products.”

The Minnesota Hospital Association’s vice president of quality and safety, Jennifer Schoenecker, also commented, saying:

“The North Cove Baxter plant closed on Sept. 29 due to damage from Hurricane Helene.  We are working with our members to monitor IV fluid supply chain concerns as a result of this closing. Minnesota hospitals and health systems have mitigation and conservation strategies in place for situations just like this one. While we are evaluating the impact this may have on the patients that Minnesota hospitals serve, our members are diligently planning in the event we do experience a shortage. We will be monitoring the situation closely in the days ahead.”

A spokesperson for Fresenius Medical Care also sent the following statement:

“Fresenius Medical Care is aware of the impact Hurricane Helene had to Baxter International’s manufacturing facility in Marion, North Carolina. We are currently assessing the impact this shutdown has on our Peritoneal Dialysis patient population and can confirm to date there has been no impact on patient care and treatment at our Fresenius Kidney Care dialysis centers.”