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Federal officials are working to move critical hospital supplies out of the path of Hurricane Milton, which is threatening another manufacturer of IV fluids even as hospitals nationwide are still reeling from disruptions caused by flooding at a large factory in North Carolina. Medical manufacturer B. Braun Medical said Wednesday it is working with U.S. health authorities to move its inventory of IV bags to a secure facility away from its plant in Daytona Beach, Florida, which it closed ahead of the storm. (Perrone, 10/9)

U.S. officials approved airlifts of IV fluids from overseas manufacturing plants on Wednesday to ease shortages caused by Hurricane Helene that have forced hospitals to begin postponing surgeries as a way to ration supplies for the most fragile patients. ... On Tuesday, workers at B. Braun, makers of a fourth of the nation’s IV fluids, loaded trucks at the company’s plant in Daytona Beach with the medical bags and drove them north through the night to what they hoped would be a safer location. (Jewett, 10/9)

Following Hurricane Helene-related damage to a key manufacturing site in North Carolina, Baxter International is slowly resuming shipments of intravenous therapy products to hospitals and other customers, but says fully restoring production at the site could take until the end of the year. The Deerfield-based medical equipment manufacturer said today that while it has instituted limits on how many products customers can order at once, it is increasing allocation levels of high-demand IV fluids from 40% to 60% for direct customers, effective immediately. For distributors, Baxter has increased levels from 10% to 60%. (Davis, 10/9)

Hospitals are giving some patients Gatorade and using other workarounds to conserve IV fluids. (Goldman, Bettelheim, 10/10)

Hospitals in Maryland and elsewhere are taking steps to conserve intravenous fluids that have been in short supply since Hurricane Helene flooded a key North Carolina production plant. After the storm shut down a facility near Asheville, North Carolina, operated by Baxter International, producer of more than 60% of IV solutions used in the U.S., the company began limiting what customers can order and declined new customers. Baxter is the country’s largest supplier of IV solutions commonly used to treat and prevent dehydration in patients both in emergency rooms and during surgeries. (Mirabella, Klingaman, 10/9)