Supply Chain Updates Following Temporary Closure of Baxter’s Plant in North Carolina Due to Hurricane Helene
AHA Special Bulletin
October 2, 2024
As we shared in Monday’s AHA News, Baxter International Inc. announced Sept. 29 that its North Cove manufacturing plant in Marion, N.C., was temporarily closed as a result of damage from Hurricane Helene. The plant manufactures 60% of the country's supply of IV solutions and produces 1.5 million bags per day. The AHA is engaged with Baxter and federal agencies to coordinate the impact on the medical supply chain.
In a letter to customers today, Baxter shared that it is implementing allocations on certain products effective immediately. It also said that additional information on peritoneal dialysis products will be coming soon.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday that it is actively working with Baxter and other federal agencies to “confirm how much product was recently released for distribution, or may be available at wholesalers, and provide any resources and assistance we can during this time. This could include reviewing potential temporary imports or expediting reviews of the cleaned and restored manufacturing lines.”
In addition, FDA said, “while Baxter is taking new steps to manage inventory of their North Cove presentations to assure equitable access, FDA is also working with Baxter’s additional facilities to increase supply and reduce the risk of new shortages until Baxter can resume manufacturing the impacted products. FDA will also be working with alternative suppliers, as needed, to manage gaps/shortages in supply of critical products.”
AHA TAKE
The AHA is coordinating with Baxter and is proactively engaging with federal agencies with regard to the disruption and to convey our concerns about the impact on patient care. We will continue to actively monitor the situation and provide hospitals and health systems with updated information.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Share this information with your leadership, clinical and supply team leaders.
- Review the report from ECRI designed to help health care providers navigate shortages caused by the Baxter facility shutdown. The report identifies up to the top three alternatives from other manufacturers to the IV and irrigation solutions affected by the plant closure.
- Watch for additional updates from the AHA, federal agencies and Baxter related to the disruption.
FURTHER QUESTIONS
If you have further questions, please contact Nancy Foster, vice president for quality and patient safety policy, at nfoster@aha.org, Roslyne Schulman, director of policy at rschulman@aha.org, or Mike Schiller, executive director of AHA’s Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management, at mschiller@aha.org.