SEATTLE, Wash. — Hurricane Milton has strengthened into a Category 5, bringing devastating wind and rain to areas in its path.
Florida is ordering millions to evacuate, as residents are still scrambling to get back on their feet from Hurricane Helene.
The last hurricane knocked out a facility in North Carolina that provides IV fluid to hospitals across the country, meaning some local hospitals are making plans to ration the vital medical supply.
They’re adapting right now, and for the potential that Hurricane Milton could bring even more problems.
Juan Cotto is the Director of Government Affairs for Bloodworks Northwest, and he has both a professional and personal interest in the Hurricanes and the relief response.
“My father-in-law and my sister-in-law they live in Orlando, Florida,” he said.
“They’re bunkering up and getting ready for this next approaching storm so it’s always something in the back of our mind.”
He says his relatives already dealt with Helene and are gearing up for Milton and he also knows that much of the southeast U.S. is in dire need of medical necessities, including blood.
Bloodworks Northwest has already sent 80 units to hard-hit areas according to Cotto who says he’s watching the latest storm system carefully.
“From a family standpoint, it’s always a point of concern,” he said.
“You pray for them you send positive thoughts and energy.”
KIRO 7 spoke to David Winokur the Chief Administrative Officer with Overlake Medical Center who says plans are already being made to deal with a potential shortage.
“A lot of the distributors are lessening the number of IV fluids so facilities like Overlake are being rationed,” he said.
“So here we’ve employed a number of clinical strategies to help us preserve the IV fluid that we have.”
Winokur said there is no short supply for Overlake yet, but the medical center is planning for the possibility.
“That’s correct because this is something that is used throughout healthcare facilities.”
Providence Medical Group tells KIRO 7 that the facility in North Carolina is one of its pharmacological suppliers.
In a statement, a Providence spokesperson said:
“Baxter supplies providence with around 130 products including intravenous and peritoneal dialysis solutions. the situation and impact to products and availability are currently being assessed, but in the meantime, providence is employing various mitigation strategies.”
Evergreen Health also responded to KIRO 7 saying:
“Our clinical leaders are actively assessing our current stock and implementing processes to conserve supplies. at this time, we are not considering postponing surgeries nor are we making any changes to our scheduling practices.”
Like other health care systems, UW Medicine has employed conservation strategies. That was also was the case for Seattle Children’s Hospital, which says it uses a different supplier for most of its fluid products and did not feel any impacts.
Bloodworks NW also confirmed it does *not* have any issues with supplies, but hopes people donate blood since more units could be sent to the southeast because of Hurricane Milton, Cotto says blood donated now can be used in roughly ten days, which is likely to be well after Milton has an impact on Florida, “You just never know when an accident or a weather occurrence is going to happen.”
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