Photo: Jared Brosnan
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — It will be at least Wednesday before Mass General Brigham starts scheduling non-emergency surgeries once again amid a shortage of certain IV fluids.
Hospitals around the country have been scrambling since the storm destroyed North Carolina's Baxter International, the manufacturing plant that produces 60% of the nation’s IV fluids.
“We haven’t been in the operating room pretty much all week because of the IV shortage,” said Mackenzie, an X-ray technician with MGB
The hospital is suspending non-emergency elective surgeries that require certain types of IV fluids.
In a statement to WBZ NewsRadio, MGB said the policies guarantee that the hospital can care for patients in “immediate need.”
“We do not know when our supply of IV fluids will improve but we are closely monitoring and will continuously evaluate to ensure we can return to normal operations as soon as possible. We are contacting affected patients and will work to reschedule them as soon as we are able,” MGB said in the statement.
For Mackenzie, the IV shortage isn’t the only thing making Helene hit close to home.
“I have family that lives in Florida, so it’s been a lot,” she said. “It’s tragic down there. But up here it’s hard because you can’t really do anything about it.
She said, if needed, she wouldn't be getting any unnecessary procedures so relief can go towards hurricane victims.
“If I had a procedure that wasn’t emergent, [I] probably wouldn’t get it,” she said.
WBZ’s Jared Brosnan reports.
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