NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Hurricane Helene devastated areas along parts of the country’s southeast coast in September and lasting effects have been felt all the way to New Mexico.
Helene flooded a manufacturing plant in Western North Carolina that supplied hospitals from all around the country with IV fluid, creating a shortage affecting hospitals nationwide, including New Mexico. However, officials said that shortage is taking a positive turn.
“The supply disruption is beginning to end,” said New Mexico Department of Health Patrick Allen.
The New Mexico Department of Health has been working with local hospitals to ease the effects of halted production at Baxter, a saline manufacturer impacted by Hurricane Helene.
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“Fortunately, not all the health care providers in the state are supplied by Baxter, but some are, and those providers have been conserving their use of a variety of sailing products,” said Allen.