A national shortage of IV fluids, triggered by Hurricane Helene's damage to a major manufacturing facility in September, continues to impact healthcare providers across the country, including in North Idaho.

The shortage stems from flooding at Baxter International's North Carolina factory, one of the country's largest IV fluid suppliers, according to the Food and Drug Administration. While North Idaho healthcare facilities report maintaining essential services, many have implemented conservation measures.

Kootenai Health spokesperson Kim Anderson said patient care remains uncompromised. 

"We have had no interruptions of elective procedures and have been able to maintain the highest quality and safety of care through this shortage," Anderson said.

The facility has taken proactive steps to manage supplies. 

"In response to the national IV fluid shortage, Kootenai Health has implemented weekly incident command meetings to address conservation efforts and supply challenges, which are anticipated to last until the end of 2024," Anderson added.

Conservation methods include using medication injections instead of IV saline drips, encouraging oral hydration when possible and finding acceptable substitutions for scarce items.

Shoshone Medical Center is also adapting to the situation. 

"We have developed backup protocols that will allow us to continue to provide needed medication safely to each of our patients if we do experience any serious shortages," CEO Paul Lewis said.

The Northern Idaho Healthcare Coalition is coordinating regional response efforts. Nick Mechikoff, the coalition's emergency management coordinator, has been facilitating information sharing among healthcare providers in Idaho's 10 northernmost counties.

"When something comes up like this, then we do it through information coordination and information sharing," Mechikoff said. "A couple of weeks ago when this first started being a problem I sent out a survey to all the partners on where they stood with various IV fluids."

Heritage Health reports its operations remain unaffected, and so far, no surgeries in North Idaho have been delayed due to the shortage. IV fluids, essential for procedures like dialysis and treating dehydration, also serve as a delivery method for certain medications and help maintain proper electrolyte and sugar levels in the blood.