Hospitals serve as crucial community hubs during disasters; Health care workers provide critical care during recent hurricanes despite personal losses

When a natural disaster or emergency strikes, where is one of the first places people turn to? Their local hospital.

That’s because hospitals and health systems are always there, ready to care and play a crucial role in disaster preparedness and response by serving as essential community hubs for many aspects of medical care and public health during emergencies.

We’ve seen this time and time again, including during the last few weeks as Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton have pummeled states in the southeast and caused widespread devastation for families and communities. Our thoughts remain with those affected as they go through the difficult weeks and months ahead.

During these storms, we have seen countless examples of hospital teams going above and beyond to care for patients and protect communities. Many health care workers, whose own homes and property were destroyed, worked around-the-clock to provide critical care and comfort to those most in need, and that work continues today. 

The North Carolina Healthcare Association and Tennessee Hospital Association have each established relief funds to assist hospital employees in their states who have been impacted by Hurricane Helene’s unprecedented destruction and flooding, and the AHA has contributed to both relief funds.

The AHA has been working to support hospitals and health systems in a number of additional ways, including advocating for additional actions to be taken to increase the supply of intravenous (IV) solutions for hospitals and other health care providers that are struggling with shortages, as well as sharing resources with the field to enhance our nation’s preparedness, response and recovery efforts.

Addressing IV Solutions Supply Shortages. In a letter to President Biden earlier this week, we urged the Administration to take immediate actions to support hospitals’ ability to care for patients and communities as they grapple with IV solution shortages as a result of the closure of Baxter’s manufacturing plant in Marion, N.C., due to damage caused by Hurricane Helene. This facility is a critical supplier of IV and peritoneal dialysis solutions, producing approximately 60% — or 1.5 million bags — of the IV solutions used every day in the U.S.

Hospitals and health systems immediately implemented organization-specific action plans to conserve IV fluids and ensure patient access to care and services, but they continue to report substantial shortages of these lifesaving and life-supporting products.

Baxter Oct. 9 announced that it is increasing the current U.S. allocation levels of its highest demand IV fluids for direct customers from 40% to 60%, and for distributors from 10% to 60%, effective immediately .

We appreciate the Administration’s collaboration with us on this and their responses to date to ensure the needs of hospitals and patients are met. While we know the recovery from this historic storm will take time, we are grateful for the ongoing commitment to mitigate these supply chain disruptions and ensure access to care for patients.

The AHA will continue to engage with leaders on Capitol Hill, federal agencies, Baxter and other stakeholders to pull all available levers to ensure hospitals and health systems have the supplies they need to care for patients. Visit AHA’s webpage for the latest information and resources, including conservation strategies.

Resources on Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery. The AHA has developed and shared an online hub of resources designed to enhance our nation’s public health preparedness, response and recovery efforts and support communities. These resources were developed as part of Convening Leaders for Emergency and Response (CLEAR), an initiative dedicated to strengthening hospitals’ and health systems’ capabilities to prepare for, respond to and recover from future emergencies and natural disasters.

The resources include videos featuring hospital and health system leaders discussing their firsthand experiences navigating public health emergencies; tip sheets with strategies and real-world examples for hospitals and health systems to effectively prepare for and respond to a variety of public health emergency scenarios; and a field guide with actionable strategies to help build a more unified health care and public health care system for the future.

The AHA will continue to support hospitals and health systems as they prepare for and respond to emergencies and disasters, including the ongoing ones in the southeast.