(Bloomberg) -- Baxter International Inc. will begin accepting more new home dialysis patients after hurricane damage to a plant forced it to limit enrollment to children and emergency cases.
The company, a major provider of fluids used for home dialysis, is aiming to “restore the number of new patient starts to pre-Hurricane Helene levels by the end of the year,” according to a statement Monday.
Deerfield, Illinois-based Baxter produces much of the fluid used for peritoneal dialysis, a form of home-based treatment for people with kidney disease. Baxter’s plant in North Cove, North Carolina, which also makes other intravenous fluids, was forced to temporarily halt production after the hurricane caused power outages and flooding.
US regulators are allowing the company to bring in inventory made in some plants outside the country to ease the shortage. The first shipments arrived over the weekend, Baxter said.
The IV products are used in a wide variety of treatments and care plans. Closure of the plant disrupted care at some hospitals and clinics, and greater availability of its fluids will relieve strain on the system.
For patients “it can mean the difference between receiving their chemotherapy or a lifesaving treatment in an ICU, whether that’s an antibiotic or something to support their blood pressure,” said Michael Ganio, senior director of pharmacy practice at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
--With assistance from Ike Swetlitz.
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