Office of Primary Care and Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program

UVM Health Network Chief Medical Officer David Clauss, M.D., Larner associate professor of emergency medicine and assistant professor of medicine

(NOVEMBER 1, 2024) UVM Health Network Chief Medical Officer David Clauss, M.D., Larner associate professor of emergency medicine and assistant professor of medicine, commented in a Saint Albans Messenger article on how the IV fluid shortage is impacting Franklin County medical services.

The destructive category 4 Hurricane Helene that hit North Carolina in September destroyed an IV fluid manufacturer, setting off a chain reaction and nationwide shortage. With the supply chain affecting hospitals’ IV inventory nationwide, the largest hospital in the state has had to take some protective measures of its own.

The University of Vermont Medical Center made the decision October 23 to reschedule certain elective surgical procedures, and procedures that use large amounts of IV fluid and sterile irrigation fluid are to be rescheduled and assessed weekly.

“We have to make sure we have the supplies on hand to provide emergency care to our patients when they need us,” Clauss said in a press release. “Hospitals and health systems around the country have been rescheduling procedures, and we wanted to avoid doing so for as long as possible to minimize impacts to our patients, but this is a necessary step to ensure our supplies do not get too low.”