Milton spares Daytona Beach, Florida, factory that's a critical supplier of IV fluids

A manufacturer of IV fluids critical to hospitals nationwide said Thursday that its Florida factory and distribution center were left intact after Hurricane Milton tore through the state.

B. Braun Medical Inc. said it would provide more details later Thursday about the Daytona Beach factory. The company had said earlier this week that it was shutting down the plant on Wednesday and planned to restart production Friday morning.

The factory is seen as an important source of sterile intravenous, or IV, fluid supplies that had grown tight after Hurricane Helene hit Florida and several other states late last month. That storm forced Baxter International to shut down a North Carolina factory that makes about 60% of the country’s IV fluid supply.

That plant also makes fluids used by patients on home kidney dialysis.

Baxter started limiting customer orders after that storm to stretch supplies. Health systems, in turn, also started to conserve IV fluids and delay some non-emergency surgeries.

Baxter said Wednesday that it was increasing production at other locations and easing some limits it had placed on customer orders. The company also said in a statement posted on its website that it was working with the federal government to temporarily import products.

Baxter aims to restart production at its North Carolina plant in phases by the end of the year and possibly end limits for certain IV solutions by then too.

In the meantime, the company said its limits would help curb stockpiling and increase equitable access.

B. Braun had said it was working with federal officials to move IV bags out of Milton's path. The company has said its Daytona Beach site was a key part of its plan to address the shutdown of Baxter’s North Carolina location.

B. Braun said it also was increasing production at a factory in Irvine, California.