Is the Mass. hospital system prepared to deal with extreme weather caused by climate change?

Hospitals around the country are still in need of IV fluids after Hurricane Helene damaged a manufacturing facility in North Carolina that produces about 60% of the vital solution nationwide. The Category 4 hurricane killed more than 200 people across North Carolina and other states, and it caused billions of dollars in damages.

Mass General Brigham buys its IV fluids fromBaxter International Inc, which operates the damaged facility. Last week, the hospital system had to reschedule elective surgeries to ration its supply before returning to normal operations on Friday.

"Thankfully, we are doing a full procedural schedule, but we're really still day to day," said Dr. Paul Biddinger, chief preparedness and continuity officer at Mass General Brigham. "We're not getting anywhere close to our usual deliveries of IV fluids."

This isn't the first weather-related IV fluid shortage. Supplies were stretched thin in 2017 following Hurricane Maria. And scientists say climate change is making storms stronger, creating more rain, flooding and damaging winds. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts sea levels will likely rise up to a foot by 2050, with larger increases along the East Coast and Gulf Coast.

"There is no question that big storms ... are becoming more frequent," said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University's School of Public Health. "Climate change leads to warmer air, warmer waters. That's the fuel for hurricanes. So we're seeing bigger storms land — like that data is incontrovertible. And what we're seeing across the country is health systems largely unprepared."

While Jha believes hospitals around the country must do more to reduce the impact climate change will have on facilities and patient care, he said Massachusetts health systems are better prepared than most.

Biddinger, agreed, saying Mass General Brigham has taken steps to reduce climate-related risk to its hospitals.

"We looked at every single one of our facilities around the state to figure out what the risk is," Biddinger said. "And then where we have risk, some of it needs to be mitigated with short-term flood barriers, power generation, supplies. We know what we have to stock up for if the roadways get flooded and we aren't able to resupply for three, five, seven days."