Milton spares Daytona Beach, Florida, factory that is a critical supplier of intravenous fluids

A maker of intravenous fluids critical to hospitals across the country said Thursday that its Florida factory and distribution center remained intact after Hurricane Milton ravaged the state.

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

The plant is considered a major source of supplies of sterile intravenous, or IV, fluids, which became tighter after Hurricane Helene hit Florida and several other states late last month. That storm forced Baxter International to close a North Carolina plant that produces about 60 percent of the nation’s supply of intravenous fluids.

This plant also manufactures fluids used by patients undergoing home kidney dialysis.

Baxter began limiting customer orders after that storm to increase supplies. Health systems, in turn, have also begun conserving intravenous fluids and delaying some elective surgeries.

Baxter said Wednesday it was increasing production at other sites and relaxing some limits on customer orders. The company also said in a statement 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 stages by the end of the year and possibly end limits on some IV solutions by then as well.

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

B. Braun had said he was working with federal officials to get IV bags out of Milton’s path. The company said its Daytona Beach location was a key part of its plan to address the closure of the Baxter location in North Carolina.

B. Braun said it is also increasing production at a plant in Irvine, California.