So very proud of this collaborative team from across Michigan Medicine and University of Michigan!

Following the devastation of Hurricane Helene, Baxter International Inc., the nation’s largest supplier of IV fluids and dialysis solutions, was forced to temporarily halt production and distribution at its plant in North Cove, North Carolina. As a result, healthcare systems across the United States, including U-M Health, began taking immediate measures to identify and reduce their use of IV fluid bags and other Baxter products that were at risk of running out.

Dr. Hitinder Gurm and leadership in Supply Chain Services recognized the potential for data to guide a timely and proactive response to the ongoing shortage and sent out a call to rally specialists across the University. As part of this institution-wide effort, Brahmajee Nallamothu, MD, Precision Health Co-Director, Professor of Cardiovascular Diseases, and a member of the Weil Institute, reached out to Max Harry Weil Institute for Critical Care Research and Innovation’s Data Science Team to see if they could lend their expertise.

“This was an urgent, yet complicated, situation involving different volumes of fluid bags and a high potential of risk to our patients,” said Dr. Nallamothu. “We knew that if we could have access to even a modest model of how to use these resources more effectively, it would be incredibly impactful.”

Read more here: Thanks to Kate Murphy, The Weil Institute for this piece: U-M & Michigan Medicine collaboration identifies solution for IV fluid shortage in less than 24 hours | University of Michigan Medical School (umich.edu)