Wichita man receiving dialysis worries hurricane-induced shortages will affect treatment

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Damage from Hurricane Helen is impacting healthcare manufacturers' ability to distribute IV solutions and other products.

Wichita restaurant owner Joshua Rathbun started dialysis four months ago. He says he lives off the products he gets from Baxter and worries he will have to make major changes if the shortage continues.

Healthcare manufacturing company Baxter Corporation suffered unprecedented damage to its facilities in North Carolina during Hurricane Helen. The factory was closed, affecting the supply of intravenous dialysis fluid and peritoneal dialysis fluid.

Mr. Rathbun orders dialysis treatment from his company. He said Baxter currently has restrictions in place.

“They're trying to lower that limit now,” Rathbun said.

Rathbun relies on home dialysis treatment, which requires Baxter products. Nine hours of treatment each night will allow him to maintain as normal a life as possible.

“Take responsibility into your own hands and take control of your life. You can do it in your sleep and have a normal work schedule,” Rathbun said.

If the shortage worsens, he says, restaurants will be left with some treatments being withdrawn and forced to change their treatments.

“If the orders didn't come in, if I didn't have the monthly orders that I usually get, I would have to go to another center and have it done at that center or maybe switch to hemodialysis,” Rathbun said.

He hopes the shortage won't last long, as it will add further stress to an already difficult situation.

“My family has suffered too. My wife and children have put up with a lot, but I guess that's because it's hard on me and it's hard on them,” Rathbun said.

A Baxter spokesperson said in a statement that the company is working with partners to identify alternative sources of dialysate.

Mr Rathbun is on the transplant waiting list and hopes to receive a new kidney soon.