Hartford Hospital Experts Lead Call to Action on Supply Shortage

When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2018, the powerful storm knocked out power to much of the island — including a group of IV bag manufacturing plants.

The loss of power created a shortage of IV bags during a critical time: the 2018 flu season, which sent more people to their healthcare providers than at any time since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, and was linked to more than 30 deaths in Connecticut.

This unusual flu season made the IV bag shortage a matter of life and death.

In the midst of this shortage, Hartford Hospital worked with clinical pharmacies across Hartford HealthCare to ensure patient care was not interrupted.

Senator Richard Blumenthal joined Dr. Jack Ross, chief of infectious disease, and Eric Arlia, pharmacy director, for a press conference to bring attention to the converging events.