Forgotten in the IV Shortage? Patients Who Need It to Eat
About 40,000 people in the US rely on IV nutrition. Shortages of key products have left them starving.
Wanted: more.
Photographer: Dirk Waem/AFP/Getty ImagesEarlier this month, as Hurricane Milton barreled through the Gulf of Mexico with a ferocity that brought one Florida-based meteorologist to tears, Beth Gore’s biggest worry wasn’t the imminent threat to her home just south of Tampa. The mom of six was too focused on making sure her son Manny had the nutrients he needs to survive.
Manny is one of the estimated 40,000 people in the US who relies on parenteral nutrition. It’s a mix of proteins, fats, sugars and vitamins delivered directly into the veins of people unable to digest food. This small, vulnerable group has been acutely impacted by the current shortage of IV fluids — and they are falling through the cracks.