The University of Rochester Medical Center announced Tuesday that it will be putting a pause on some elective and semi-elective surgeries starting Wednesday.
The pause, officials said, is due to the reduced shipments of IV sterile fluids to hospitals nationwide.
"I know it's inconvenient," said Dr. Michael Apostolakos, the chief medical officer for UR Medicine. "I know it's difficult to hear that your surgery is semi-elective or elective and it's going to be delayed. I know our patients don't feel that way and my heart goes out to you.
"Believe me when I tell you that we're trying to do everything we can to help the community and to make this as short a wait as we can for all our patients."
Apostolakos said the elective and semi-elective cases subject to the pause are those that could be delayed three months or longer without risk of harm to the patient.
Extensive flood damage from Hurricane Helene last month disrupted production at the nation’s largest IV fluid manufacturer — the Baxter plant in Marion, North Carolina. The plant produces 60% of the nation’s supply of sterile fluids, including peritoneal dialysis solutions.
URMC said limiting procedures to urgent and emergency cases will help the system conserve its inventory.
The university said the pause will affect surgeries scheduled at all UR Medicine hospitals, including the Saunders Surgical Center at Noyes Memorial Hospital in Dansville, and the Noyes Health Services Same Day Surgery Center in Geneseo.
Officials said surgeries and procedures requiring little or no IV will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Rochester Regional Health has also rescheduled a small number of its elective procedures.
UR Medicine says surgeons will reach out directly if a patient’s procedure must be postponed.
