美国国家公共电台 NPR Hurricane Damage To Manufacturers In Puerto Rico Affects Mainland Hospitals, Too

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A hurricane damage from Puerto Rico - from Puerto Rico is being felt in hospitals across the rest of the United States. That's because a lot of medical devices are manufactured in Puerto Rico. In fact, more than 100 plants there do that kind of work, or did that kind of work until Hurricane Maria struck a couple of months ago. Production, as you may expect, is down, and the manufacturers have a long way to go to return to full capacity. Alison Kodjak reports that's causing shortages on the mainland.

ALISON KODJAK, BYLINE¹: At MedStar Washington Hospital Center, doctors and nurses are moving as many patients as they can from IV medications to the same drugs in pill form if they're available.

BONNIE LEVIN: Ampicillin is one. Keflex has a equivalent. So yeah, common antibiotics².

KODJAK: Bonnie Levin is the head of pharmacy³ services for all 10 MedStar hospitals. She says there's a shortage across the country of IV bags, specifically so-called MINI-BAGS that are used to deliver medications. Some contain saline solution and others are pre-mixed with medicine.

LEVIN: So the plain bags, the mixed bags, there's - so there are shortages of all kinds of small-volume medications.

KODJAK: So now the hospital staff has been told to change their habits and conserve⁴.

LEVIN: We use those small bags to deliver many medications, and some we can only deliver that way, some there are other alternatives.

KODJAK: The shortage is a direct result of the hurricane damage in Puerto Rico. There are more than 100 drug and medical device plants on the island. Three of them belong to Baxter, one of the biggest suppliers of IV bags to U.S. hospitals. All three of Baxter's plants shut down temporarily, and at least two are still running on generators⁵. Kristi Guest says the Baxter plant that makes MINI-BAGS is pretty remote.

KRISTI GUEST: It's atop a mountain, and the roads have been very compromised, and they are at partial capacity.

KODJAK: Guest runs a disaster response team for Vizient, a company that sources medical supplies for hospitals. She's been working with companies in Puerto Rico since the hurricane, and she says Baxter isn't alone.

GUEST: The manufacturing environment in Puerto Rico, as far as we are informed, is largely still running on generators, compromised capacity.

KODJAK: And so the companies are rationing⁶ the medications and supplies they do manage to make. For example, hospitals are only getting about half or less of their regular shipments of mini IV bags. And Vizient says even surgical⁷ staples⁸ made on the island are in short supply, and their distribution is being restricted. The idea is to prevent any one hospital from hoarding⁹ supplies and to make sure everything is distributed as evenly as possible. Stephanie Hale also works at Vizient. She helps the company's hospital clients manage how they use products that are in short supply.

STEPHANIE HALE: Every patient that came into the emergency department that was admitted to a unit automatically was placed on fluids to maintain hydration. But what we've been suggesting to our members more recently is that they evaluate the actual need and assess patients more specifically and accurately¹⁰ for IV solutions.

KODJAK: Bonnie Levin at MedStar in Washington, D.C., says so far they've been able to manage the shortages.

LEVIN: We're really fortunate in that we haven't disrupted patient care. You know, if this went on for two years, I'd guess I'd have some concern, but at this point, we expect that the supply is going to return in three to six months.

KODJAK: But that prediction depends on how fast the island's roads and electric grid¹¹ can be restored. Alison Kodjak, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE FLASHBULB'S "TRAVELOGUE")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

3 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

4 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

5 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。

7 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

8 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

9 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

10 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

11 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。