Are You Prepared to Staff Flu Season?

October through March is when the common cold and flu hit hardest. During this time, hiring managers for healthcare facilities must be well-prepared to not only offer preventative care and treatment for the einflux of patients but also to manage coverage for providers who need to call out to take care of themselves or sick family members.

To ensure your facility is ready, it’s crucial to have a comprehensive flu season staffing plan in place. Keep reading to see how temporary staffing or seasonal surge hiring offers solutions to help you (and your existing staff) meet the challenge.

5 Ways Temporary Staffing Can Help You This Flu Season

According to research from vacation and leave tracker Flamin go, February has been the “sickest” month over the past five years, with April and December close behind, in call outs and sick days taken. (Interestingly, the most common day that Americans call out sick is actually in August.) With those sick days can come staffing shortages. Inadequate staffing in hospitals can result in adverse health outcomes. In clinics, emergency departments, medical offices, and urgent care centers, those shortages can prolong patient wait times and heighten stress levels among nurses and allied health workers.

About 49% of Americans got a flu shot during the 2022-2023 season according to the Centers f or Disease Control—with roughly 173.5 million to 183.5 million doses available in the U.S. for the same year—with about 33 million people getting the flu. That’s a lot of shots in arms for immunizers to administer and a lot of fevers, aches, and sniffles for the folks who got sick.

So, whether you need to ramp up seasonal healthcare hiring to cover professionals who need to take a sick day or to cover surge hiring needs for immunizers at a national drug store chain, recruiting the team you need is essential. Let’s look at five ways seasonal healthcare recruiting can help you as a hiring manager in healthcare.

Increased Staff

Using a healthcare staffing agency to find temporary contractors during cold and flu season can be a strategic move that can significantly improve your facility’s capacity and patient satisfaction. By supplementing your team with additional expert healthcare professionals, you can more effectively handle increased patient volume, reduce wait times, and ensure patients receive timely care. This proactive approach can not only alleviate the burden on your current staff but also help maintain high standards of patient care.

Specialized Professionals

If your facility offers immunizations, you may see an increase in the need for flu shots in busy months like November-January. Getting access to experienced trusted immunizers can make all the difference in scheduling patients and delivering services for children, adults, and seniors. When illness strikes and staff shortages arise, flu season staffing can become a significant challenge. If you’re facing a shortage of doctors, nurses, medical assistants, or even front desk clerks, staffing agencies can be a valuable solution. These agencies can supply you with skilled professionals who can fill the talent gap and help maintain essential services.

Efficiency and Flexibility

Cold and flu season can bring unpredictable surges in patient volume, making it challenging for healthcare facilities to maintain optimal staffing levels. To ensure consistent care during these peaks, layering on break nurses or pharmacy techs can work in your favor.

For example, we offer a flexible solution by providing on-demand access to a wide range of healthcare professionals. Not to mention two key benefits:

Timely response: We can mobilize qualified professionals in no time to address sudden increases in patient volume.
Scalability: Our services are adaptable to your changing needs, allowing you to adjust your number of hires as necessary.

Whether you need experienced nurses, skilled technicians, or healthcare administrative support, an accredited and experienced healthcare staffing agency can help fill open roles or find temporary help throughout your staffing search—even with short notice and a quick turnaround.

Cost-Effective Solution

There’s can be significant return on investment when utilizing staffing agencies for flu season staffing. Temporary staffing can be more cost-effective than permanent placements, allowing you to increase your workforce without a substantial financial commitment.

Additionally, temporary staffing can provide flexibility for circumstances like these. Once the surge of flu cases lowers, you can adjust your staffing levels to meet your needs as they evolve. This can help you plan your budget and maintain a healthy bottom line.

Reduced Burnout

By supplementing some of your full-time workforce (where needed) with temporary staff, you can keep burnout to a minimum and ensure that employees are feeling valued and apprecaited during this hectic time.

Don’t Let the Flu Bug Your Staff

Curious if seasonal healthcare staffing is the right solution for your flu season staffing needs? By strategically using an accredited healthcare staffing agency, you can get ready for unpredictable patient volume and potential staff shortages that come up this time of year—or any time!

Thoes challenges need solutions like;

Filling gaps in your staffing during peak times.
Ensuring consistent service throughout the season.
Testing the need for team members before you invest in salary and other hiring costs.
Help to lighten the stress on your existing team.

Get ready now for what may be coming soon! Contact us today to see how our recruiting experts can help you navigate any peak healthcare staffing tims of year—incluidng flu season—effectively.