Flu season doesn’t arrive on a fixed schedule. Peak activity shifts from year to year, sometimes by as much as six to eight weeks. This fluctuation makes a strict, fixed-shift healthcare staffing model a liability, especially when colder months mean more patients coming to see you and your staff.
Flu season staffing with flexible shift coverage is the only model that can absorb the unpredictability that comes with multiple people missing shifts for a few days. Remember, it’s not just your staff getting sick. They might have to take time off work if their children aren’t feeling well, either.
Seasonal healthcare staffing is a critical part of your patients’ outcomes during this high-traffic time.
Keep reading to learn how a three-step plan for implementing flexible shift coverage for clinical and non-clinical staff can help your team.
Step 1: Know the Real Peak-Timing Range
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) noted that over the past 40 years, peak flu season typically occurs from December to March. Eighteen of those years saw peaks in February, and nine years had peaks in December. Twelve years had a peak in January or March. Flu outbreaks just aren’t fixed enough to know when you’ll have a healthcare staffing surge.
Further complicating things are more recent flu seasons. In 2023 and 2024, the CDC saw a peak in late December followed by an elevated plateau that stayed high through February. That season peaked again in March. The outlook for 2025 into 2026 stated that hospitalizations due to respiratory illnesses should have been similar to the previous year, but that the peak would likely vary.
Healthcare shift coverage can’t rely on an assumed peak. By the time flu season starts, if your facility doesn’t have a plan in place, it could already be too late. That’s because other providers have already lined up per diem staffing through a staffing agency.
Step 2: Spot Where a Fixed Schedule Breaks
Fixed shift schedules built around an assumed peak leave facilities either overstaffed in slow weeks or dangerously short during a surge that arrives earlier or later than expected. Fisher Phillips noted that the 2025-2026 flu season was one of the most intense in recent years. The peak was in late December, with holiday gatherings accelerating transmission of three types of respiratory diseases.
Sure, you can predictably handle healthcare shift coverage when people put in vacation time for the holidays. But what happens if those people covering shifts call in sick? If your current staff picks up more shifts, your facility risks employee burnout, sickness presenteeism (where they show up to work sick), and related productivity costs, according to a 2022 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. As many as 71% of nurses showed up to work sick at least twice in 2021.
Employees, on average, miss two to three days of work because of flu season, according to Pharmacoeconomics. This includes one to two days for people caring for others who have a respiratory illness.
Per diem staffing is one answer to this compounding problem. You can keep staff happier and well-rested while minimizing flu season staffing difficulties.
Step 3: Build in Flexible Shift Coverage
Flexible coverage models, including per diem staff, on-call pools, and short-notice shift placements, let facilities scale coverage to real-time patient volume instead of a calendar-based guess. Even if your staff follows OSHA’s precautions during flu season, they could still get a respiratory illness somewhere else. Medical Economics states that the best precaution for flu season is seasonal vaccines.
However, your staff might still miss work, which creates additional responsibilities for the rest of the team. Staff members may be caring for another person at home or take a day off due to flu-like symptoms from the vaccine. Many factors contribute to flu season staffing shortages.
Planning well in advance can mitigate healthcare shift coverage problems with seasonal healthcare staffing that meets your needs.
Snelling Helps With Flu Season Staffing
Healthcare staffing doesn’t have to come at the cost of productivity, patient outcomes, and burned-out staff. Snelling’s flexible staffing models deliver this three-step plan without requiring administrators to predict the unpredictable. You can scale your workforce with per diem staffing and flexible shift coverage when last-minute call-ins might make an already-busy week even more hectic.
Contact Snelling through your local office today to see what a successful three-step plan for flu season staffing looks like.
FAQ
How fast can Snelling fill a per diem shift during a flu season surge?
Our local offices maintain flexible shift coverage pools year-round, so we can respond to a surge without the delay of a cold search once flu season hits.
Does Snelling screen per diem healthcare staff for clinical and non-clinical roles alike?
Yes. We staff both clinical and non-clinical roles, and every placement goes through the same screening standards regardless of the position.
Can Snelling help facilities plan ahead instead of reacting once flu season peaks?
Yes. We work with facilities to build flexible coverage models in advance, so you have a plan in place before the peak arrives, whenever it lands.
Does working with a local Snelling office matter for healthcare shift coverage?
Yes. A local office understands your facility’s patterns and regional healthcare market, which helps us match the right staff to your specific shift needs.
Can Snelling support facilities beyond flu season for other seasonal surges?
Yes. The same flexible shift coverage model applies to other seasonal or unpredictable surges throughout the year, not just flu season.
