In USA, flu season can cause havoc in hospital systems by straining hospitals’ nursing resources.
Not only do the hospitals need more nurses to handle the increase in patients, but the nurses also have an increased rate of unplanned absences due to the flue.
The hospital system decided to look at current staffing and forecasted hiring levels to prepare for any potential weeks or days when staffing could be critically low.
This high-demand time generally begins in January and continues through the end of March.
The problem was analyzed at the end of October, allowing time for adjustments before patient volumes increased.