Urgent Care Staffing Strategies for Seasonal Volume Changes

Urgent Care Staffing Strategies for Seasonal Volume Changes

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Every year, urgent care centers brace themselves for seasonal swings inpatient volume—flu season, summer injuries, back-to-school spikes. What often gets overlooked? The critical need to adapt staffing models without compromising patient care or flow.

So, how do high-performing urgent cares stay agile in the face of seasonal demand? It comes down to strategic workforce planning and a proactive mindset.

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Step 1: Analyze Past Volume Trends

Use your reports from your EMR to track last year’s peaks and valleys. Look at:

• Daily patient counts by season
• Wait time trends
• Staff-to-patient ratios during high/low volume periods

Pro tip: Look beyond just flu season—consider weather patterns, local school schedules, and community events.

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Step 2: Build a Flexible Staffing Model

Create tiered staffing plans:

• Core staff: Your consistent team trained for every scenario.
• Seasonal float pool: On-call RNs, MAs, or PAs who can pick up shifts as needed.
• Cross-trained personnel: Team members who can float between front desk, triage, and clinical roles.

Having backup isn't just about numbers—it’s about versatility.

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Step 3: Smart Scheduling &Real-Time Adjustments

Use scheduling software with predictive tools to align shift coverage with volume trends. Adjust schedules weekly or even daily based on:

• Weather forecasts
• Local outbreaks
• Upcoming staff time off

Avoid burnout by balancing overtime with strategic shift swaps and float coverage.

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Step 4: Be Creative

Work with your team to adjust scheduling that might fit their personal needs.

• Staff with younger children might appreciate reduced days or hours to care for out-of-school children.
• During high volume/ flu season, many staff may appreciate the overtime opportunities to save money for holiday purchases.
• During downtime, are there other critical needs such as inventory reconciliation, deep clinic cleaning or other activities that staff can perform when patient visits are lower?
• Upcoming staff time off

The hallmark of urgent care staffing – unlike that of hospitals – is that the shifts can be flexible. Consider this also when hiring so that staff expectations can be set early.

Step 5: Consider Workflow and/or Technology Changes

Adding or subtracting staff is not always the long-term solution.

• Are there workflows in your organization that duplicates work?
• Is your EMR optimized to help providers chart more efficiently?
• Is there other technology that could be implemented to bridge that gap between high volume and low volume?

Many urgent care centers react to high volume seasons by adding more staff when improving workflows can help improve patient care and wait times. When the flu season ends, many operators panic to find ways to retain good staff yet not be overstaffed resulting in higher expenses. Process changes and updated technology can be a long-term solution.

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Step 6: Communicate Early and Often

Staff appreciate transparency. Let your team know what to expect:

• “Flu season’s coming—we’ll likely increase evening and weekend shifts.”
• “We’re building a float team to support higher volumes.”
• “Spring/Summer volume is decreasing allowing our team a break from the hectic flu season.”
     
     

Engaged teams are more willing to go the extra mile.

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Step 6: Review, Refine, Repeat

After each seasonal wave, hold a debrief:

• What worked?
• What didn’t?
• How can we improve our staffing     model next season?

Incorporate staff feedback - they’re on the front lines and can offer invaluable insights.

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Bottom Line

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Seasonal volume shifts are inevitable—but chaos isn’t. With proactive planning and flexible staffing strategies, your urgent care can deliver seamless care without sacrificing your team’s sanity.

Want to chat about how technology and robust metrics reporting can support seasonal planning in urgent care? Contact us at Sales@urgentiq.com

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