Senior Care Staffing Tips for Surviving Flu Season

Did you ever get that coughing-sneezing-aching-itchy throat-headache feeling?  That’s all thanks to our little friend, the flu. This year’s flu season is expected to be one of the strongest ever. Look out! The flu can be especially dangerous and disruptive for those in long-care and senior living communities.

The CDC has made available some helpful resources  to prevent the spread of the flu, including some guidelines specific to healthcare providers.  And because it's National Influenza Vaccination Week, I wanted to share a few of their recommendations to help stave off the flu.

1. Promote and administer the flu vaccine: From 2012-2013, vaccinations helped prevent about 6.6 million flu-related illnesses, Take charge by offering a vaccination clinic at your community. Make the vaccine available to your staff at times that are convenient for them. Also encourage them to get family members vaccinated to help prevent the spread of the flu.
    
2. Monitor sick employees: Instruct sick employees to stay home if they are showing flu-like symptoms. If a caregiver develops symptoms while at work, they should stop working with residents and notify a supervisor before heading home. When someone returns to work after recovering, the CDC suggests making face masks available in case they still have a lingering cough or congestion.
    
3. Manage visitors and guests: if possible, limit visitors for those who are ill. While seeing a family member or close friend can help during recovery, encourage fewer visitors to keep everyone safe. Guests of affected residents should take the proper precautions including good hand hygiene and limited movement within the community to prevent the spread of the virus.

Be Prepared for Employee Call-Offs
Despite careful precautions, people will still get sick. You may notice employees calling in sick at the last minute or needing to stay home to care for a child who’s come down with the flu.

Be prepared for last-minute employee call-offs. When a call-off occurs, schedulers should first check the schedule to make sure the open shift needs to be filled. If so, cast a wide net when notifying staff about the opening. Communicate the available shift to all qualified and available employees, rather than going to the same employee(s) time and again which typically results in costly overtime.  

The flu season can be a dangerous time for employees and residents alike. Give the flu a 1-2 punch by following tips from the experts at the CDC and getting proactive with your staff scheduling practices so you are prepared when sick calls occur.

Top photo by marin from Freedigitalphotos.net