As COVID-19 cases continue to spike, significant staff shortages are reported at hospitals across the country. In some states up to 30% of hospitals have reported critical shortages. Since this crisis is no longer regional or local but nationwide, simply filling gaps with staff from other locations is not always an option. Therefore, quickly and efficiently reallocating and repurposing internal staff has become vital in the fight against COVID-19. Hospitals using rigid legacy nurse scheduling software have quickly recognized their limitations and inability to adapt to these demands, with some departments even resorting back to pen and paper schedules.
Unlike legacy solutions, Shift Wizard provides hospital leadership insight into nurse staffing levels, productivity, and real-time census data across every department in the hospital–allowing for efficient, balanced staffing even during these times of unpredictable and unprecedented patient demand.
With real-time visibility into staffing needs across every department, hospitals using ShiftWizard have the ability to redeploy their staff quickly and with confidence. Decisions can be made with considerations to census and productivity data as well as the financial impact and potential overtime costs.
For hospitals facing extreme patient surges due to COVID-19, managers using ShiftWizard can readily update permissions and department assignments in bulk to manage drastic and last-minute adjustments to groups of staff. ShiftWizard’s flexible scheduling software makes repurposing staff from non-acute areas quick and efficient. Using the ShiftWizard Configuration Dashboard, hospitals are able to build new surge departments, complete with unique positions, shifts, and permissions.
As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches on and patient surges and staff shortages continue, hospitals must do all they can to ensure their systems are set up to allow for the necessary flexibility and resilience. Quick and informed decisions around staff adjustments and new department creation are key factors in this battle.
If you are interested in learning more about how ShiftWizard can help your hospital gain this flexibility, please reach out to us at hello@shiftwizard.com.
