Flu Season Doesn’t Care That You’re Behind

Oct 26, 2026

Every year it happens. August rolls around. Somebody says, “We should probably get caught up before flu season.”  

Probably? Yes.

Possible? That’s another conversation.

Once patient volumes start climbing, nobody is asking whether Biomed has time to finish overdue PMs. They’re asking where all the infusion pumps went. Or why there aren’t enough beds. Or when respiratory equipment will be back in service.

This is where preparation quietly becomes one of the biggest cost-saving strategies a hospital has.

Here’s a simple exercise.

Pull a report today. How many PMs are overdue? How many repairs have been open longer than 30 days? How many pieces of patient care equipment are sitting in a “waiting on parts” status?

Now ask yourself a harder question. Could all of those realistically be completed once flu season hits? If the answer is “probably not,” today is the cheapest day to fix the problem.

Many hospitals create a short “flu readiness” action plan every August that includes reducing repair backlogs, completing PMs on high-utilization equipment, validating rental inventory, and identifying equipment approaching end of service before patient volumes increase.

Some supplement those efforts with temporary HTM support, such as support from MultiMedical Systems, for just a few weeks. A handful of additional hands before the busy season often prevents months of playing catch-up afterward.

Because once every infusion pump is in use, nobody wishes they had waited another month.

Take Five

Before flu season decides for you, ask yourself:

✔ Which patient-care equipment will be in highest demand this winter?

✔ How much of it is currently overdue for PM, awaiting repair or otherwise unavailable?

✔ What equipment are we renting today that we could have back in service instead?

✔ If patient volume jumped next week, would we be ready?

✔ What could an extra set of HTM hands accomplish in the next 30 days?

The cheapest rental is often the equipment you already own—working, PM’d and patient-ready.