Technology has no regard for the calendar. A server fills its disk on Christmas Eve, a power flicker takes down the network on New Year's Day, or a suspicious email is clicked at 3 a.m. on a Sunday. In a care facility, residents still need medications, orders still arrive and phones still ring. What changes during holidays is the availability of the people who can fix problems.
A short plan before the break makes the difference between a minor interruption and a long, stressful weekend.
Identify the systems that are essential every hour of the day.
EHR and medication administration records
Phones and nurse call systems
eFax and other order channels
Internet access and Wi-Fi for clinical devices
Door access, cameras and fire alarm connections
Pharmacy connectivity
For each, ask what the downtime procedure is and who decides when to switch to it.
Ask directly: who answers the phone on holidays, how fast is the response for critical issues, and is there a different number? Get this in writing, and post it for staff.
Contact your EHR, pharmacy system, phone and internet providers to learn their holiday support hours and escalation numbers.
Assign an administrator on call who can approve emergency work, speak to vendors and make decisions about downtime procedures. Make sure the contact numbers are current.
A pre-holiday checklist can head off common problems.
Check backups. Verify that the latest backups completed and that alerts go to someone who will be watching.
Review disk space and system health on servers.
Apply pending updates early, so that restarts do not occur unexpectedly during the holiday. Avoid major changes right before a break.
Test the internet failover, if you have one.
Confirm that battery backups are healthy and generators have fuel and have been tested.
Print downtime forms and put them where nights and weekend staff can find them.
Distribute an updated emergency contact card with phone numbers for IT, vendors, administrators and your insurer.
Check that remote access works for those on call.
Review account lists for expired or unneeded access.
Make sure alerts and monitoring are directed to active contacts.
Give nurses and aides clear, simple instructions.
Who to call for a computer or phone problem, with the number posted at each station
What counts as urgent
How to switch to downtime procedures
What information to give the helpdesk: name, location, device, symptoms and whether resident care is affected
To report suspicious emails or messages, even on weekends
Not to share passwords or use another person's account as a workaround
Criminals often strike when organizations are thinly staffed. Ensure that anyone on duty knows how to react if they see a ransom note or strange behavior: disconnect the device if instructed, do not shut down unless told, and call the emergency number immediately. Keep the incident response plan and insurer contact where weekend managers can reach it.
Scammers often impersonate leaders who are traveling. Remind your business office to verify payment or banking change requests by phone, even if the message claims to be urgent.
Debrief briefly. Review any tickets or incidents, and check monitoring logs for unusual activity. Note where the plan worked and where it did not. Update contact lists and procedures while the memory is fresh.
If your IT provider does not offer 24-hour emergency support for critical systems, consider whether that matches the needs of a facility that never closes. Service levels should reflect that resident care continues all day, every day.
UnityCare IT offers emergency support for healthcare organizations, including holiday coverage and on-call escalation. If you would like help preparing a weekend contact card and a pre-holiday system check, we are glad to assist. Happy holidays to the teams caring for residents today.
Call or text: 405-285-3845
New customers: start@unitycareit.com
Existing customers: support@unitycareit.com
Address: 2524 N Broadway Ste 554 PMB 947974, Edmond, Oklahoma 73034