How to Prepare for Memorial Day Demand
Memorial Day is one of the most predictable operational stress tests of the year for home health and hospice leaders – and the data proves it. Across three consecutive years of inbound call analysis, we see that call volume on Memorial Day runs more than double what a normal Monday looks like, and the reasons patients and families are reaching out reveal exactly where operational gaps live.
This post breaks down what the data shows and what you should do before the holiday arrives.
The Gap Between a Normal Day and Memorial Day is Growing
After-hours call volume on Memorial Day has run well above double the average for that day of the week every single year in our dataset. In 2023 and 2024, Memorial Day ran roughly 2x the average Monday and compares more closely to the volume you’d anticipate seeing on a Saturday. By 2025, that ratio climbed to nearly 2.4x.
When Memorial Day volume grows while the baseline doesn’t, it signals disproportionate holiday-driven demand that is independent of census size.
Why Patients Are Calling
Three years of data paint the picture of what patients and families need when Memorial Day disrupts their normal care routines.
Top reasons patients called on Memorial Day
- 20% called about visit status or scheduling
- 8% were looking for general information
- 6.5% left a non-urgent message for their care team
- 5.8% had skin or wound care concerns
- 5.1% had bladder or continence concerns
- 10% called with other active clinical needs requiring assessment
Nearly one in five calls on Memorial Day is a patient or family member simply trying to confirm whether their nurse or aide is coming. That single fact is both the most actionable finding in the data and the most preventable driver of inbound volume.
Below that top driver, the picture shifts toward clinical need. Wound care and bladder and continence issues represent roughly 11% of Memorial Day call volume. These call categories show up at a proportionally higher share on Memorial Day than on a typical Monday.
What this means for 2026 planning
The gap between Memorial Day and a normal day has widened, and the top reasons patients are calling have been consistent. Each of those call drivers has a clear operational response, and here is where the data directs attention.
Proactively communicate visit schedules before the holiday
Outbound calls or texts confirming or rescheduling Memorial Day visits can deflect a significant share of inbound volume before it arrives, freeing your team to focus on the clinical calls that actually require real-time response.
Update your phone messaging to answer general information questions upfront
IVR greetings, on-hold messaging, and website updates that clearly communicate holiday operations can convert a meaningful portion of the volume into self-service resolution.
Brief on-call clinical staff on the specific conditions driving holiday calls
On-call clinicians should be briefed on assessment protocols for these specific presentations and have clear escalation pathways for situations where a same-day visit cannot be arranged.
Staff to the holiday ratio
Three years of data show Memorial Day volume running 2x to 2.4x the average Monday. A staffing plan that assumes a holiday slowdown will be severely undersized. Start with your current average Monday volume, apply a 2x to 2.4x multiplier, and build from there.
The Bottom Line
The data indicates Memorial Day is not unpredictable. Visit uncertainty drives the largest single share of calls, and patients with active clinical needs are close behind.
A predictable problem is a solvable one. Communicate proactively, staff to the actual pattern, and prepare clinical teams for the specific conditions that dominate holiday calls, and that effort will deliver materially better outcomes for patients, families, and staff.
If you don’t have a way to track or analyze your inbound call data or the tools to enable proactive patient touchpoints, request a demo, and we’ll show you how we can help – and build a call coverage strategy that ensures you’re always ready for unplanned demand.