This year’s brutal flu season in the U.S. has lost its edge in recent weeks, according to the most recent Center for Disease Control data, but not without leaving a heavy impact on patients and facilities during the peak mid-winter months.

An estimated 160 children died from the flu between fall 2017 and spring 2018, marking the deadliest flu season since 2012-2013 with 171 deaths, according to CDC data. That number is expected to rise once the data is finalized, according to a report on USA Today.

The season also saw cumulative hospitalizations across all age ranges of 105 out of every 100,000 people as a result of the virus. People age 65 and older were affected the most, with 454 hospitalizations out of 100,000 people at the peak of the season in mid-April.

Facilities were swamped trying to meet patient care needs around the country, meaning travelers who locked down their contracts at the start of the year were offered extensions much earlier than expected, LiquidAgents Healthcare director of client advisory Oren Lavi said.

“There was a major push for extensions early this year,” Lavi said. “On a typical 13-week contract, hospitals will wait 30 days or longer to offer extensions to travelers, but we were getting extension offers within two weeks of them starting at a facility.”

During the seasonal transition in the next few weeks, travelers who impressed their facilities could potentially see additional extension offers as hospitals plan their summer staffing needs, Lavi said.

The number of back-fill opportunities should also increase as hospital evaluate their staffing needs after the difficult flu season, Lavi said.

“This is the time when hospitals will cut staff that didn’t perform as well as they hoped, but they still had to hire to meet patient care demands at the facility,” Lavi said. “Once those positions are cut, hospitals will have to back-fill to keep things running smoothly.”