Daily COVID-19 digest

Celebrating our frontline employees: Over these past few months, our frontline teams have continued to come into our production and distribution facilities, offices and donor centres every day to help us fulfill our promise to help every patient, match every need and serve every Canadian. To demonstrate our immense gratitude for, and support of, our frontline employees during this challenging time, we took a pause this week to celebrate them and their commitment to Canadian patients. Head over to Connect to learn more and see a snapshot of some of the local celebrations that occurred across the organization this week.

Access information on masks at Canadian Blood Services: Yesterday, we introduced a number of new enhancements to our mask requirements for the entire organization. We appreciate that many of you have questions and we are working hard to make sure you get the answers you need. Here is an overview of how you can learn more:

• You can access a detailed FAQ on the PPE page of your COVID-19 employee portal.
• You can also access the detailed FAQ on the homepage of Connect.
• Frontline team members are able to review a printed copy of the FAQ on your bulletin boards.
• You can speak with your supervisor if you have a question or concern about how this applies to you.
• If you or your supervisor are not able to find the answer you are looking for, please email us at communications@blood.ca so we can get you information you need.

Wearing masks is one of the many ways that we are striving to protect employees, volunteers and donors, limit the risk of community spread and protect our essential operations on behalf of patients. Please reach out to us with your questions and concerns through communications@blood.ca so we can be better prepared to assist you and help others in similar situations.

Reminder — your digest is going to twice a week: Starting next week, we will be sending you your digest twice a week — on Tuesdays and Friday’s at 11 a.m. ET. The content we will be sharing with you is also changing. In addition to important COVID-19 updates, we will be bringing you valuable information and inspiring stories about other parts of our operations as we return to slightly more “normal” priorities. Even though we will be showing up in your inbox a little less, we promise to keep it short, informative and with your interests in mind. Have questions? Contact us at communications@blood.ca.

Some words of thanks from our donors: Our essential staff are on the frontlines every day because lives depend on it. We receive hundreds of notes of gratitude each week from donors after they have interacted with frontline employees and we think it’s important that you know how much of an impact you have made on them. Before you start your weekend, please take a moment to read a small selection of their appreciation:

I have been a donor for five years. The staff always treat everyone very well and are respectful. they explain any changes made from visit to visit. I always feel safe and comfortable. Staff always is there to greet you, make you feel welcome and thank you for your donation. (Kingston)

Calm, safe, friendly and efficient. I was made to feel that my donation was needed and important. I was also made to feel physically comfortable and reminded that my time was appreciated. I felt safe in the context of COVID-19. (Victoria)

Question of the day: Could you let us know why other departments within Canadian Blood Services are not notified when employees test positive for COVID-19?

We have an important obligation to protect the privacy of employees and donors regarding their personal health information.

When we are notified that an employee has tested positive for COVID-19, we immediately stand-up a cross-functional case management team which oversees a number of follow-up steps. One of those steps is to make all associate directors and directors aware of the case so that they can inform their teams.

In the spirit of transparency, we share as much information about the case as possible recognizing though that we have an important obligation to protect the privacy of employees regarding their personal health information. Where isolation of other employees might be required, we adhere to public health guidance.

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About the daily digest

This daily digest will highlight the latest policy and employee support measures, resources to help you manage our new reality and original content like articles and videos to remind us that what we do matters. Things are moving quickly, so you can expect to hear from us daily. No access to email? No problem — all this information and more can be found on blood.ca/employees from any device, no login required.

Click here to read past editions of the daily digest.

Have questions? Check out blood.ca/employees or email us at communications@blood.ca.