Daily COVID-19 digest

Fostering an environment of respect: We are living in challenging times. In addition to the threat of COVID-19, we are experiencing political and social tensions both south of the border and here in Canada. Canadian Blood Services strongly opposes racism in all forms and does not accept intolerance of any sort. We live and embody our values and policies and are committed to fostering an environment of respect and safety for our teams and our donors. We understand that events like these can have a negative impact on mental wellbeing. If you are feeling any distress, we encourage you to speak to a family member, friend, or a colleague. We also encourage you to contact our employee assistance program to speak with a professional who can provide support.

Save the date — live Q&A with Graham: Please join us on Tuesday, June 9 at 1 p.m. ET for the next live Q&A with our CEO. We want to continue to make these sessions as engaging as possible. With over 1000 of you taking time out of your day to attend our last live event, we hope to see the same amount of engagement and continue discussions on topics that are top of mind for you. An Outlook invite will be sent to you in the coming days with the details on how to participate. We look forward to seeing you all there! 

Stories from our frontline: As an apheresis clerk in Halifax, N.S., Tanya Gray helps connect platelet donors and patients. When a patient needs platelets with particular characteristics, Tanya reaches out personally to matching donors to ask for their help. When we asked her what has changed since the pandemic, Tanya says “it’s been exhausting to wear a mask all day, but it’s actually even easier than usual to bring in donors, because people are reachable and a lot of them have more flexibility in their schedules”. Read more about Tanya’s story on blood.ca/stories.

We’ve officially rolled out Microsoft Teams: With many of us working virtually due to the pandemic, we’ve fast tracked the roll-out of Microsoft Teams to keep our employees connected with their colleagues and meet their operational needs. If you are new to Teams and working remotely, make sure you connect your computer to VPN to install the app to get started, and check out this article on Connect for FAQ’s, training resources and to sign up for our live introductory learning sessions available until late July. Spots are limited, so we suggest signing up now. If you have a question about Teams in the meantime, please email our support team at support@trusteditgroup.com. Teams will be replacing Skype for Business, but we aren’t shutting Skype down just yet. You’ll have access to both apps for the next while and can learn how to use Teams at your own pace. If you have questions about making the switch, please contact our employee adaptability analyst, Tim Wehrle.

Question of the day: Why are we providing infrared thermometers to employees and not donors?

The Carescape thermometer has been considered the most accurate way to take temperature but as technologies have evolved, infrared thermometers are now also very accurate.  Making the switch to infrared thermometer for donors will require extensive validation and some regulatory approvals from Health Canada.  This will take time, but it is a change that is being considered for the future

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.