Daily COVID-19 digest

May 11, 2020

In Canada and around the globe, information on COVID-19 is rapidly evolving.  We want to make it easy for employees to access the latest updates on how Canadian Blood Services is responding.   

Here is the latest.

See past daily COVID-19 digests

Tomorrow — live Q&A with our CEO: Please join us tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET for a live Q&A with Graham.  For details on how to participate, please see the Outlook invite you received last week. A recording of the event will be available on the employee portal for those of you who are unable to attend. A reminder that we will be using Microsoft Teams Live Events. To access on a company laptop or desktop, simply click the meeting link to join. If you are joining from a personal computer, tablet or mobile device, please review the instructions provided in the Outlook invite or see our attendee help guide for step-by-step instructions. We look forward to seeing you all there!

New feature in the Daily Digest

We are introducing a “question of the day” to your daily digest to help address the many questions we are receiving from employees through the communications inbox, pulse surveys and townhalls. Each day, we will answer a new question in this section with the goal of getting you the information you are looking for at your fingertips. This is just a taste of the information being updated to your COVID-19 employee portal each day, so make sure to check there for all the latest.

Question of the day: With many employees now working from home, will we see new advancements in our technology?

Answer: There have been many advancements in our technology over the past five years that have accelerated in response to our present crisis. We (virtually) sat down with Aiden Beattie, analyst - IT strategy & execution, to learn more about what we are currently doing (like that time we hosted a webinar with 1000 + employees using our own technology!) and what is coming up next. Since he had so much information to share, we thought it deserved its own Connect article. Please have a look to learn more about how we have reimagined our way of working and the new technology that is making it possible.

An update on our collections inventory:

We recognize that donors have responded very well since the start of the pandemic and demand has been lower due to elective surgeries being cancelled in most hospitals. As a result, our inventory of blood was high, and we’ve acted to manage this very carefully. In addition to aligning our supply plan and closely monitoring demand from patients and hospitals, we have shifted some of our advertising and external messaging away from blood to highlight stem cells and the other ways Canadians can support us. As a result of all of these efforts, inventory is now back within the target range.

Going forward, we are letting blood donors know that we’ll need them over the weeks and months ahead. We anticipate a continuing increase in hospital demand as elective surgeries become more frequent. We are working diligently on plans to increase supply and donor response so that we can continue to meet the needs of Canadian patients.

The milkshake connection — recognizing our frontline: After losing her father, Albert, in April to polycythemia vera myelofibrosis, Carole wanted to show her appreciation to those who gave her family some precious extra time with him. “My parents loved going to eat at Edmonton’s YEG Burger,” she says, “and they would go for milkshakes and burgers after he received his vital blood and platelet transfusions.” Carole thought it would be meaningful to treat Canadian Blood Services’ Edmonton donor centre staff to some milkshakes in his memory as a way of saying thank you. “My dad really loved the milkshakes, and your staff do such a wonderful job making sure people get the blood they need, when they need it.” Read more about Albert’s story on Connect.

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.