Your digest

February 9, 2021

We want to make it easy for employees to access the latest from Canadian Blood Services.  Every Tuesday and Friday, we will be bringing you important COVID-19 updates along with valuable information and inspiring stories about other parts of our operations.

We know things are rapidly changing; please remember you can always reach out to communications@blood.ca with your questions and suggestions on how we can better help employees.

Here is the latest.

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VP and CEO direction letters

At this time each year our CEO, Dr. Graham Sher, provides direction letters to every member of the executive management team, outlining performance expectations for 2021–2022. Graham also receives a direction letter from the board of directors to set clear goals and expectations. These letters are an essential part of the annual planning cycle and are posted on Connect for employees to read. As you plan for your own workplace goals and expectations with your manager, reading your division’s direction letter can be helpful in aligning your work with the organization’s overall strategy. Reading the letters for other divisions might also be of interest to see what everyone will be working toward for the next 12 months. Learn more on Connect.

Update on our blood collections inventory

We’ve recorded strong, consistent collections over the past several weeks that have been supported by the mild winter we’ve enjoyed (so far) with few if any weather impacts. During this period of higher collections, red blood cell (RBC) demand has been below forecast. As the uncertainty of demand continues, we must remain agile, flexible and ready to adjust our plans as needed. We’ve modified the RBC demand forecast for the remainder of the fiscal year and continue to manage RBC inventory to ensure it stays within our ideal range of 21,000–25,000 units.

We are taking steps to temper collections and supply capacity with a goal of returning inventory to within its optimal range:

  • Radio messaging has been temporarily shifted away from whole blood and redirected to promote our other programs.
  • We paused O-negative donor recruitment campaigns.
  • Donor events that have been cancelled are not being rebooked when we can confidently meet hospital demand for products such as platelets.
  • We’re adjusting how we contact donors to fill remaining appointment slots.  
  • Blood donation events have been temporarily postponed in eastern Ontario to accommodate the controlled shut down of our Concourse Gate facility. Collection of apheresis platelets at our permanent donor centre in Ottawa will continue to meet regional requirements. 
  • We will continue to monitor, track and manage collections in the weeks ahead. With the help of teams across the organization, we will return inventory to an optimal level and continue to ensure patients’ needs are met.  

Take care of your health, win prizes by joining the Winter Wellness Challenge

Canada’s weather-predicting groundhogs are forecasting an early spring and to get us there, we’re challenging you to join our six-week Winter Wellness Challenge! This past year has been quite the year so what better way to shake it off and reclaim your health than with some fun and healthy competition. Oh, and of course there are loads of prizes to be won. Starting Feb. 15, you can earn points each day for tracking your physical activity, nutrition and self-care. Join the challenge solo or form a team for some motivating competition. Get your name in the game before Friday, Feb. 12 and be eligible for one of five early bird prizes. Registration closes on Feb. 19. Sign up and learn more on Connect.

Reminder to complete your respectful workplace training

To support our work on diversity, equity and inclusion, last month we launched respectful workplace eLearning training for all employees. We want to ensure that all employees feel they belong and are safe to come to the workplace. We all play a role in creating an equitable and inclusive environment for our colleagues. In the training, you will learn about preventing violence and harassment and fostering respect at work, and preventing discrimination and upholding human rights in the workplace. Employees can access the training by logging on to the learning management systems (LMS) — SuccessFactors and Dualcode ― in MyApps on Connect. Employees are expected to complete this training by March 31, 2021. Learn more on Connect. 

Question of the day: Has the controlled shut down of our Concourse Gate production and distribution facility in Ottawa had any impact on cord blood collections?

Yes, it has. Along with the postponement of whole blood collection in some eastern Ontario communities, we have temporarily suspended the collection of cord blood in Brampton and Ottawa.

As you may know, the Concourse Gate facility is responsible for cord blood manufacturing for eastern Ontario; as a result the temporary controlled shutdown did impact cord blood processing.

We have implemented our business continuity plan which allows us to divert some collections to Edmonton, although at a reduced processing capacity. This has been communicated and coordinated with affected hospitals.

We hope to resume cord blood collections in Brampton and Ottawa once the Concourse Gate facility reopens at full capacity.

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About your digest

This 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.  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 your digest.    

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