Your digest
Leadership through COVID-19: Reflections from our CEO
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced everyone to reassess their actions and priorities and re-think how they live their everyday lives. Leaders of large organizations like ours are no exception — they too have had to strategize around how to differently lead, inspire and continue to support employees during an unprecedented health crisis.
Graham was recently invited to share his personal experiences navigating the pandemic in his role as CEO on the Lead the Future podcast, hosted by Vince Molinaro. Read Graham’s latest Snapshots blog post here and listen to clips from his interview.
‘We need to take cultural values into account’
May is Asian Heritage Month and to recognize it, we are exploring how Asian employees, donors and patients uniquely experience and support Canada’s Lifeline. In our latest profile, Becky Luk, a cord blood collections supervisor in Vancouver, B.C., spoke to us about how diversity in leadership can help facilitate the creation of more inclusive and equitable programs within our organization.
Read Becky’s story on Connect to find out how she’s leading the way in making information about stem cell registration and cord blood collection more accessible to First Nations, Chinese and South-Asian mothers living on the west coast.
Happy Nursing Week to nurses across our organization!
National Nursing Week runs May 10 – 16 and to celebrate, we are thanking our colleagues across the country who work as nurses and in nursing-related roles. From collections to program management to health and safety, nurses are a vital link in the connection between donors and patients.
Last month, we asked leaders within our organization to submit shout-outs recognizing some of the nurses on their teams. This week, we are sharing some of their inspiring submissions. Visit Connect to meet some of our incredible nurses and learn more about the numerous ways their diverse roles are central to Canada’s Lifeline.
You can also follow along on our social media channels throughout the week to see more shout-outs, or email communications@blood.ca to add your own contribution to the mix.
Not yet eligible: My COVID-19 vaccination story
Over the past two weeks, employees have shared their vaccination experiences and why vaccination matters to them in a special series on Connect. While the stories published so far have described a wide range of emotions — relief, frustration, pride and determination — one thing these employees have all had in common is the opportunity to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
In today’s installment, Shantel McCracken, a donor care associate in Saint John, N.B., shares her experience from the other side of the coin. Because of the varying phased approach to vaccine distribution and allocation across the provinces, frontline employees, like Shantel, who are located in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have not yet become eligible for prioritized access to vaccines.
Read Shantel’s story on Connect and explore some of the other submissions in our series. To participate in this important series, please reach out to communications@blood.ca with the subject line “MY VACCINE STORY.”
Question of the day: Where can I access the recordings of the virtual workshops held for employees during Mental Health Week?
Last week, a series of workshops and activities were held for employees in observance of Mental Health Week (May 3–-9), which reinforced the importance of “naming and claiming” our negative emotions to help reduce their impact and intensity.
For those who were unable to attend any of the four virtual workshops live, the recordings from these sessions are now available on the employee portal. The recorded workshops explore topics such as psychological health and well-being, creative wellness, stress management and how to navigate the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
To learn more about the ongoing wellness supports available to employees including “drop-in” virtual therapy sessions, please visit connect.blood.ca/employeesupports.
Image
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