Daily COVID-19 digest

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. 

Recording of live Q&A now available: Employees who were unable to attend yesterday’s session with our CEO can now access the recording of the event on our COVID-19 employee portal. If you did not have an opportunity to ask Graham a question, we encourage you do so by sending them to communications@blood.ca with the email title “TOWNHALL” by Friday at 5 p.m. Graham is looking forward to continuing the open dialogue with employees — keep an eye out for details about the next live session.

We want your feedback: To improve upon future live events with our CEO, we want to know what you thought of yesterday’s Q&A. Please take a moment to provide us with your views by filling out this short survey (three minutes). Our goal is to provide employees with the most value and accessibility possible; your insights are necessary for us to modify our approach to these sessions. Please provide your response by Tues. April 21 at 4 p.m. ET. All answers will remain completely anonymous.

COVID-19 self-assessment tool: During yesterday’s town hall teleconference, our CEO reminded employees of the guidance available to them from Canada’s public health authorities. One such resource is a COVID-19 self-assessment tool created by the federal government, to help all members of the public make decisions about matters such as when to self-isolate and when to seek medical attention. The tool also directs readers to province- and territory-specific self-assessments and resources where available.

The need goes on — stem cell transplant during a pandemic: Jason’s story serves to remind us that what we do matters. Last summer, he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, but fortunately a matching donor was found for a stem cell transplant through Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry, providing hope for a cure. Waiting for that transplant during a pandemic, however, is causing a lot of uncertainty. “The stakes are high” says Jason. “For whatever reason, my leukemia does not respond well to the chemo and they’re concerned about me falling out of remission before I can get the transplant.” Read more about Jason’s story on blood.ca.

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