Daily COVID-19 digest

Update on employee temperature checks:

Last week, employees in Brampton participated in a pilot to determine how Canadian Blood Services should move ahead with temperature checks for staff. Our leadership team has reviewed the feedback and concerns generated by employees who participated and has decided not to move ahead with employee temperature checks until infrared thermometers are available.

Our order of infrared thermometers is experiencing delays, but we hope to have an update for employees on when these will be available within the next couple of weeks. In the interim, we are moving ahead with readiness plans for a national rollout with the feedback received through the pilot in Brampton.

Employee temperature checks are one of the many ways we are protecting staff, volunteers and donors. While we prepare to move forward with infrared thermometers, we want to remind our teams about the safety measures currently in place to limit the spread of the virus, including mandatory masks, enhanced cleaning, physical distancing measures, and active wellness checkpoints. 

We want to thank our team members who participated in this pilot — your feedback is crucial to ensuring we implement this measure in a way that is effective and makes our teams feel safe.

Stories from the frontline: Meet Damon Gyurics, one of our drivers in London, Ont. who is working through the pandemic. Our series “Canada’s Lifeline: Our frontline” continues at blood.ca/stories as well as on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Our colleagues have wonderful insights to share about living and working through this unusual and challenging time. We encourage you to read their stories and share them with your friends and family as well as with each other.

Doctors Manitoba steps up: Twelve physicians and staff from Doctors Manitoba are raising awareness and taking action to replenish the blood supply. The members of this physician organization are on the front lines of health care in Manitoba and know better than most about the need for blood and blood products during a pandemic. Dr. Candace Bradshaw, a physician and board member says “We know that the shelf life of blood is limited and, as the pandemic continues, we will have to replenish that supply.” Read more about how Doctors Manitoba are raising awareness in their community 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