Daily COVID-19 digest

Pulse survey results: we are listening

Your feedback is important and helps shape how we support employees during this challenging time. We want to thank everyone who participated in our last pulse survey — the latest results, trends and response from our leadership team are now available on Connect. Your responses to the second survey continue to show that despite the difficulties the pandemic presents, it has brought us closer together. We saw an uptick in participation (close to 1000). We also saw improvements in scores across all questions.   

We received a lot of feedback around the measures Canadian Blood Services is taking to protect the health and safety of our teams. Staff appreciate our implementation of new PPE measures, such as mandatory masks and physical barriers. Our leadership team will continue to work with public health experts and international blood operators to ensure we are aligned on best practices during the pandemic. We also received feedback that survey participants are interested in what a return to office will look like and raised concerns about the increased workloads associated with pandemic management. Our teams are reviewing all of your comments and we are committed to being as transparent with you as possible — remember to visit our dedicated pulse survey page on Connect and your COVID-19 employee portal for the latest answers to your questions.

Stories from our frontline: During the pandemic, we’re bringing you stories of our employees who continue to work on the front lines. Pedro Custodio is a shipper/receiver in our plasma protein products warehouse in Brampton, Ont. He told us that as he goes about his work, it's always top of mind how important these medications are for patients. “What makes this job rewarding is knowing how it contributes. That it saves people’s lives,” he says. Read Pedro’s full story and the rest of our special series at blood.ca/stories. 

First convalescent plasma donor in Atlantic Canada: Percy Wilbur of Saint John, New Brunswick was eager to give back once he recovered from COVID-19. The 57-year-old property developer was blown away by the care he and his family received by health-care workers and wanted to do what he could to show his appreciation. “When hearing about the pain and suffering others have endured from COVID-19, I felt I needed to help in any way I could,” said Percy. “I first offered to volunteer at the hospital, but they didn’t need volunteers. I read that donating plasma may be a benefit to COVID-19 patients ... which led me here.” Read more about Percy’s story at blood.ca/stories.

Finding balance even when it’s hard: As we head into the long weekend it may be hard to detach from the reality that we are going into week nine of the pandemic. In normal circumstances, many of us would be using this extra time to socialize, take a mini vacation or create new memories and experiences with family. COVID-19 has significantly altered the way we live our lives — sudden shifts in work environments and taking on additional roles as caregivers and part-time teachers has left many of us feeling burnt out, overworked and stressed. That is why it is important that you take time to reset when you have an opportunity and consider ways you can create more balance. Our healthy workplace team has put together some easy ways you can incorporate balance into your day. From reminders to take mental health breaks to sticking to a routine — these tips can make all the difference to your focus, your happiness and your ability to manage the personal stresses that COVID-19 is having on many of us. Even though your long-weekend plans may look a little different this year, we hope you and your loved ones stay safe and find some time to connect and create new memories.

Question of the day: Are we encouraging donors to use their cellphones to fill in their Q-pass from their cars if they didn’t already do it at home?

Although we do not explicitly ask donors to fill out their Qpass in their cars, we communicate with them in advance to provide tips on how to make their donation process easier and help us limit the amount of time they need to spend in our donor centres. This is especially important now that we must consider physical distancing.

Before donors arrive, we ask them to complete their donor questionnaire online or through the GiveBlood app and ask them to bring their Q-pass into the centre either by printing it in advance or on their phone. Donors who either forgot or choose not to do so in advance are currently able to fill out their Q-pass inside the donor centres. As the uncertainty of COVID-19 evolves, we ask that if employees have concerns about this issue, they raise them with their manager, so it can be included as a consideration during planning discussions.

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.