Daily COVID-19 digest

Reminder—live Q&A and conversation on diversity, equity and inclusion:  Join us tomorrow, July 8 at 1 pm E.T. for the next live event with our CEO. We are extending the Q&A to 1.5 hours, with the first half of the event dedicated to conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion. Graham will be joined by Andrew Pateman and Rick Prinzen to discuss how the program is evolving, hear your questions and provide more information on the anonymous assessment that will be sent to employees to help us understand what we are doing well and where we can improve. The second half of our live event will be focused on broader operational questions and concerns that are front of mind for employees.   Check out the outlook invite to the event to access the meeting link and attendee help guide. We look forward to seeing you all there.

Team Canada hockey stars score for patients: Members of Canada’s national women’s hockey team recently rolled up their sleeves to help patients in need. Goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer inspired two of her teammates, as well as former team captain Cassie Campbell-Pascall, to book their very first blood donation appointments in June. “I told myself that I needed to make the effort to donate and was excited that I was healthy enough to be able to help,” said Emerance, who also draws inspiration from her own mother, Christine Maschmeyer, who required blood products to recover from complications related to a hysterectomy. “After a long road to recovery, my mom is healthy and active today – thanks to the blood she received.” Read more on blood.ca/stories.

Bringing our brand to life during challenging times: Over the past year, brand ambassadors have been working with our facilities teams to determine how our brand will be displayed in Canadian Blood Services sites across the country. Unfortunately, just as installation activities were starting, so was our urgent response to COVID-19. Even though the pandemic continues to evolve, our responsive measures in place have allowed for some of our regular operational priorities to resume. After completing a site-by-site assessment, we are excited to share that we will be commencing installation this month at select sites across the country. This initiative is more than just artwork on the walls. It serves as a visual cue throughout the day of the important work we do to improve the lives of patients in Canada. For our teams who continue to do essential work onsite during these challenging times, these reminders are as important as ever. Read more on Connect.

Question of the day: Now that masks are mandatory in areas like the GTA and Ottawa, how will this affect our sites?

We understand that a number of municipalities are moving towards mandatory masks in public settings. Canadian Blood Services has measures in place at our donor events that are aligned with these regulations and advice from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

Although our other work spaces are not affected by the recent municipal announcements, as more employees start to return to office, our leadership team is assessing whether our measures at these sites should evolve to limit the risk of spreading COVID-19.  

We will continue to closely monitor government regulations across the country. As measures shift, we will ensure that our policies and requirements in those regions are aligned and keep employees updated on how these changes affect you.

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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.