Your digest

April 1, 2021

We want to make it easy for employees to access the latest from Canadian Blood Services.  Every Tuesday and Friday, we will be bringing you important COVID-19 updates along with valuable information and inspiring stories about other parts of our operations.

We know things are rapidly changing; please remember you can always reach out to communications@blood.ca with your questions and suggestions on how we can better help employees.

Here is the latest.

See past digests

REMINDER — Your Digest schedule next week: We hope all employees get to enjoy some much- deserved time with loved ones this long-weekend. A reminder that Your Digest is also taking a break and will return on Friday, April 9. If you have questions in the meantime, please contact us at communications@blood.ca.

New rapid screening program at Canadian Blood Services:

We are excited to share, that with support from Health Canada, Canadian Blood Services has joined other leading organizations in implementing a voluntary rapid COVID-19 screening program. Rapid antigen screens (commonly known as rapid testing) can quickly detect COVID-19 in asymptomatic people and help to identify and reduce risk of further infections.

Our rapid screening program is currently being offered to on-site employees at the Brampton production and distribution site and will be implemented at the Calgary production and distribution site on April 5, 2021. Planning is underway to implement the program in Vancouver (Oak Street), Winnipeg, Ottawa (Concourse Gate) and Dartmouth in the coming weeks. More information on when rapid screening will be available at your site will be provided as it becomes available.

To support employees interested in the program, we’ve created a new rapid screening program page on your COVID-19 employee portal. Here, you can access details about rapid screening at Canadian Blood Services, and important information for participants (and potential participants) of the program. Head over to blood.ca/employees/rapidscreening to learn more.

This month, spread awareness about the power of organ and tissue donation:

Every year in April, teams across Canadian Blood Services celebrate and raise awareness about the about the undeniable power of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. This month join us by supporting Green Shirt Day (April 7), National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week (April 18 —25), taking part in educational events and sharing incredible stories about the lifesaving impact of organs and tissues. Here are some of the actions you can take this April to raise awareness and show your support:

  • Wear green on April 7 in honour of Logan Boulet. Light up those cameras during your meetings!
  • Check-out our handy toolkit that is full of downloadable graphics and messages to use on your social media accounts throughout April. Please be sure to include the hashtags #GreenShirtDay, #LoganBouletEffect, #TogetherStronger, #NOTDAW and #OrgansTissuesForLife so we can engage with you.
  • A new Teams background has been created to use during your meetings this month. Look out for the Organs and Tissues for Life background which will be automatically installed on Teams.
  • Attend the Lunch and Learn – Peggy John will host an Organs and Tissues for Life Lunch and Learn for all employees on April 21 at 12:00 p.m. ET. Register using this link.
  • Look out for inspiring stories coming your way all month long on Connect, blood.ca/stories and via Your Digest.

Question of the day: I have been working from home since March. Will I receive prioritized access to the vaccine as a Canadian Blood Services employee?

Local public health authorities are prioritizing access to the COVID-19 vaccine based on risk of severe illness and exposure.

Considering this, we are asking employees who work remotely to be patient and wait until they are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in their area. Opportunities to do so (age group being the most predominant factor) are changing daily in each jurisdiction.

Please continue to regularly monitor vaccine eligibility criteria in your area and check out the vaccine page on your COVID-19 employee portal for the latest regional breakdown of eligibility criteria and sequencing. Our team is updating the information on this page daily.

For more information about approved COVID-19 vaccines, visit blood.ca/employees/vaccines.

COVID-19 Vaccine graphic

 

 

 

 

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