Your digest

New CEO blog post: Addressing vaccine hesitancy

The last year has been a challenging one, with a high degree of uncertainty in many aspects of our lives. For many people, lack of clarity around COVID-19 vaccines has felt particularly frustrating. In his latest Snapshots blog, Graham addresses vaccine hesitancy and provides his perspective on the ever-changing vaccine landscape. A self-proclaimed “vaccine enthusiast”, Graham also unpacks some of the latest news and information related to recent provincial changes regarding the use of the AstraZeneca Vaxzevria® vaccine, taking various considerations and perspectives into account.

“I believe vaccinations to be our quickest and only route out of this global pandemic. We will not get out of it unless people think about vaccinations as an act for the community and for public health,” he says. Read Graham’s full blog post on Connect.

Townhall update: New meeting link

In last Friday’s digest, we sent out a reminder about the next townhall with our CEO on Wednesday, June 2 at 1 p.m. ET. Since then, the participant link has been updated. Please ensure you have accepted the updated Outlook calendar invitation with the new meeting link in order to access the event.

Want to submit questions in advance? You can send your written or recorded (video or audio) questions to communications@blood.ca with the subject line “TOWNHALL.” 

Stem cell recipient still thankful 33 years after transplant

Decades after she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, Margaret Lynch is thankful to be alive. Because of her medical history, she’s not eligible to donate blood or join the stem cell registry, but she hasn’t let that stop her from giving back. Since her transplant, Margaret has registered to donate organs and tissues and donates financially to Canadian Blood Services to help other patients in need. She also writes about her experiences as a cancer survivor and encourages other Canadians to join Canada’s Lifeline. “During my time in hospital, I received 157 units of blood,” she says. “Those transfusions kept me alive during treatment, so supporting the work of Canadian Blood Services to facilitate blood and stem cell donations across Canada is a no-brainer.” Read Margaret’s story on blood.ca/stories.

Celebrating National Biomedical/Clinical Engineering Week

Across our organization, there are approximately four dozen equipment services personnel who help to ensure the safety and effectiveness of our operations. Working quietly – but passionately – behind the scenes, they install, calibrate and maintain equipment and technologies and help continuously improve processes that are essential to our core business. This National Biomedical/Clinical Engineering Week, May 16 – 22, we’re celebrating their efforts by sharing a few first-hand accounts of what motivates these valued employees in their work. Read more on Connect.

Question of the day: Why are we using infrared thermometers for employees at the wellness checkpoint and not for donors?

Temperature checks are a longstanding requirement for blood donation. This practice is not a new COVID-19 mitigation measure, it is a policy that ensures donors are healthy enough to donate blood.  

We began investigating alternative devices for use with donors last year. Unfortunately, with COVID-19 there was a significant surge in demand as temperature screening and monitoring became important. The supply of these devices started to catch up with demand earlier this year.   

We are in the process of securing a contactless solution, which will require an assessment of the technology available to ensure we are meeting operational needs as well as regulatory requirements.  

While this process is underway, we are confident that the safety processes in place such as disinfecting thermometers thoroughly between uses, mandatory surgical masks, physical distancing, wellness checkpoints, physical barriers and enhanced cleaning are appropriate to keep our teams and donors safe. 

 

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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.    

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