Using Blood Wisely: Two Years, Over 200 Participating and 100 Designated Hospitals

Sep 16, 2022 - News

Celebrating two years of the Using Blood Wisely program.

Using Blood Wisely: Two Years, Over 200 Participating and 100 Designated Hospitals

Sep 16, 2022 - News

Celebrating two years of the Using Blood Wisely program.

Using Blood Wisely has reached a major milestone—100 hospitals have received the Using Blood Wisely Hospital designation status.

In September 2020, Choosing Wisely Canada and Canadian Blood Services challenged hospitals to audit their red blood cell transfusions against national appropriateness benchmarks. Initially launched over concerns of critical blood shortages across the country, Canadian hospitals took on this challenge with a collective goal of protecting this lifesaving and vital health care resource.

Amidst successive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and capacity constraints, 100 hospitals across Canada have received the designation status and over 200 sites are participating in the quality improvement program. Collectively, participating hospitals account for 70% of blood transfused in Canada.

Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) recently received the Using Blood Wisely Hospital designation status. Leighanne Judson, Charge Technologist in Transfusion Medicine at OSMH, shares this is an important time to encourage the appropriate use of blood and blood products.

“With the ongoing national blood shortage, it is more important than ever to protect our precious blood supply,” says Leighanne. “We are both thrilled and honoured to be recognized as a Using Blood Wisely Hospital as this demonstrates to the public that we respect and are committed to protecting Canada’s blood supply by reducing unnecessary red cell transfusions.”

In addition to individual hospitals, a number of regional health systems have met benchmarks and received the designation, including Southern Health-Santé Sud in Manitoba and Nova Scotia Health Authority Central Zone.

Congratulations to the following hospitals for their leadership and continuous commitment to strengthening Canada’s blood supply:

  • St. Paul’s Hospital
  • Grace Hospital
  • Health Sciences Centre
  • Southern-Health/Santé Sud Regional Health Authority
  • Prairie Mountain Health Region
  • Seven Oaks General Hospital
  • Aberdeen Regional Hospital
  • Colchester East Hants Health Centre
  • Valley Regional Hospital
  • Saint Martha’s Regional Hospital
  • IWK Health Centre
  • Cape Breton Regional Hospital
  • St. Paul’s Hospital
  • Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre
  • North York General Hospital
  • Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
  • Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre
  • Joseph Brant Hospital
  • Montfort Hospital
  • Grey Bruce Health Services – Owen Sound Hospital
  • Bluewater Health
  • Brant Community Healthcare System
  • Michael Garron Hospital
  • Niagara Health – Welland Site
  • St. Michael’s Hospital
  • Regina General Hospital
  • Pasqua Hospital
  • Southeast Integrated Care Centre
  • Royal University Hospital
  • Northern Regional Health Authority
  • Battlefords Union Hospital
  • Saskatoon City Hospital
  • Nova Scotia Health Authority Central Zone
  • Markham Stouffville Hospital
  • London Health Sciences Centre-University Hospital
  • London Health Sciences Centre-Victoria Hospital
  • South Shore Regional Hospital
  • Yarmouth Regional Hospital
  • Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital
  • Cypress Regional Hospital
  • Northumberland Hills Hospital
  • Quinte Healthcare
  • Health Sciences Centre
  • St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital
  • St. Joseph’s Health Centre
  • Windsor Regional Hospital – Metropolitan Campus
  • Windsor Regional Hospital – Ouellette Campus
  • Niagara Health – Greater Niagara Site
  • CHEO
  • Carbonear General Hospital
  • CHU de Québec – L’Hôtel-Dieu de Québec et CRCEO
  • CHU de Québec-Université Laval et Centre mère-enfant Soleil
  • CHU de Québec – Hôpital Enfant-Jésus
  • CHU de Québec – Hôpital St-François d’Assise
  • CHU de Québec – Hôpital St-Sacrement
  • Kingston Health Sciences Centre
  • Alexandra Hospital Ingersoll
  • William Osler Health System
  • Vancouver General Hospital
  • Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital
  • Mount Sinai Hospital
  • Grand River Hospital
  • Niagara Health – St. Catherine’s site