The blood donor clinic in south-end Barrie has seen a drop in donations since widespread construction began in the area, so city engineers who make the road-closure decisions are giving their time and blood to help out.
An unforeseen victim of the construction being done around Fairview Road and Big Bay Point Road is the Canadian Blood Services Clinic on Bayview Drive.
Last week, a clinic official reached out to Coun. Jim Harris to say their blood donations have been down on Tuesday and Thursday evenings ever since the road closures started, which is needed while work continues on the Harvie Road overpass.
Territory manager Elaine St. Pierre told BarrieToday that, while the construction isn’t happening directly outside their office, it is a route people are taking to avoid the construction.
That has caused some back-ups out front and cancellations inside.
“We have definitely seen appointment cancellations ever since the construction started on Fairview and we believe it is because of the traffic that essentially has become a parking lot on Bayview in front of our unit,” St. Pierre said.
“We totally understand that these things happen, but we really are in need of blood and with summer coming, another slow time for us, we had to act fast," she added.
St. Pierre said the Barrie clinic targets a certain amount of blood every week that it needs to hit.
So, when they found out the city was sending a group of engineers over Tuesday afternoon to give blood, it was very encouraging.
“With us needing to achieve the target of 206 units of blood a week, we really rely on these big group donations,” St. Pierre said. “We encourage offices to organize these initiatives and come out and give.”
The city's communications advisor, Scott Lamantia, told BarrieToday they have taken the issue seriously and pulled out all the stops to lend a hand.
“When we heard about this, we knew we had to get involved in every way, from blasting it on our social media, to getting lots of signage up for them and, of course, sending seven or eight of us over to donate,” he said.
“The engineering department stepped up immediately, especially knowing that it’s their department that needs to make these tough but needed calls to shut down areas for vital construction," Lamantia added. "Everybody is happy to be helping, maybe first stopping for some water and being ready to give.”
If you are looking to give, head to the clinic website to make an appointment.
