#MyBestMoments – Kim Powell, Supervisor, Patient Access

I would say the highlight of my 32-year career at Lakeridge Health is the friends I have made along the way. We have become a family and I am still close friends with staff members I met when I joined the organization in 1990.

I started at Oshawa General Hospital (now Oshawa Hospital) in 1990 on my 18th birthday as a part-time dietary aide. Six years later, I became a services associate on the paediatric floor. I took on the role of part-time unit clerk when there was a staff shuffle and the clerk at the time went on a leave of absence.

As a unit clerk, I was responsible for patient registration, reception, transcribing doctors' orders, booking tests, maintaining supplies, replacing sick time calls, and other administrative duties within the unit.

I loved being a unit clerk so much. So, when a part-time position opened up in October 2003 in the former Family Health Centre at Whitby Hospital, I took it!

When the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak hit in December 2003, Family Health Centre staff were transferred to Oshawa Hospital to help in the Emergency Department (ED). After the SARS outbreak, the Family Health Centre did not reopen and so, I worked as a part-time registration clerk in the Oshawa ED, as well as for a paediatrician in her office.

When the role of Patient Access/Descendent Affairs Supervisor opened in 2021, I jumped at the opportunity! As a Patient Access/Descendent Affairs Supervisor, I am responsible for providing support to ED registration and admitting staff at the Oshawa and Ajax Pickering Hospitals, as well as the day-to-day running of the department. I am also responsible for the morgues at all sites. I ensure that patients are picked up by funeral homes, assist families if they have any questions, and ensure that they have their loved one’s belongings. I also make arrangements if the patient does not have any family so they are laid to rest.

One of my favourite things about my current role is that I am able to work alongside team members I have worked with for many years. I find it so fulfilling as I also watch new, younger staff (some who come to us right out of college or university) mature in their roles and move forward in their personal lives, like getting married or having kids. I also love the fact that I can interact and engage with family members and help them with any questions or concerns after losing a loved one.

Lakeridge Health is an amazing place to work for many reasons. I feel that we are all one big family working towards the best patient experience. I am so grateful to be able to work here and make such a difference