People of KHSC: Carol Foley

She may not wear a cape (yet), but Carol Foley does have some superhero strength. 

As the ambulance non ambulance transfer clerk, it’s her job to make sure discharged patients or individuals leaving Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) sites for appointments get where they need to be.

For the last eight years she’s been flexing her communications powers, strong vocal cords and next level organizational skills.  

90 per cent of her job involves talking and coordinating with units, transfer companies and health care facilities across the southeast and beyond.

“I love my job because I deal with all kinds of people. I have two phones in front of me and I also have a headset,” Foley chuckles. “50 calls a day would be normal, but it can get as high as 75 on busy days.”

She’s the only transfer clerk in the organization and normally tags in at the end of a patient’s health care journey with KHSC.

“I have a spreadsheet and keep track of everybody that leaves and who is booked where. At the end of a patient’s stay all the paperwork gets scanned into their chart and the last thing they get is my yellow transfer sheet that says when they left and where they went.”

It’s kind of like her very own superhero calling card.

And like a true champion Foley says she can’t take all the credit, adding she’s part of a mighty admissions team which includes bed allocators.

“There’s not too many times we haven’t been able to accomplish what we set out to do. We’ve made miracles happen and we are a mighty team. I keep joking that I’m going to get capes made for us all saying ‘we make things happen.’”

After a hard day’s work Foley likes to put down her headset and pick up some knitting needles to relax.

And in case you’re wondering, if the phone rings in the Foley household she lets someone else get it.