Candace Moore Cole

I've been with Harris Health System at LBJ Hospital for nearly 25 years. I didn't initially seek out the hospital environment - I had been working a contract job, got laid off, and was out for a year with my youngest son. Someone recommended me for the job, and that's how I ended up at the hospital. But it turns out, I absolutely love it. What I enjoy most is helping people - that's my main thing. I like figuring things out, helping people, and servicing people. That's just who I am. My main expertise is my interpersonal skills. I've seen a lot in the hospital environment, and I can empathize and have empathy for people and put myself in their places. People talk to me and come tell me their stories sometimes, and I can relate. I think to myself, what if that was me, or what if that was my parents? I put myself in their position and say, I would want somebody to help me. In my day-to-day role, I handle a lot of customer and employee-related questions relating to hospital access. I do the badging for the hospital, invoicing, and billing for the parking. I interact with a lot of customers and doctors - it's a lot of interaction requiring customer service and people skills. I have a degree in computer science, though I didn't really get into that field per se. I'm currently working towards getting my cybersecurity certification because I've worked in security, I love computers and helping people, and with so many data breaches happening - my own information has been compromised and I've had fraud - I want to get into that field to help stop these people. I'm also pursuing a helping hands business because I want to serve people, especially helping seniors who aren't computer literate even though everything is online now. I'm 63, so I don't have that many more years before retirement, and I'm looking forward to volunteering and doing my helping hands business.