October 13, 2021
Meet Kirsten Ely, ATC
Athletic Trainer
Where are you from?
Elsberry, Missouri - a very small town northwest of St. Louis.
What brought you to Washington University Orthopedics?
I lived in Tennessee for several years after completing my master’s degree in athletic training at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I wanted to move back home to be near family and jumped at the opportunity of work for Washington University.
What aspect of your work do you find most interesting or rewarding?
Being able to educate and help patients is definitely one of the best parts of my job. It’s very rewarding to help patients through all the steps of their treatment and/or surgery process and to be able to see them return to what they enjoy doing.
What is your favorite thing to do outside of work?
Most of my time outside of work is spent with my boyfriend, Brett, and spending time with our family and friends. Brett and I love to take day trips to local places riding his motorcycle. I also like to stay pretty active, so I enjoy doing anything outdoors, working out, and hopefully here soon attend some Blues games!
What’s the best advice you ever received?
Growing up, my parents always instilled several characters traits for my sisters and I; good manners, to work hard for what you want, and to always think about how your actions affect others.
If you weren’t in health care, what would you like to be doing?
If I wasn’t in human healthcare, I would have pursued becoming a vet. I grew up riding horses and animals have always been a big part of my life, so I feel like that would have been my next choice.
Tell us about your family!
Brett and I are expecting our first child, Addilyn Claire, in November! We can’t wait for her arrival and are very excited to be parents!! We also have several pets at home, two cats, Sonny and Felix and an English lab, Bailey.
I’m an identical triplet and have always been very close with my sisters, Erin and Nicole. Growing up, we all ran track and cross-country in middle and high school, and even ran at the collegiate level during our undergraduate studies at University of Central Missouri.
All while being very active, my sister Nicole has battled a kidney disease for most her life and sadly her kidneys have failed multiple times. The first time was in 2003 while we were all attending undergraduate college. At that time, Erin was able to donate a kidney to Nicole and just recently in 2018, I donated a kidney to her. She now thankfully has a healthy and active quality of life!
Kristen works with sports medicine specialist Matt Smith, MD, and treats patients at the Orthopedic Center in Chesterfield. Learn more about our sports medicine specialists and and why patients choose Washington University Orthopedics.