April 01, 2024

Meet Karen Addison 

Administrative Professional 

Where are you from? 

I was born and raised in St Louis, Missouri. I am the oldest of three children who grew up in Shrewsbury and were part of the Affton School District. My mom still lives in the house I grew up in.

What brought you to Washington University Orthopedics?

I was working at SLU as an admin assistant for a professor in stem cell transplant. That professor accepted a position at WashU and brought me with him. I spent 9 years in that role and realized I needed a change. I interviewed for an orthopedics admin assistant position working with Dr. Charles Goldfarb and was hired the same day. He was new faculty not long out of fellowship at that time. I have been with WashU Ortho for 18 years and Dr. Goldfarb has been stuck with me the entire time! 

How do you support the department? 

My title is Administrative Professional. I support our Executive Vice Chair, Dr. Charles Goldfarb, our Pediatric Chief, Dr. Lindley Wall, and Pediatric Associate Professor, Dr. Laura Meyers. I ran the Hand and Pediatric Fellowships for 17 years before recently transferring that duty to another admin last year. I supervise two administrative coordinators in the pediatric division.

What aspect of your work do you find most interesting or rewarding?

I have always been someone who loves to coordinate and keep things organized – I am a highly effective chaos coordinator, so this type of work is right up my alley! The job is incredibly busy and fast paced and the days fly by. I so admire and respect the faculty for the work they do, and could not work with a more wonderful group of people who support and help each other reach the common goal. It is a privilege to have dedicated most of my adult career to WashU Ortho.

What's your favorite thing to do outside of work?

Spend time with my beautiful granddaughter, family, friends and pets. I love to read, garden, attend concerts and collect vinyl LPs.  I also donate any spare time I may have to local animal rescue shelters.

What's the best advice you've ever received? 

From my Grandpa: Be honest, be fair and never lose your sense of humor no matter how hard life gets.

If you weren't in health care, what would you like to be doing?

Rescuing animals of all kinds. Nothing makes me happier than to save an injured animal or to give a lost, lonely, forgotten animal a forever home.

Learn why patient's choose Washington University Orthopedics, request an appointment online or call (314) 514-3500.