July 22, 2024

Meet Virginia Porter

Pediatric Destination Care Coordinator

Where are you from? 

I am from Charlottesville, Virginia – home of Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia. The city is regularly ranked #1 in the country as the best place to retire.

What brought you to Washington University Orthopedics?

I was looking to move to St. Louis to be closer to family. My brother has been here for nearly 20 years, and my parents moved a couple of years ago to be closer to the grandkids. WashU seemed like a great fit and way to blend my past experiences in health care, higher education, and concierge event planning.

How do you support the department? 

I am the Destination Care Coordinator for Pediatrics. It’s a newly created role meant to serve kids and their families who travel to WashU, Children’s, and/or Shriner’s for care. I’m here to provide information and answer questions on all aspects of their time with us. Whether that’s lodging and entertainment or scheduling and billing, I can help to make sure their experience is a positive one where you all can focus on the delivering the best care and outcomes possible.

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

Trying to navigate health care can create anxiety for all of us these days. And for parents and children, it can be downright scary. I think the most rewarding part of what we do is when we can give a parent the tools they need to be confident that their child is going to receive the best care possible.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of work? 

I love to travel. I’ve been to all 7 continents but the list of places I want to see only gets longer.

What is the best advice you have ever received? 

Always say thank you. Whether you are talking to your boss or your employees, coworkers or customers – everything is done through teamwork. It’s impossible to do anything on our own, so it is important to find the ways that others support you and genuinely thank them for the effort they put in to making the work possible.

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

I think I would probably be doing something in the tourism industry. Maybe designing customized tours for families or small groups of friends. I love to research places and find the balance of must-see tourist sites with small moments to enjoy the local life. Finding ways to make travel accessible like that would be really rewarding for me.

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