News


December 16, 2024

Meet Tamara Branneky

Billing and Scheduling Associate 


Where are you from? 

I am born and raised in St. Louis. I went to school at Pattonville High School (those of you from St. Louis understand this). I started dating my husband of 42 years in High School. We have four adult sons, two grandsons, and three granddaughters.

What brought you to Washington University Orthopedics?

I came to WashU following a horrible 2011. We had the Good Friday tornado in Bridgeton, where I live, I lost my job at United Health Care after 10 years and my younger sister died unexpectedly. My grade school friend, Brenda, worked in the Orthopedic Call Center and got me a job on the team. After 2011, a change was a blessing.

How do you support the department? 

When I started working in the call center, there were 8-9 of us in a closet at the OC. Since then, we have added physicians and staff, including new offices and new divisions such as The Living Well Center and Neuro Rehab. We had to find a new location for the call center which is now the Patient Service Center. We take all the calls that come into the department (so many calls) and triage and schedule patients for all the providers in the orthopedic department.

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

My favorite part of the call center is talking to the patients. I treat them all like they are family and do the best I can to make sure we take care of them in a timely manner. I am very patient so I enjoy talking to our older patients. I never rush them and allow them to tell me what exactly they need before I chime in.  

What is your favorite thing to do outside of work? 

Outside of work I love to travel and spend time with my grandchildren. My husband and I took a wonderful road trip to Maine and stopped at numerous places on the way. We visited the “A Christmas Story” house in Cleveland and it was so much cooler than the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, we also stopped by Niagara Falls, and Stephen King’s house on our way to Bar Harbor. My youngest got married in Banff at Emerald Lake Lodge in 2021 and Canada is so beautiful, I really need to get back there.

What's the best advice you ever received?

The best advice I have ever received was to never try to change someone. You need to love and respect a person for who they are.

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

If I was not in health care, I would love to help people find a perfect home so I guess I would be on HGTV. Haha, just kidding. I would be a realtor. I would love to be able to make my own work hours.

Anything else you'd like to share?

I recently adopted a rescue dog, Gianna and am working on getting her to know the joys of being loved. I also work with friends to refurbish old furniture and I clean, rewire and bling out old chandeliers to make them beautiful again. I am a season ticket holder for The Muny and enjoy sharing the experience with family and friends.


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

Request an Appointment

caret-up caret-down