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AT H O M E I N N O R T H D A K O TA WOR DS : TAR A E K R E N , E SSE N T IA H E A LT H
P H OTO G R A P H Y : E S S E N T I A H E A LT H a n d N AT E R E N D U LIC H
Dr. Roxanne Keene is a ↓ wife and mother of two girls. She’s an avid sports fan and loves to watch her daughters play basketball. While not at work, Keene loves to travel, spend time with her family and be frustrated on the golf course.
Dr. Roxanne Keene is one-of-a-kind in her home state of North Dakota. She is currently the only female orthopedic surgeon practicing in North Dakota. Originally from Ray, North Dakota, her journey to Essentia Health took her from North Dakota to New York to Minnesota to Illinois and finally back to North Dakota. 48
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Keene joined the Orthopedic team at Essentia Health in October 2019 and is happy to be back in Fargo to continue her career. Before returning to Fargo, Keene practiced in Williston and did locum work, which means that she worked temporarily in a practice other than her own. A few years ago, her locum work brought her to Essentia, where she helped cover holidays and vacations. During her time at Essentia, she came to love the facility, the people she was working with and the culture. When a full-time position opened, she jumped at the chance to join the Essentia Health team. As a general orthopedic surgeon, Keene does a little bit of everything. “I particularly like the knee, so knee replacement is my love,” explains Keene. “I have a sports medicine background, so I see a lot of knee, shoulder and ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) surgeries. I also enjoy the mix of trauma cases that I’m able to see as well,” Keene continues. “I am the kind of person who says if
something is broken, I want to fix it. After experiencing orthopedics, I knew orthopedic surgery is where I needed to be.” Being the only female orthopedic surgeon in North Dakota is something Keene is proud of. One aspect of her work that she loves is the opportunity to mentor other women interested in orthopedics. “We need more exposure to orthopedics for females. There is no reason females cannot be in orthopedics,” Keene says. During her residency at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, she figures only about six percent of orthopedic surgeons were female. It’s not moving much, although, Keene says, “Now it’s probably closer to 12 percent.”
Adaptability is key Less than six months after starting her practice at Essentia Health, the coronavirus pandemic changed the world around us. Elective surgeries, which many joint replacement and other orthopedic surgeries