Spotlight
Dr. Karen Farst
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Karen Farst, M.D., M.P.H., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, child advocate and child abuse pediatrician.
What makes her an “Audrey” For over two decades, Karen Farst has been a beacon of hope for Arkansas’ most vulnerable children. Like Audrey Evans, Dr. Farst has always emphasized a “total care” approach, constantly prioritizing the needs of children and families in crisis.
Dr. Farst’s exceptional ability to forge strong partnerships and navigate complex systems has been instrumental in safeguarding the well-being of Arkansas children. She possesses a rare talent for building collaborative relationships that bring light to the often-shadowed issue of child abuse and neglect, tirelessly working to heal trauma after trauma.
Her unwavering dedication has made her a leading advocate, ensuring these children have a voice and a chance for a brighter future. As Dr. Farst stepped into a broader leadership role within Arkansas Children’s, she extended those approaches to help the 850,000 children we serve as the state’s only pediatric health system.
Notable achievements:
Dr. Farst has committed her life to caring for children and families facing crisis and developing best practices to guide care for children who have been abused. She served two terms on the Child Abuse sub-board of the American Board of Pediatrics.
In 2021, Arkansas Children’s bestowed on her its highest physician recognition, The Ruth Olive Beall Award honoring the values of safety, teamwork, compassion and excellence.
A professor of Pediatrics and Section Chief of Children at Risk in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine, she has been named the UAMS Department of Pediatrics Mentor of the Year.
In 2017, she received the National Alliance for Children’s Trust and Prevention Fund’s Ray E. Hefler Award. The award is a collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics to honor an esteemed pediatrician who has made significant contributions to local and national efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect.
She has also held the Arkansas Children’s Jerry G. Jones Endowed Chair in Child Maltreatment since 2015, promoting the health and safety of abused and neglected children in Arkansas.
In addition to being a dedicated advocate for children, Dr. Farst is an educator at heart, teaching not only medical students and professionals but also the general public about ways to prevent, identify and intervene in child abuse. Dr. Farst shares with media, community groups, professional societies and child abuse symposiums nationally. She is widely published in peer-reviewed journals and has contributed to five books addressing child abuse.
Dr. Audrey Evans inspires me because she understood that “health” is not defined by your current vital signs or test results. It is a sum of your past history and experiences, your family and support system, and your potential for access to holistic health care by caring providers.
I want my legacy to be that children have a better future when I exited compared to when I entered.