Staff Matters

Making a Difference

Behind the scenes, departmental administrative staff are vital to the daily operation of each unit. Meet the the faces behind the chairpersons.

Family and Community Medicine

Janice Barker manages daily activities in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. In this role, she assists the chairperson in planning and administering financial matters and health services contracts, coordinates faculty recruitment and hiring procedures, maintains the department’s medical library, and has supervisory responsibilities for FCM support staff and student employees.

Her extracurricular activities include training local area medical support personnel for advanced employment and certification. She is also finalizing a thesis requirement for a Master of Science degree from Ferris State University this summer.

Ms. Barker especially enjoys spending time with her family, including Lynsey, Lauren, and Victoria, as well as flower gardening at her home in the Upper Peninsula.

Internal Medicine

As the administrative assistant in the Department of Internal Medicine, Rebecca Elsesser sees herself as the "detail person" within the department. She assists the chairperson by performing the necessary legwork and paperwork in support of the department’s goals, academic responsibilities, and clinical endeavors. Additionally, Mrs. Elsesser coordinates and supervises the support staff of the department, while managing over 400 clinical faculty appointments.

Her personal interests include quilting, sewing, reading, and family activities.

Neurology and Ophthalmology

Sandy Holliday is the academic and educational coordinator for the Department of Neurology and Ophthalmology. She has been involved in several clinical research projects conducted by the department.

Mrs. Holliday says she enjoys the people with whom she works, and in her leisure time she swims and plays tennis. Her greatest pleasure comes from the time she spends with her husband and two children.

Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine

As an administrative assistant, Sharon Husch wears many hats for the Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. She manages the department’s financial records, researches and compiles administrative reports, and assists the chairperson in developing and managing departmental procedures and functions. She also serves as the administrative secretary to the chairperson and departmental faculty.

Her hobbies and interests include outdoor sports such as hiking, kayaking, snowmobiling, and gardening. She also loves to read and spend time with friends.

Osteopathic Surgical Specialties

Debbie Kelley provides secretarial support to the chairperson and associate chairperson in the Department of Osteopathic Surgical Specialties. She is also responsible for supervising departmental support staff and maintaining the work flow within the department. In many instances she provides secretarial support for other departmental faculty when needed.

Mrs. Kelley has a second home in Manistee and enjoys boating and fishing there with her husband, Mike, and their Labrador retriever, Elvira. Her hobbies include knitting, cross stitching, sewing, and a new interest in working with stained glass.

Pediatrics

Ruth Barber from the Department of Pediatrics has a lot of information to manage. In addition to assisting the department chairperson, she keeps clinic, on-call, and faculty work schedules. She also processes insurance payments for the department’s clinics, maintains the CLIFMS database, assists with the university’s professional accomplishments report, oversees CME credits, and manages clinic output records.

For pleasure, she spends time with her husband Jack and her two children, Jack Jr. and Brandi. She especially enjoys attending their sporting events, which include basketball, soccer, volleyball, and track.

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Bunny Patenge actively supports the entire department’s infrastructure. She coordinates the department’s clinical operations on- and off-campus and assists the department’s chairperson, business manager, and faculty members in their administrative, clinical, and academic responsibilities.

In her leisure time she enjoys gourmet cooking (she has two sons with degrees in the culinary arts), traveling; and hand stitching.