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Clinic says goodbye to Burbach after 32 years

RANDOLPH — Familiarity is one of the most wonderful aspects of small town life. Knowing whose smiling face is going to greet you when you walk into an office, especially a doctor’s office where you might not be feeling 100 percent, is a great comfort to people.

For the past 32 years one of those smiles has been provided to countless patients by Barbara Burbach, who is retiring from the position of Randolph Family Practice Office Manager.

Burbach said it is funny how plans change. A hometown girl, Barbara Wattier graduated from St. Frances High School and went to Mount Marty College for two years to major in education. In 1970, she married Allen Burbach and left furthering her education on hold to be a wife and mother. The couple have four children.

Burbach began her time with the Randolph Family Practice family in July of 1988 while working as site manager of the Randolph Senior Center. Her aunt, Helen Dwyer, worked as office manager for Dr. Ritter, who owned the clinic and it was she who encouraged Burbach to apply for the job upon her retirement.

Burbach said, since being hired by Dr. Ritter, she has seen countless changes in the three decades she worked in the medical field. The first change took place five years following her employment, when Osmond Hospital gained ownership of the privately owned practice. Besides the new ownership, changes in the way charting and medical coding were done dominated her career. Burbach said when she began all charting was done by hand and everything was written out. Charts were stored in a metal box and very little was typed. She shared that due to the continual adjustments in the ways charting and medical billing were done, along with the introduction of technology, her job remained interesting and provided Burbach with a constant stream of renewed learning experiences.

Burbach said besides the love of the work it was the people that really kept her passionate about the job.

She had the opportunity to work with seven different physicians and three different nurse practitioners while at the office. Her favorite part of the job she said, and the thing she will miss the most, are the personal interactions with people in the community and with the nursing staff at the office. One of those staff members has been Burbach’s other constant in her career as she said she has had the opportunity to work with one particular nurse for the entirety of her time at the clinic, the two of them becoming very good friends during the 32 year span.

Burbach said the only thing she will not miss about the job is having to fight with the snow in the winter, she will like having the option to stay home if she doesn’t wish to get out in the cold.

Staying busy in retirement will not be difficult for Burbach. She is looking forward to continuing her interest in sewing and quilting. A big part of this particular hobby is used helping her grandchildren in 4-H with their projects for fair. She often volunteers her time helping with as many other 4-H and extension activities as she can. Burbach also said she loves to read, however, she is no wallflower, with one of her favorite activities being to go on spur of the moment and unplanned road trips. She said she is looking forward the most to spending as much time as possible with her family and friends both near and far during her retirement.

She currently has three children who live within the state of Nebraska and one in Minnesota, and is a proud grandma to 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

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