DR . WHO
Dr . Puthuff and sister with dad Walter ( Bud ) Puthuff circa 1964 .
Dr . Puthuff with sister and mother circa 1962 . Tennis tournament with sister .
“ Before I left , he asked me where I was going to be the next day and I told him I ’ d be in the office seeing patients . He said to be sure to tell the staff that if I got a call around 3 o ’ clock that they needed to get me on the phone . So they called me the next day and told me I was in .”
She would finish her residency in 1995 , but not before getting a call from Dr . Joe Thompson , a local dermatologist she had done rotations with as a medical student , trying to recruit her . She moonlighted on the weekends at his practice during her third year of residency to determine if it was a good fit for both of them and ultimately joined his practice for two years once she returned to Louisville .
After that , Dr . Puthuff went to work for Dr . Laura Klein and Dr . Terrie Williams as their practice got busier . After a few years , the partners amicably split and Dr . Puthuff went to work with Dr . Klein . “ Dr . Klein is like a sister to me ,” she said . “ She ’ s like the best person you ’ d ever want to work with . We ’ ve been together for 21 years now .”
In 2000 , the two physicians were looking for a place to house their practice , Brownsboro Dermatology . They found a new building that wasn ’ t quite finished , but that would be perfect for them . While that building was unfinished , they rented a space in a medical complex in Prospect . Despite the tiny , temporary office space , Dr . Janice Yusk had returned to the area and wanted to join their group as well . Just one year later , their office building was finished , and they moved into the location they still call home today .
Since Dr . Yusk ’ s retirement , their practice now has two physicians and two nurse practitioners and is mostly a medical dermatology practice with one nurse practitioner offering cosmetics . While a lot of her office work is the garden variety of warts , rashes and skin cancers , she said it ’ s always a surprise what she will walk into each day .
“ I can look at my schedule and see what everyone says they ’ re
coming in for , but what they ’ re actually coming in for can be totally different . Sometimes people have really amazing , rare , unusual cases , so we ’ ll bring the other providers in and get their input . But then some things are really mundane that we see all the time , but for that patient , it ’ s a big deal .”
In addition to her role as a partner at Brownsboro Dermatology , she also volunteers a lot of her time to giving back to her community . Years ago , Dr . Yusk encouraged Dr . Puthuff to join the GLMS Foundation Board and she has enjoyed serving over the years . Most recently , she became the Chair of the Physician Health & Wellness committee .
“ It was decided we would have two committees , one for community health and one for physician health and wellness . I have good people on my committee and the GLMS support staff is amazing . We meet once a month and Dr . Sosnin has had great input on how we can support our physicians .”
She also gives back by volunteering her time at the Family Community Clinic and other missions internationally . In 2001 , she was mentoring a medical student who mentioned she was going on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic with Northeast Christian Church and Dr . Puthuff thought she might be interested . After a few meetings with the people in charge , she was added to the team .
“ It was such a great experience ; I ’ ve been 15 times now . Over the years , it segued into a different group with different skills that we needed like nurse anesthetists , surgeons , things like that . We ended up with people from all over the country .”
She has also been to Nicaragua with the GLMS group a few times and hopes to continue those soon .
In her personal life , she likes to spend time with those she is closest to . In 2002 , she met the man she is with now , John Timmons .
( continued on page 32 ) DECEMBER 2021 31