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Hannah Yang
Mankato, Minn.

Mankato Clinic doctors delivered him and treated him as a child. Now’s he’s the new CFO

Three people pose for photo at Mankato Clinic
Mankato Clinic CFO Brandon Janike, center, reunites with his former pediatrician, Dr. Don Putzier, left, and Dr. Mark Taylor, right, the obstetrician who delivered him into the world. Both are retired from the clinic.
Courtesy of Mankato Clinic

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Brandon Janike poses for a photo
Brandon Janike.
Courtesy of Mankato Clinic

Life is coming full circle for the new chief financial officer of Mankato Clinic, as he was delivered by one of the clinic’s obstetricians and saw a pediatrician at Mankato Clinic as a child.

Brandon Janike, 32, returned to the Mankato area last week to help lead one of southern Minnesota’s largest independent, physician-owned healthcare clinics. He was raised on his family’s dairy farm in rural Waldorf in Waseca County.

Janike was delivered by Dr. Mark Taylor, a Mankato Clinic obstetrician who has since retired, at Immanuel-St. Joseph’s Hospital in Mankato. Mayo Clinic Health System bought Immanuel-St. Joseph’s in March of 1996 and renamed the hospital In 2011, but Mankato clinic’s obstetricians still deliver babies there today.

As a child, Janike continued receiving care at Mankato Clinic from his pediatrician, Dr. Donald Putzier, who also is now retired.

Janike earned a bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2016. He then worked as an intern under current Mankato Clinic CEO Aaron Johnson. Janike went on to work at Twin Cities Orthopedics and then for seven years at Revo Health in the Twin Cities, where he most recently was the vice president of revenue cycle.

Even though he never strayed too far from his Mankato and his nearby hometown in his decade away, Janike said he didn’t think an opportunity to return to the area would ever come to be.

“I never thought I would have the opportunity to come back,” Janike told MPR News. “When this [position] became available, it’s pretty much a no-brainer, because now I get to help a community. I get to help a clinic that raised me. The opportunity to strengthen rural healthcare in the place that raised me is incredibly meaningful.”

A child by a cow
Growing up, Brandon Janike helped care for his family’s 20 dairy cows. At the Waseca County Fair, his heifer, Amy, earned second place.
Courtesy of Mankato Clinic

Janike said he’s interested in serving patients in rural communities and making sure they’re able to receive vital medical care. He said he’s troubled by the growing number of rural hospitals that have been closing in recent years, and the dwindling number of physicians willing to come to work in these smaller communities.

It’s important to keep healthcare close to home and that it stays accessible, he added.

“I want to make sure that we’re in a position that we can be around for the next 110 years, and the 110 years after that,” Janike said. “We have a good opportunity to set the footing for that and ground level for that right now.”

Two people posing for photo at Mankato Clinic
Dr. Bryan Pucik, left, Mankato Clinic family medicine physician, greets former patient Brandon Janike, now the clinic’s chief financial officer, at Mankato Clinic’s Main Street location.
Courtesy of Mankato Clinic

Mankato Clinic CEO Johnson praised his former intern, saying in a news release that he’s excited to have Janike join the team.

“Over the years I’ve watched him earn the trust of the people around him, navigate complex challenges, and lead with a steady approach that puts relationships first,” Johnson said. “Bringing someone like Brandon back to southern Minnesota and to Mankato Clinic is incredibly meaningful for our organization, our staff, and the future of local healthcare in this region.”