Memory Clinic Team & Advisory Board

Debbie Callander is a Lubbock Native. She met her husband at Texas Tech in 1987 and has stayed local. She is a Lubbock gal through and through! Debbie has worked with senior adults since 1994. She is currently employed at Home Instead as a Home Care Consultant, and loves helping seniors and their families find the resources they need to enjoy their retirement years, in the best way they can, where they can! Mrs. Callander is a Licensed Social Worker and a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator. She has worked in several nursing facilities, rehabs, and assisted living centers through her career.

Debbie and her husband Tim also own 4 small residential care homes and are celebrating their 10th year in this business as well. She is a member of LORCH (Local Organization of Residential Care Homes), Texas Women in Business, Lubbock Monterey AMBUCS, Lubbock Area of Republican Women, Lubbock Medical Social Worker Association, South Plains Home Care Association, and loves her volunteer work with The Alzheimer's Association, The Southwest Parkinson Society, Meals on Wheels, and The Alzheimer’s Football League. She is passionate about serving others as they age and the families that love and surround them. 

Debbie Callandar

Family Care Specialist

Always my WHY: "I lost my Grandaddy in 1998 to a tragic elopement accident due to Alzheimer’s Disease. In his honor (and my Mema’s), I will continue to help caregivers and those with any type of Dementia diagnosis to be educated, safe, and taken care of for the rest of my life”.

Challa Goedeke has been a resident of Lubbock since 1974 when she became the wife of John. They celebrated their 50 anniversary this year. Challa taught kindergarten at Smyer ISD and Lubbock ISD for 36 years. After retiring in 2008 she pursued volunteer work at her church and within the community.  She has been a volunteer for Meals on Wheels for 15 years. Her volunteer work at church includes being a member of the Chancel choir, Lay Shepherd ministry, Flowers on Wheels and Treasured Times ministry.  After working with Treasured Times for a couple of years, she became the director in 2018. Treasured Times ministry began in 2016 and is a respite for caregivers taking care of someone with Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia.

Challa Goedeke

“People often ask if volunteering in this way is depressing, I always say, “Those with dementia still have their personalities, love life, want to socialize and have fun. I have the opportunity to bring out those personalities, help them to continue to love life, share joy with others and be accepted for who they are at this time in their lives. It also gives their caregivers a much-needed break so they can care for themselves since their job is a 24/7 responsibility. It is a win win for all those concerned”". – Challa Goedeke

Dr. Isabel Molina is a dedicated family medicine physician based in Lamesa, Texas, with more than twenty years of experience providing comprehensive care to individuals and families in her community. 

She is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the region, including Lamb Healthcare Center and Medical Arts Hospital, ​where she collaborates closely with other healthcare professionals to ensure high-quality patient care. Dr. Molina earned her medical degree from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, and remains deeply committed to serving the medical needs of her patients with compassion ad expertise. 

Isabel Molina, M.D.

Primary Care Physician In Rural West Texas

"I want to go back to taking care of people as an individual, to knowing them as a person and having the doctor-patient relationship that has so often been lost. I want to help people be healthier and suffer less. I want to center my energy and effort on the patient and not on big business/insurance".

Janet Tornelli-Mitchell, M.D., is the first lady of the Texas Tech University System, where she works alongside her husband, Chancellor Tedd L. Mitchell, to advance the mission of TTU’s five universities. A dedicated physician and leader, Dr. Tornelli-Mitchell has championed health and wellness initiatives for TTU System employees, and engages directly with staff through the TTU System Health & Wellness Facebook Group. She previously served as the first female physician at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, and held leadership roles at the Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. She also served on the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, appointed by governors George W. Bush and Rick Perry, and was active with the Federation of State Medical Boards.

In addition to her medical career, Dr. Tornelli-Mitchell is an accomplished equestrian, and has helped develop TTU’s hippotherapy program and therapeutic riding scholarship. She remains active in the Lubbock community, and serves on the advisory board of the Laura W. Bush Institute For Women’s Health, an adjunct assistant professor at TTUHSC. Dr. Tornelli-Mitchell holds degrees from UT Austin and UTMB, where she and her husband met while studying medicine. Together, they co-authored Fit To Lead and share a passion for promoting health and wellness in every aspect of life. They have three children and four grandchildren.

Janet Tornelli-Mitchell, M.D.

 

With a long and respected career in healthcare lending, Mark Troth specialized in supporting non-profit hospitals, academic medical institutions, private practices, specialty clinics, and physician banking services. He served as president and shareholder of the Bank of River Oaks, in Houston, Texas, and contributed his leadership to advisory boards and organizations such as Children At Risk, the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, Boy Scouts of America, Southwest Charter Schools, Healthcare For The Homeless, and Rotary International. 

He and his wife Mary, married for over 42 years, raised their family in Richmond, Texas. After retiring and building their dream home, Mark was diagnosed with stage 3 Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a form of Dementia. He now participates in an innovative infusion treatment, that helps to slow the progression of dementia.

Mark Troth

Care Recipient & Patient Advocate

“By partnering with the TTUHSC Garrison Institute on Aging, and sharing my story as I continue my journey, I hope to educate and inspire fellow patients (and caregivers) to “live for life, and not for death”. My mother died 20 years ago (at age 74) after a ten-year battle with dementia. My father –her caregiver- died eleven months later, bravely choosing to undergo a difficult hip replacement surgery – with a bad heart – to “get back in the game.”