Our Staff at BrightStar Care® Bay County

Jenna Andrews was raised in Mexico Beach, Fl and has lived in Panama City since graduating from college in 2010 at Florida State University.  Most of her professional career has revolved around healthcare within the marketing and management realm.  Jenna chose to come onboard with BrightStar Care in 2017 after meeting with the franchise owner, David Strassburg, and realizing the passion he has for the BrightStar Care mission, which is to deliver a higher standard of care.  She will gladly tell anyone who will listen that joining the BrightStar Care team has been the best personal and career decision she’s made to date.  Her work at BrightStar Care has not only blessed her with the most dedicated and supportive work family, but it’s also blessed her with the opportunity to give back to a community she treasures dearly.    Beyond her hours at the office, Jenna enjoys time and activities spent on the salt water.  Besides family, the proximity to the Gulf and the local bays are what drew Jenna back to Panama City following her college tenure.  She spent many days as a toddler on her family’s dive charter boat and still enjoys scuba diving as an adult.  It is not uncommon to find her responding to work related emails on the weekends while out fishing with her husband in St. Joe Bay or while relaxing on the beach at Cape San Blas.  She believes it’s important to find fulfillment in life and says that along with the local natural treasures the Panhandle offers, her work family and the clients at BrightStar Care inspire her daily.

April has been a nurse for 15 years with 11 years of experience in home care. She also has experience in ER, Med-surg, ICU, labor and delivery and pediatrics. April is passionate about caring for and being an advocate for the pediatric and geriatric population. She loves being able to help our patients in their home so that they can have the most fulfilling life possible. She is not only devoted to our patients but her work family as well. April has a hands-on leadership style, is very understanding and provides an open line of communication with her team. April joined the BrightStar Care team in 2019. 

Susan is originally from Illinois. She began her career as a Registered Nurse and worked as an Obstetrics staff nurse while obtaining her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Olivet Nazarene University in IL. After completing her BSN, Susan began working as an Occupational Health Nurse in the manufacturing industry. During that time, she spent her free time at work assisting the HR department with open enrollment, hiring, and training new employees. After working several years in the manufacturing industry, Susan decided to change career paths and began working as a HR Manager. Over several years, she moved jobs/states to learn new skills and taking on more responsibility and ultimately decided to obtain her master's degree in human resource management. Before joining the BrightStar team, Susan worked as the HR Leader with Trane in Panama City serving 900 employees. Susan is married with four adult children, four beautiful grandchildren and a multitude of fur grandbabies.

Kay Sallinger has been in the medical field for 29 years.  She began her medical career as a Medical Assistant in a fast-paced Endocrinology practice.  In 1996, she returned to college where she earned her degree as a Physical Therapy Assistant and worked in that field until 2000.  She graduated Dartmouth College in 2002 with a degree in nursing; she has worked as a nurse in Critical Care, LTAC and SNIF settings.  Kay began her nursing career at BrightStar in 2017 as a Field Nurse and advanced to her current position as Clinical Manager in February 2021.  Kay brings to BrightStar broad experience and knowledge of health care and medical services. She is most passionate about seeing BrightStar clients receive high quality, private duty nursing and personal care services and sees this as an opportunity to serve her local community. 

Toccara is a native of Panama City, FL and has been in the healthcare industry for over 20 years. She joined BrightStar in 2014 as a CNA and later worked as the Administrative Assistant before eventually being promoted to Customer Care Associate. Toccara enjoys being able to help people in need and is thankful to be in a role that allows her to work with those individuals. She loves to see a smile, to hear laughter and thinks her work family is the best. When Toccara isn’t at work, she enjoys spending time with her family, listening to music, watching Marvel movies and roller skating.

Chimere is the newest member of the BrightStar Care team. She was born and raised in Panama City, Florida but her roots run deep in Alabama. Chimere has been in the healthcare industry for nine years.  She is passionate about providing her clients with the best care available. In her spare time, she enjoys watching movies, shopping online, and spending quality time with her three amazing daughters.

Maurice is originally from Milton, FL. He grew up loving sports immensely which led him to play college basketball at Pensacola Junior College and The University of West Florida, where he was an All-Conference athlete. After a very rewarding college career, Maurice found himself helping others achieve their dreams by coaching basketball & football at his Alma Mater, Milton High. After 20 years of playing and coaching, he realized that his time in sports had to come to an end and his career took a pivot that led him to work at Hertz Rent-A-Car. Through his hard work and passion for people, he was able to quickly grow into a leadership role. His career with Hertz though abruptly came to an end, due to the Covid pandemic, but it ended up being the blessing in disguise that he didn’t see coming. The skills and experiences that he garnered at Hertz ultimately positioned him to become a Healthcare Recruiter. He has enjoyed working with some great healthcare companies but none better than Brightstar Care, where he can be a part of a team that is responsible for connecting phenomenal healthcare workers with phenomenal families! When he’s not in front of a computer or the phone, you will always find him spending time with his better half, Jen, and their family!