HealthLinc and Porter-Starke Services are partnering in Starke County to provide integrated primary care and behavioral health services at HealthLinc's new site at 104 East Culver Road in Knox. The two not-for-profit organizations have collaborated on the same arrangement for over two years at HealthLinc's Valparaiso location, and more recently at Porter-Starke's campus in Valparaiso.
 
"This is such a powerful tool for patients and providers," HealthLinc CEO Beth Wrobel said. "The connection between mental health and physical health has long been documented and proven, yet the two systems have functioned separately for so long. This partnership brings each of our individual expertise into the medical setting and creates a whole new practice model for the patient," she said.
 
The immediate goal now that HealthLinc's health center has opened in Knox is to hire a Behavioral Health Counselor in partnership with Porter-Starke to work full-time in the medical center, supporting the primary care physicians with mental and behavioral health expertise. "This will help people who suffer from mental health issues, but who have delayed getting help access a high-level of care in a comfortable setting," said David Lomaka, President/CEO of Porter-Starke Services. "It will help them get better results in both their physical health issues and mental health stability," he said.
 
HealthLinc offers a range of medical services including family practice and walk-in access at its Knox location. The medical services are provided by Dr. Joe Bartush. Dr. Bartush has been a medical practitioner in Knox for 20 years and recently joined the HealthLinc provider team. HealthLinc is a not-for-profit federally qualified health care provider that has been open since 1996, and accepts self-pay, commercial, Medicaid and Medicare insurance. Uninsured patients may also qualify for sliding scale fees based on income. For more information about HealthLinc phone (219) 462-7173 or at its Starke County office (574) 772-7400, or visit www.healthlincchc.org.
 
Porter-Starke is a not-for-profit community mental health center headquartered in Valparaiso. It has offices in Valparaiso, Portage, Knox, Aberdeen and Chesterton. It has been Porter and Starke counties' premier mental health provider since 1975. Porter-Starke accepts self-pay, commercial, Medicaid and Medicare insurance. Uninsured clients may also qualify for sliding scale fees based on income. For more information about Porter-Starke phone (219) 531-3500 or at its Starke County office at (574) 772-4040, or visit www.porterstarke.org.
 

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