Born as the third child, I learned the value of observation early. My commitment to preventive and value-based healthcare began in childhood, watching my physician mother work relentlessly to prevent illness and promote health in a small town in India.
After completing my medical education in India and postgraduate training in Internal Medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago, I embraced the first opportunity I had—as a young mother and a young physician—to build a different kind of healthcare: one focused not only on treating illness, but on preventing disease, managing risk, and helping people live healthier lives.
I chose to pursue that calling here in Northwest Indiana, my home away from home.
More than two decades later, the purpose has remained remarkably consistent. How we deliver on that purpose has changed enormously.
What began as a small physician practice has evolved into a team-based, technology-enabled, risk-stratified primary care model. As an Internist, I now work alongside a strong team of nurse practitioners and multidisciplinary professionals in Population Health, nutrition, behavioral health, and other areas of care. Together, we bring different skills to one shared responsibility: improving the health of the patient in front of us while proactively managing the needs of the population entrusted to us.
Technology has become an important part of that transformation. We are intentionally building technology and intelligent automation behind our frontline teams—using data, remote monitoring, digital patient engagement, and risk stratification to help us identify needs earlier, match resources to patient risk, stay connected between visits, and reduce the administrative work that competes for our attention.
Our technology strategy is ultimately about people: creating the time and space for a stronger human connection where it matters most—between our patients and the people caring for them.
Transformation has also required change—redesigning teams and workflows, standardizing processes where unnecessary variation does not serve patients, embracing new technology, and continually asking whether the way we have always done something is still the best way to do it.
Leadership through change is not always easy. Over the years, teams change, healthcare changes, technology changes, and circumstances challenge even well-established ways of working. Those experiences have strengthened my conviction that we cannot preserve yesterday's model simply because it is familiar. We must be willing to evolve when evolution can produce better access, greater accountability, stronger continuity, and better health outcomes.
I am proud of what Mary Tilak & Associates has become, but I am even more energized by what we are continuing to build: an Internal Medicine-led primary care model supported by nurse practitioners, multidisciplinary teams, Population Health, technology, and risk-stratified care—all working together around the needs of each patient.
Through every phase of this journey, one thing has remained unchanged: my commitment to this community and to the privilege of caring for the people who have placed their trust in us.
After more than two decades, I remain convinced that better healthcare is possible—and committed to continuing the work required to build it.
For more than a decade, Dr. Mary Tilak took healthcare beyond the walls of the medical office through a regular radio program on WJOB AM 1230.
The show was created with a simple purpose: to make reliable health information accessible to the community. Conversations addressed preventive health, chronic disease, emerging medical issues, and the everyday questions patients and families face when making decisions about their health.
Long before virtual education, digital patient engagement, and Population Health became part of our primary care model, the radio show reflected a principle that continues to guide Mary Tilak & Associates today: better health begins with an informed and engaged patient.
While the original broadcasts are now archived and no longer directly available through the station's current programming, they remain an important part of our history of community engagement and health education.
The platform has changed. The commitment to educate, engage, and empower our community continues.
Locations
9410 Calumet Ave, Ste 101
Munster, IN 46321
Phone and Text: (219) 922-8051
6625 W Lincoln Hwy
Schererville, IN 46307
Phone and Text: (219) 922-8051
1275 E North Street, Suite 102
Crown Point, IN 46307
Phone and Text: (219) 922-8051
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