Our team collaborates on every patient's care and treatment. A patient's experience starts with our front desk coordinators and leads to our Medical Assistants. Our Nurse Practitioners ensure all decisions pertaining to patient care--labs, medications, imaging orders, health choices--are a co-production with Dr. Tilak.

​You can be assured that no matter who you see in the office, your care is being personally discussed with Dr. Tilak.

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• What is a Nurse Practitioner
• Meet our Providers
• Meet our Doctors

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What is a Nurse Practitioner?

Nurse practitioner, advanced practice nurse, NP...These are all terms that you may have heard thrown around in the medical field.  
The healthcare landscape is always changing and adapting to the needs of patients. More and more, it will be common to see Nurse Practitioners (NPs) working alongside physicians to attain healthcare goals.  

Dr. Tilak believes strongly in the care our NPs provide to our patients and to the office.  She hand-picked and assisted in training all four of our NPs to our office standards.    

What can Nurse Practitioners do?
​This is often a popular question we hear from our patients.  NPs collaborate with other providers and physicians about patient care. They can also evaluate and prescribe medication.  They can order and interpret tests.   

Source:  https://www.aanp.org/all-about-nps/what-is-an-np-2

Meet our Nurse Practitioners 

Elizabeth Case

FNP-C

​Elizabeth received her Bachelor's degree and Master of Science/ Family Nurse Practitioner from Purdue University.

Among her certifications and accomplishments, she is

• Member of Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing 
• Certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
• American Heart Association Basic Life Support Provider

Brian Kraus

FNP-C

​Brian has been a nurse practitioner for the last 16 years.
He received his Bachelor's degree in Science from Indiana University, and his Master of Science/Family Nurse Practitioner from Purdue University.

Among his certificates and accomplishments, he is a(n)

• Basic Life Support Certified
• Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Certified
• Clinical Educator St. Margaret Hospital Education Department

Hannah Halewicz

​AGPCNP-BC

​Hannah received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Northern Michigan.  She received her Master of Science in Nursing at University of Miami.

​Among her certifications and accomplishments, she is

• Member of Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing 
• Certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
• BLS, ACLS, PALS, and NIH Stroke Certifications from the American Heart Association

Samantha Lewis

fnp-c

Samantha received her  Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Purdue University. She received her Master of Science in Nursing from UCLA Graduate School of Nursing.

Michelle Masterson

fnp-c

​Michelle received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Indiana University. She received her Master of Science in Nursing at the University of Cincinnati.

​Among her certifications and accomplishments, she is

• Member of Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing 
• Certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners

Dr. Mary Tilak, MD

Source: Community Healthcare Partners

"Born as the third child, I learned observational skills very early. I grew up purely watching my sister and brother. My physician mother was a very hardworking and humble woman. My dad, an attorney was all about fairness and justice.
My dream of becoming a physician started in my early childhood as I observed the positive impact my mother had in our community.
Through my long years of training in India and in the US, I held on to the passion of "changing the health of the world - one patient at a time"
As a young physician starting my practice in North West Indiana, I felt so empowered by my upbringing and my training in different parts of the world. I firmly believed that every patient I touch was going to be transformed into a stronger, healthier and happier person.
However, I soon observed that my medical training gave me all the abilities to keep my patients alive longer with multiple medications and repeated procedures at the sad cost of their quality of Life. I longed for a different approach to treating the same multiple medical problems. This led me to create a medical supported evidence-based nutritional and behavior change intervention called TAWL, Dr. Tilak's Aggressive Weight Loss and Cardio-Metabolic Solutions."

​Dr. Mary Tilak has been practicing medicine for over 17 years. Among her countless awards and contributions to Northwest Indiana, she is proudest of her practice and the connections she has made with her patients.  

She graduated from Madras Medical College in Chennai, India and then did her Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Illinois/Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago.

Dr. Tilak is a diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) and the American Board of Internal Medicine. She is a member of American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, National Lipid Association, and American Society of Bariatric Physicians.

Dr. Golsa Shahkar, MD

Dr. Shahkar is a family medicine physician who has served communities in Michigan and Indiana.

She graduated with her Doctor's of Medicine from Saba University School of Medicine.

Dr. Michele Keller, DO

"I have always believed in the the “whole person” approach to health care. I always try to listen to patients and encourage them to develop attitudes and lifestyles that don’t just fight illness, but also help prevent disease."
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​Dr. Keller is a patient-focused Family Physician well-versed in providing treatment to patients based on their specific needs.
Specialty areas:  geriatrics, women’s health, orthopedic and osteopathic medicine. 

Dr. Keller has an extensive history as a physician for over 20 years serving communities in Ohio and Indiana.

She graduated from Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine- Ohio University in Athen, OH.
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She will be seeing patients in the Whiting and Route 30 offices.