Jeff Gatch thought it was too good to be true. The Porter-Starke Services licensed clinical social worker enrolled in the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (LRP) almost a year ago and thought that would be the last he’d ever hear of it. However, in the beginning of June, Gatch received a check from the NHSC for the full amount of his outstanding student loans allowing the new father of two to pay off that debt. 
It was nearly three years ago that Porter-Starke Services began working on an application through the Indiana State Department of Health to get Starke County designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) in the area of mental health. The application process had to pass through the state health department and then on to the federal Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) for final consideration. In July of 2008, Starke County received the designation as a mental health underserved community based on the shortage of psychiatrists available to the population.
Once that designation was achieved in Starke County, Porter-Starke Services applied to the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) to have its Knox office certified for the Loan Repayment Program. This entitles certain professional clinicians to have up to their entire student loan debt paid by the program if they contract to provide services in the underserved community for at least two years.
“It was an application submission and resubmission-heavy process,” said Bob Franko, Vice President of Development at Porter-Starke Services. “There was a lot of paperwork to be completed and data to be reported, but it is well-worth it to be able to attract clinicians to Starke County with the loan repayment option.”
Gatch, who lives outside of Starke County and commutes nearly 40-minutes each way to work, thought the program looked promising and applied.
“I wasn’t sure that it would actually come through given the amount of paperwork and the application process,” he said. “Receiving the check was a great surprise and is very helpful in relieving my education debt.”
Gatch is a Behavioral Health Counselor who consults with HealthLinc in Starke County in integrating behavioral health counseling into primary care services. “I love working in Starke County and being a part of this community,” he said. “It still has all the good things about small towns, but you really feel for the people here who need the resources that so many other communities have."
“The Loan Repayment Program will help us attract more clinicians in the future to serve Starke County, I know it’s helped me,” he said.
Only designated employees of Porter-Starke Services’ facility in Knox are eligible for the LRP.