BETHEL—The staff at Bethel Family Health Center is pleased to welcome Joanne Nicastro, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner to the provider team. Joanne will begin offering psychiatric medication management which includes psychiatric assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning. She has been providing medication management and psychiatric evaluations in outpatient and inpatient settings for ten years. Her largest area of interest is working with trauma victims and patients with PTSD. In 2007, she obtained a Master of Science in Nursing at Husson University. In 2000, she was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from University of Maine, Orono.

“I think it is beneficial for patients to have their psychiatric provider and primary care physician working together in the same health care center,” stated Joanne. She continued, “As a provider, I really enjoy this collaboration. This allows important information to be easily shared between providers which is in the best interest of the patient. I chose Bethel Family Health Center for this reason, as well as my desire to work in a small close-knit community. Bethel is a beautiful quaint town, and I am looking forward to living and working there.”

Joanne will be joining physicians Catherine Chamberlin, Rich DeCarolis and Kevin Finley and nurse practitioner Carly Hanson. In addition, clinical social workers Leslie Lufkin and Katie Sloma offer behavioral health services at the practice. The health center offers primary care with integrated behavioral health to 3,300 people in the Andover, Bethel, Gilead, Greenwood, Hanover, Newton, Upton, Woodstock region.

Bethel Family Health Center is part of HealthReach Community Health Centers, a system of eleven Federally Qualified Health Centers in Central and Western Maine. Dedicated providers deliver high-quality medical and behavioral healthcare to citizens in over 80 rural communities. To ensure access to everyone, HealthReach accepts Medicare, MaineCare and major insurances. In addition, an Affordable Care Program is available to uninsured and underinsured residents as well as assistance with applications for programs that help with the cost of healthcare and medications, including the Health Insurance Marketplace.

A private non-profit with a 44-year history, HealthReach is funded by patient fees, grants and by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $4,053,390 with 82.5 percent financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor are an endorsement by, the HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. 

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