Nicole Gastala

Dr. Gastala is board-certified in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine. She graduated from Loyola Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago and completed her Family Medicine residency at the University of Iowa. Dr. Gastala has dedicated her clinical career to caring for patients in Federally Qualified Health Centers and started her work in rural Iowa as a National Health Service Corps member. There, she developed an integrated Primary Care and Medication for Opioid Use Disorder program with her colleagues to address the unmet health needs of the community, the first within an FQHC in the state of Iowa. In her clinical and leadership role at MSHC, she has developed an integrated behavioral health, addiction, and primary care program within Mile Square with the goal of removing structural barriers to care including walk-in visits and immediate same-day referrals between primary care and behavioral health. She has co-developed one of the first integrated and co-located opioid treatment programs within an FQHC with community partner Family Guidance to ensure patients have access to all FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder. In her research role, Dr. Gastala leads the research, innovation, service, and evaluation (RISE) division of MSHC that supports the system in service grant development, expansion of patient programs, and assists researchers in the implementation of programs at Mile Square Health Center.