Birmingham VA headache center to expand clinical services

Birmingham VA's Headache Center of Excellence has recently been designated as a "Hub," which is the highest level in the national program.

The Birmingham program will receive an annual budget of $1.1 million to provide headache management to Veterans in the Southeast. This announcement includes an opportunity to participate in clinical trials for new headache treatments.

As the sole Hub in VISN 7 (covering Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina), Birmingham VA will expand clinical services to ensure Veterans receive comprehensive and long-term care.

Service connections

Chronic headache disorders are prevalent among Veterans with nearly 2 million being diagnosed and treated in the past 15 years. Since 2017, the Birmingham VA Health Care System has seen a 70% increase in patients needing headache care.

Chronic headache disorders are connected to war-related injuries including traumatic brain injury, toxic exposures, post-traumatic stress disorder and military related sexual trauma.

The program helps Veterans with debilitating chronic headache with a comprehensive treatment approach. An interdisciplinary care team implements novel therapies to optimize physical therapy, behavioral therapy and pharmacologic, including interventional procedural therapy.

Expanding the future

The success of the program has enabled providers to develop a United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties certified headache fellowship program in association with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Neurology. This program will play a central role in training future headache specialists.