Since she was 14, Kristen Johnson has suffered from debilitating migraine headaches brought on by stress, a crushing pain that all but shuts down her very existence.

"Depending on how severe it is, most of the time, it's pretty debilitating," said Johnson, a billing specialist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center's business office in Clinton. "You're not able to see straight. It pretty much stops your life when you have one."

But thanks to the care she's receiving through the Medical Center's specialized practice of headache medicine, Johnson's headaches have decreased from three to four a week down to three to four a month. Their duration and severity also have significantly improved, Johnson said.

She's one of the many patients served by the Department of Neurology who are getting relief, not through the common use of narcotic medications, but other therapies that are less harsh and more productive in the long run. 

It's not always easy to work with patients who live with constant headache pain, said Dr. John Norton, professor of psychiatry and one of only two practicing physicians in Mississippi who have earned subspecialty board certification in Headache Medicine from the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties.

If Mississippi is ever to vacate the last spot on several health rankings reports, everyone needs to work together. This basic premise is behind a new collaboration launched by the Mississippi State Department of Health in partnership with Mississippi birthing facilities, medical providers and public health professionals, including University of Mississippi Medical Center clinicians. It aims to positively impact health outcomes for mothers and babies.

The Medical Center is proud to acknowledge those employees who will celebrate service anniversaries this week:

25 Years

Bobbie Nunn, supervisor, Environmental Services

20 Years

Darrell Bernard, boiler operator, Power Plant

Sam Smith, chief accounting officer/comptroller, Office of the Comptroller

15 Years

Dr. Thomas Gerrets, associate professor of dentistry (Endodontics)

Kinyetta Windom, medical technologist, Clinical Lab (Chemistry)

10 Years

Courtney Kleeb, nursing shift supervisor, University Hospital (Surgical Suite)

Dr. Aihua Tang, instructor in microbiology, School of Medicine

Tricia Williamson, nurse, University Hospital (5 North)

5 Years

Angela Ashley, nurse, University Physicians (Internal Medicine-Lakeland Allergy)

Burton Broadwater, respiratory therapist, University Hospital

Genetta Davis, dental dispensary assistant, School of Dentistry (Care Planning and Restorative Sciences)

Karen Freeman, nurse anesthetist, School of Medicine (Anesthesiology)

Dr. Frederico F. Souza, assistant professor of radiology, School of Medicine

Felicia Wang, poison information provider, School of Medicine (Poison Control Center)

The National Institutes of Health taps UMMC's chair of neurobiology and anatomical sciences for a study section post; the Infectious Diseases Society of America thinks a clinical infectious diseases professor will make a jolly good fellow; and a School of Dentistry alum earns a commanding opportunity in the U.S. Army. 

The Medical Center is proud to announce the following additions to its faculty and leadership staff:

A couple of interesting presentations is scheduled for the upcoming week at the Medical Center.