The story below is from our July/August 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Photo above: Jamie Brackenrich strives to help her patients reach headache freedom.
Photos Courtesy of Jamie Brackenrich
Align Neurology provides personalized, integrative care for patients seeking relief from headaches.
Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-C) Jamie Brackenrich worked in outpatient neurology for three years, treating patients with a wide array of conditions including Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s. During that time, she saw an interesting trend emerge — the number of patients coming in for headaches was much higher than those with any other neurological condition.
“They often told the same story: ‘I’ve tried all the medicines, nothing works; I don’t want medicines; nobody listens to me about my head pain; providers think I’m faking it; I’m missing work or family events due to headaches.’”
These accounts inspired Brackenrich to open Align Neurology, Roanoke’s first headache clinic. From tension, cluster, pregnancy and post-COVID headaches to migraines and facial pain, she strives to help her clients achieve headache freedom. “My patients come back in three months with tears of joy because they have their [lives] back,” she says. “They no longer have to schedule their lives around their headache[s].”
As a private, direct pay practice, provider focus is strictly on what’s important to the patient, not the priorities of insurance and its regulations. The clinic is part of Revive Collective, a group of health professionals — two family nurse practitioners, a health coach and massage therapist — who operate independently but collaborate to better serve the needs of their patients. “In our community at the Collective, we try to make healthcare accessible, affordable and directed at treating each patient with intention.”
Align’s five-pronged approach, which includes a conventional medical assessment, structural and musculoskeletal assessment, sleep and mood evaluation, lifestyle and trigger assessment and nutritional and metabolic evaluation, aids Brackenrich in achieving this mission. “Some patients do not want medicines. They want a more natural approach,” she explains. “We can use [this method] to come up with an integrative answer to help their headaches.”
Tedious form completion and repetitive information gathering is virtually nonexistent at Align. When a patient arrives for an appointment, they are greeted by their provider who takes their vitals and documents medical history. Initial visits cost $250 with three-month follow-ups at $150. Established clientele can also take advantage of their acute care services, allowing them to receive the headache treatment they need timely without having to go to the emergency room.
Since opening in early April, the clinic has seen a steady influx of patients, most of whom are already seeing drastic improvements. In addition to their new Halo-IR Salt & Red Light Therapy Sauna and current interventional service offerings like Botox and infusions for chronic migraine, trigger point injections and occipital nerve blocks, Brackenrich is hoping to soon roll out hormone testing and treatments designed to help women tackle perimenopausal headaches. “I’m excited to see the response from the community and hope the momentum continues!”
To learn more about Align Neurology, visit alignneurology.com.
The story above is from our July/August 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
