Skip to main content

Military Health System

New NICoE director sets an ambitious agenda for the future

Image of Military personnel wearing face mask while talking to each other. Military personnel wearing face mask while talking to each other

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | Education & Training Events | Brain Injury Awareness | Centers of Excellence | The National Intrepid Center of Excellence

To Navy Capt. (Dr.) Carlos Williams, the National Intrepid Center of Excellence is a gem of the Military Health System, where victims of traumatic brain injury come for care that is intensive, interdisciplinary, holistic and family-based.

Williams has been the director of NICoE at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, since October. Before that he was special advisor and director of the Office of Global Health Engagement for the Navy, and he is the immediate past regional health affairs attaché to the Pacific Islands.

He received his medical degree from Morehouse School of Medicine and completed his internship and residencies in internal medicine and pediatrics at Wayne State University in Detroit. Williams holds an appointment as assistant professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and adjunct professor at Morehouse.

Just a few months into his new duty station, Williams already takes a great deal of pride in what NICoE has done, and where it's going.

"It really stands at a unique crossroads," Williams said. "In 2010 (when NICoE was founded), we were in the midst of the wars, and TBI was front and center. The challenge with it today is that TBI is still important because these injuries and these wounds, they don't go away just because the fighting stops. They are lifetime chronic diseases that you deal with."

Since that founding, 10 other centers across the country - the Intrepid Spirit Center Network, or ISCs - have been stood up to support the work of NICoE. Williams' vast experience with global health programs will come in handy as he assesses what comes next for NICoE and the ISCs.

Williams also earned his MBA from Johns Hopkins University, so the business of medicine is not foreign to him, particularly with the Defense Health Agency and the Military Health System. He knows how health care works, having spent two years on Capitol Hill working for the Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Foundation. He was selected as an inaugural U.S. Presidential Leadership Scholar in 2015. He's done interagency, international, and public-private partnership work. The Georgia native has been around.

"The first thing we did was a stakeholder analysis, just to look at all our strengths and weaknesses," Williams said. "We want to focus on really maturing and establishing a firm network across the board. That means the NICoE and ISC network, we want that to be a true entity with a value proposition ... with academia, with industry, with interagency, and with other DOD partners. But our primary role is to support our active duty members."

He plans to do that by increasing NICoE's research capabilities and launching a program called TRIP (Translating Research Into Practice) with "clinically relevant activities." The goal is to take NICoE's decade of research and translate it into better care, he said, including standardization and expansion of outpatient services as well as intensive care offerings.

"We want to make sure that we show the value that these centers provide and how they're productive and what it takes to run them," Williams said. "This is an interdisciplinary model. We are discussing these patients individually, and one aspect affects another. It's a unique model for caring for patients. We want to improve patient outcomes and show how this model does that."

Other bullet list items are education, training, and outreach, including more interaction with the media and educating the public through tools like webinars. "One of my big initiatives for this year is really getting beyond the walls of Walter Reed," he said. "I'm excited. It's going to be a big year."

Military personnel standing with former presidents, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton
Navy Capt. (Dr.) Carlos Williams (center) with former U.S. presidents George W. Bush (left) and Bill Clinton at the graduation of the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program in 2015 (Courtesy Capt. Carlos Williams).

'Your best life'

Caring for a TBI patient is not just a one-disease process, he said. The neurological and rehabilitative aspects, for instance, go hand-in-hand with the engagement of patients' family members. And because TBI is often a life-long struggle, learning to live with one's injuries is paramount.

"Learning resiliency from them, and learning how to make this work for you, so you can achieve your best life, that's what it really boils down to," said Williams, adding that the family therapy program has really taken off in the last few years.

With TBI injuries, so many aspects of one's life are affected profoundly. Sleep, balance, cognition, hearing, and speech, to name a few. That means that everything you know as normal has changed, Williams said. It's enough to make the patient feel that they are an entirely different person. And families must adjust to the new norm as well, especially since many manifestations of TBI are behavioral in nature.

NICoE admits about six new patients a week, or 24 per month, who do intensive four-week programs, Williams explained.

Williams said he often hears that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are all but over. But that's not true, especially for someone who has yet to be diagnosed for post-traumatic stress disorder, for instance, or a head injury that has yet to be treated.

"No one wants to be taken out of the fight. No one wants to be sidelined because of injury," he said. "So they cope with it, they try to deal with it, until they can't deal with it anymore. What makes NICoE and the Intrepid Spirit Centers so unique is that we take care of you where you are."

Some service members had their first concussion 10 years ago, he explained, but they dust themselves off and keep going.

For 2021, Williams explained how the COVID-19 pandemic opened the door to tele-health, which will enable a wider group of services. "It has really and truly improved access to care."

But the big picture for this year is the network, he said. "Showing the MHS our value as a network, and not just individual entities. ... My primary objective is to make sure that people see the value of this organization and the value of caring for patients with TBI, and then codifying this network of Spirit Centers. I want it to be known."

Williams' plans for 2021 are ambitious, but he realizes that TBI is a tricky field.

"It's not like a surgery," he said. "You have to rely on the patient (to communicate). It's about 'How do I feel?' I can't go in and surgically repair a TBI. Not in this case. These are psychological wounds of war. Some of them have physical implications to them, too, and we fix those and work with those. But the challenge is, how to you access these outcomes?

"We want to see patient outcomes. They went back to a job. They got a promotion. They stayed in the military longer. Those are the stories that make us know that what we do matters."

You also may be interested in...

Neuroendocrine Dysfunction Following Concussion/Mild TBI Provider Fact Sheet

Fact Sheet
9/14/2022

The Neuroendocrine Dysfunction Following Concussion/Mild TBI Provider Fact Sheet, developed by TBICoE, is a one page document that gives primary care managers (PCMs) an overview of neuroendocrine dysfunction (NED) that can occur after concussion, or mild TBI. It highlights conditions with overlapping symptoms, screening and treatment considerations, risk factors, and referral guidance for suspected NED.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | TBI Provider Resources

2022 (Q1) DOD Worldwide Numbers for TBI

Report
8/24/2022

TBICoE is the Defense Department’s office of responsibility for tracking traumatic brain injury data in the U.S. military. Here you’ll find data on the number of active-duty service members—anywhere U.S. forces are located—with a first-time TBI diagnosis in the first quarter of calendar year 2022.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | TBICoE Research | TBI Educators

2000-2022 (Q1) DOD Worldwide Numbers for TBI

Report
8/24/2022

TBICoE is the Defense Department’s office of responsibility for tracking traumatic brain injury data in the U.S. military. Here you’ll find data on the number of active-duty service members—anywhere U.S. forces are located—with a first-time TBI diagnosis from calendar year 2000 through the first quarter of 2022. The data is also broken down by each branch of the armed services.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | TBICoE Research | TBI Educators

DOD TBI Worldwide Numbers At-A-Glance

Publication
8/24/2022

TBICoE is the Defense Department’s office of responsibility for tracking traumatic brain injury data in the U.S. military. The "DOD TBI Numbers At-A-Glance" provide a high level overview of TBI's sustained since 2000 and also show the data by severity and service branch.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | DOD TBI Worldwide Numbers

Interview with the SEAC: TBI from a Joint Perspective

Video
7/18/2022
Picking Your Brian Podcast. Interview with the SEAC: TBI from a Joint Staff Perspective

In this episode of Picking Your Brain, Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence Branch Chief Capt. Scott Cota and clinical moderator Amanda Gano interview the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (SEAC), Ramón Colón-López. The discussion covers the health impacts of TBI and blast-related concussion stemming from the demands of combat and training. The SEAC also addresses the importance of maintaining medical readiness through education and military leadership. Listen to more Picking Your Brain episodes at www.health.mil/TBIPodcasts, on DVIDS, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | TBICoE Podcasts | TBI Provider Resources | TBI Patient and Family Resources | TBI Educators | Centers of Excellence

Protecting Your Hearing and Vision is a Personal Readiness Mission

Article
6/14/2022
Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Dominique Campbell drives a forklift on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during a vertical replenishment. She is wearing proper hearing and vision protection.

Experts from the Centers of Excellence help advance research to diagnose and treat diseases and conditions that affect military personnel and their families.

Recommended Content:

Centers of Excellence

Talking to Your Child about TBI: A Guide for Caregivers of Service Members and Veterans

Fact Sheet
6/8/2022

This TBICoE fact sheet includes age-appropriate strategies adults can use to speak with children about traumatic brain injury—or concussion. It also includes tips on how to help kids cope with changes that impact the family unit.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | TBI Patient and Family Resources | TBI Educators

Addressing Family Needs: A Guide for Caregivers of Service Members and Veterans

Fact Sheet
6/8/2022

This TBICoE fact sheet includes ways to build stronger family ties and develop coping strategies for challenges the family may experience after a loved one sustains a concussion—or TBI—such as substance misuse, psychological and emotional trauma, and financial changes.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | TBI Patient and Family Resources | TBI Educators

Taking Care of Yourself: A Guide for Caregivers of Service Members and Veterans

Fact Sheet
6/8/2022

This TBICoE fact sheet is directed towards caregivers and provides self-care strategies to avoid caregiver burnout and fatigue when caring for a loved one who has sustained a traumatic brain injury.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | TBI Patient and Family Resources | TBI Educators | Psychological Health Center of Excellence

Intimacy and Sexuality Following TBI: A Guide for Caregivers of Service Members and Veterans

Fact Sheet
6/8/2022

This TBICoE fact sheet provides caregivers and those diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury—or concussion— with information for addressing intimacy and sexuality concerns following injury. It includes information on how TBI can affect sexual functioning and behavior, and tips on improving intimacy after a brain injury.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | TBI Patient and Family Resources | TBI Educators

Returning Home After TBI: A Guide for Caregivers of Service Members and Veterans

Fact Sheet
6/8/2022

This TBICoE fact sheet shares information and adaptation tips when a loved one diagnosed with a TBI—or concussion—returns home. It includes hot topics such as driving following TBI and ways to avoid a second traumatic brain injury.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | TBI Patient and Family Resources | TBI Educators

Cancer Patients Discuss Experiences During DOD Moonshot 2 Initiative Roundtable

Article
5/17/2022
The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) hosted a Department of Defense Cancer Moonshot Roundtable, “A Conversation on Cancer Health Equity and Military-relevant Environmental Exposures,” on May 4. (Photo: Courtesy of Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)

On May 4, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) hosted the Department of Defense Cancer Moonshot Roundtable as part of a day-long series of agency events sponsored by the White House Cancer Moonshot initiative.

Recommended Content:

Centers of Excellence | Cancer Moonshot

Neuroimaging Following Mild TBI Clinical Recommendation

Publication
5/16/2022

This TBICoE clinical recommendation allows primary care managers to make an informed, evidenced-based decision regarding whether or not imaging is indicated following a concussion/mild TBI.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | TBI Provider Resources

DOD Cancer Research Program Aims to 'End Cancer as We Know It Today'

Article
5/3/2022
Dr. Craig Shriver is leading a renewed DOD/DHA effort to significantly expand cancer research and save lives through personalized medical treatments using proteogenomics. Shriver is director of the John P. Murtha Cancer Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and professor of surgery at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. (Photo: Bernard Little, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center)

DOD/DHA to greatly expand Military Health System cancer research, with a roundtable on the effort slated for May 4.

Recommended Content:

Centers of Excellence | Women's Health | Cervical Cancer | Ovarian Cancer | Cancer Moonshot

New Centers Will Deliver Advanced Care for Serious Eye Injuries

Article
4/27/2022
Army Brig. Gen. Katherine Simonson, Defense Health Agency Deputy Assistant Director of the Research and Engineering Directorate, and Dr. Barclay Butler, Assistant Director for Management, DHA, talks with Army Lt. Col. Samantha Rodgers, Ophthalmology chief (left), during a tour and designation ceremony April 19 at the Ocular Trauma Center – San Antonio Region, Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The designation ceremony marked the launch of DHA’s first Ocular Trauma Center, comprised of personnel from Brooke Army Medical Center and the 59th Medical Group. (Photo: Larine H. Barr, DOD)

The Defense Health Agency launched the first of four Ocular Trauma Centers, which will become primary hubs for the treatment of complex eye injuries and development of cutting-edge research programs.

Recommended Content:

Centers of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Vision Center of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention
<< < 1 2 3 4 5  ... > >> 
Showing results 46 - 60 Page 4 of 20
Refine your search
Last Updated: December 28, 2022
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery