A $200,000 Investment in Better Migraine Care Across North Carolina

For the hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians living with migraine and other headache disorders, finding expert care can be difficult.

Most patients with headache begin by seeing their primary care physician. Yet headache medicine receives remarkably little attention during medical training. As a result, patients are frequently referred to one of North Carolina's relatively small number of headache specialists, where wait times can stretch for months.

Carolina Headache Foundation believes that strengthening primary care is one of the most effective ways to improve access to high-quality headache care across North Carolina.

The organization's faculty of migraine specialists and family physicians brings together more than 130 years of combined experience in headache medicine. Together, they created Preparing Residents through Instruction in Migraine Education (PRIME)—an innovative curriculum that equips resident physicians with practical, evidence-based approaches to diagnosing and treating headache disorders through interactive case discussions and simulated patient encounters.

Today, Carolina Headache Foundation is honored to announce that Pfizer has awarded the organization a $200,000 Independent Medical Education Grant to expand PRIME across North Carolina. This two-year investment will strengthen the infrastructure needed to evaluate, sustain, and grow the program while representing a significant vote of confidence in this innovative approach to improving migraine care.

"Most people living with migraine receive their care in primary care practices," said Alan G. Finkel, MD, Founder of Carolina Headache Foundation. "If we can help physicians recognize headache disorders earlier and treat them with greater confidence, we can improve the lives of countless patients. That's the promise of PRIME, and why this investment is so meaningful."

The grant will enable CHF to expand PRIME to additional residency programs, strengthen program evaluation, and build the operational capacity needed to reach more primary care physicians with high-quality, evidence-based migraine education.

"This grant represents an important milestone, but it is only the beginning," said Holly Harding, Executive Director of Carolina Headache Foundation. "PRIME has already shown what's possible. This support allows us to bring the program to more residency programs across North Carolina so more physicians enter practice prepared to compassionately care for people living with headache disorders. We hope this marks the beginning of a broader commitment to strengthening headache care throughout our state."

Carolina Headache Foundation extends its sincere gratitude to Pfizer for supporting independent medical education, and to the physicians, volunteers, donors, advisors, and community partners whose early confidence and commitment helped make this milestone possible.

One resident trained today can improve care for thousands of North Carolinians over the course of a career. That's the lasting impact of PRIME.