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...

Be a Brain Warrior: Protect. Treat. Optimize.

Video
3/17/2023
Be a Brain Warrior: Protect. Treat. Optimize.

The Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence is championing the theme 'Be a Brain Warrior: Protect, Treat, Optimize' during Brain Injury Awareness Month. The theme showcases the idea that service members, veterans, healthcare providers, caregivers, family members, and advocates can be warriors for brain health. Visit health.mil/BIAMonth to learn more.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | Be a Brain Warrior: Protect. Treat. Optimize.

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps: “Ask for Help” for TBI

Article
3/16/2023
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps: “Ask for Help” for TBI

Concussions and TBIs are a significant health issue which affect service members and veterans during times of both peace and war. Between 2000-2023, there were a total of 468,424 first-time cases of TBI in the military worldwide, with just over 80% being considered mild TBI.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | Be a Brain Warrior: Protect. Treat. Optimize.

Blast Overpressure Research Brings NATO Group to DHHQ

Article
12/13/2022
Military personnel fire mortar rounds

DOD and NATO experts recently met to continue their work on warfighter brain health to protect soldiers from the overblast pressure of their weaponry.

Recommended Content:

Research & Innovation | Brain Injury Awareness | Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence

More Inclusive Research Key to Understanding Prevalence of Dementia

Article
12/7/2022
Animated image of brain

Dementia and its most common form, Alzheimer’s disease, are cognitive disorders that affect more women than men. Although there are various theories on why, more equitable research is needed.

Recommended Content:

Women's Health | Psychological Fitness | Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence

DHA's E Caregiver Directory Puts Resources at Your Fingertips

Article
11/30/2022
Woman on left stretching her husband's left arm and right leg

Caregivers now have needed resources at their fingertips on their mobile phones, tablets, and computers.

Recommended Content:

Brain Injury Awareness | Mental Health: Seeking Care with TRICARE | Suicide Prevention | Warrior Care | Mental Health is Health Care

DOD Brain Health Initiative is at Work Across the Military

Article
11/17/2022
Two hands holding damaged wearable blast mesurement gauges from a study on blast pressure exposure.

From enlistment to retirement, the brain health of service members is being checked. See why the results are creating new action plans for the DOD.

Recommended Content:

Brain Injury Awareness

Healthy Sleep Following Concussion/mTBI Fact Sheet

Fact Sheet
11/16/2022

Getting restful sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your health, and it often takes thoughtful preparation during the day. This fact sheet offers service members and veterans who experience sleep disturbances after a concussion with healthy sleep tips that can likely improve sleep.

Recommended Content:

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

2022 (Q2) DOD Worldwide Numbers for TBI

Report
11/9/2022

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 calendar year 2022 through the second quarter. The data is also broken down by each branch of the armed services.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | DOD TBI Worldwide Numbers | TBI Provider Resources | TBI Educators | TBICoE Research | Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division

2000-2022 Q2 DOD Worldwide Numbers for TBI

Report
11/9/2022

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 second quarter of 2022. The data is also broken down by each branch of the armed services.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | DOD TBI Worldwide Numbers | TBI Provider Resources | TBI Educators | TBICoE Research | Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division

2021 DOD Worldwide Numbers for TBI

Report
2/8/2023

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 2021. The data is also broken down by each branch of the armed services.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | TBI Educators | TBI Provider Resources | DOD TBI Worldwide Numbers

Groundbreaking Study on Trauma-related Sleep Disorder

Article
10/17/2022
Airman with elecronic trackers on his head seen in profile for a sleep disorder study on TSD.

Army researchers publish an important new study on Trauma-associated Sleep Disorder, or TSD.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | Sleep

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence FAQs

FAQs
10/4/2022

The Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence FAQs provides answers to questions we are regularly asked about the organization and its mission.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence

Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy

FAQs
10/4/2022

The complexity of the brain and brain injuries has led to questions about the nature of cognitive rehabilitation therapy and its availability to service members who have sustained TBIs.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence

Top U.S. Military Enlisted Leader Shares Experience of Stigma Surrounding TBI

Article
9/30/2022
A man wearing headphones in front of his computer

Recovery after brain injury keeps warfighters mission-ready.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence

On National Concussion Awareness Day, Learn the Truth about TBI

Article
9/16/2022
A mountain biker wearing a helmet bikes through hard terrain.

Separate the myths and truths around TBI

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence
<< < 1 2 3 4 5  ... > >> 
Showing results 1 - 15 Page 1 of 18
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