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Dr. Saper, MHNI recognized as a Clinical Center of Excellence by the American Pain Society

In a special ceremony on Thursday, May 6, 2010 at the Hilton in Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Joel Saper accepted the American Pain Society Clinical Center of Excellence in Pain Management award on behalf of the Michigan Headache & Neurological Institute (MHNI). The ceremony was attended by American Pain Society (APS) leadership and distinguished leaders from the pain community. MHNI is the first headache center to be recognized with this award.

The Clinical Center of Excellence award is given out annually by APS as part of the organizations ongoing effort to advance the quality of pain management in the United States. It recognizes the outstanding efforts of pain-care teams that enable patients to overcome difficult challenges.

By providing superior clinical care, MHNI has helped thousands of patients with intractable head pain disorders. For many suffering debilitating pain, MHNI offers the final hope for relief.

Dr. Saper founded the Michigan Headache & Neurological Institute, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 30 years ago. MHNI is considered one of the world's premier centers for head and neck pain management providing comprehensive care to patients suffering from headache and related painful disorders. MHNI partners with St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea (formerly Chelsea Community Hospital or CCH) for specialized and in-patient treatment. Dr. Saper and CCH developed the head pain treatment unit at CCH in 1978, forming the first hospital specialty program of its kind in the world.

The American Pain Society is a multidisciplinary community that brings together a diverse group of scientists, clinicians and other professionals to increase the knowledge of pain and transform public policy and clinical practice to reduce pain-related suffering.

The American Pain Society is a national chapter of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). Founded in 1973, IASP is the largest multidisciplinary international association in the field of pain, bringing together scientists, clinicians, health care providers, and policy makers to stimulate and support the study of pain and to translate that knowledge into improved pain relief worldwide. Currently IASP has more than 6500 individual members from over 100 countries.