Herbert G. Markley, MD, FAAN, FAHS, Director is a Board certified neurologist and full-time headache specialist. He graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins, McGill (Montreal Neurological Institute) and the University of Colorado. He is an Affiliate and former Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is also board-certified in Headache Medicine. Dr. Markley is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. As a founding member of the Headache Cooperative of New England he has served as the Treasurer and Vice-President and is a Member of the Board of Directors. Dr. Markley has served as the Co-Director of Education for The American Association for the Study of Headache. He is a Fellow of the American Headache Society and a member of the National Headache Foundation, International Headache Society and the World Cervicogenic Headache Society.
His research activities include clinical trials of new drugs for headache management and the development of new and innovative treatments for chronic headache, including surgical procedures and electrical neurostimulation. He has been selected three times for "The Best Doctors in America." Other awards include the Glaxo "Migraine Pioneer" award for initial clinical trials on Imitrex. He has consulted for such pharmaceutical companies as Merck Laboratories, AstraZeneca, Abbott, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Ortho McNeil, Novartis, Johnson and Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, St. Jude Medical and Advanced Bionics. He serves on Advisory Boards and Speakers' Bureaus of some of these companies
Carolyn A. Benson APRN,BC, Nurse Practitioner, is a nationally board-certified Advanced Nurse Practitioner with extensive experience in headache diagnosis, treatment and management. Ms. Benson works independantly in our Center as a headache provider. After recieving her Degree from University of Massachusetts and practiced there eventually specializing in headache. She has been in practice for over 15 years.
In addition to clinical practice, Ms. Benson has participated in many research trials. She has been an invited speaker at professional education events.
Dianna Gubber-Markley BSM, CRC, Certified Gerontologist is the co-founder and Administrator of the New England Regional Headache Center, member of the Massachusetts Group of Medical Managers Association, American Association of Procedural Coder. She managed the receivables for large multi specialty group practices. Her knowledge of Massachusetts third-party payer requirements and collection and credit laws, ICD-9, CPT Coding is an asset to the center. She was a national trainer of educators, governors and other officials of medical legal issues, patient relations/rights and disability regulations. As the Clinical Trial Coordinator and Manager for clinical trials at NERHC, Inc. her activities as the budget administrator and clinical trial coordinator have been with various trials of new treatment for headache management. Three times in "Who’s Who " in Leading Business Professionals.
Deborah Clark, CMA,CRC, is our head Clinical Trial Coordinator.
Edith Gubber, LPN, is our Triage and Procedure Nurse.
Vladimir Shvets and Karen Whittier are our Medical Billing Specialists.
Our Receptionists and are always willing to assist you.
Affiliated Staff:
Larry Z. Lockerman, D.D.S., is a dentist with special expertise in the treatment of facial pain, snoring and TMJ problems. Dr. Lockerman has extensive experience in treating headache sufferers. Dr. Lockerman is also a member of the American Headache Society.
Referrals: We may make referrals to many multi-disciplinary specialists throughout Greater Worcester County including alternative healthcare practitioners.
Goals of Therapy
Our therapeutic goals are to minimize the number and intensity of your headaches while simultaneously minimizing the side effects of medications. Most patients do improve, and even complete cessation of all headaches is possible. We work with you toward the goal of returning you to work or to full activity even if headaches are not completely controlled. For some patients, improvement is not possible even with daily medications. We provide continued supportive care for such individuals, and also offer trials of therapy with new drugs or medical devices when they become available. We also are participating in nationwide trials of new medications and medical devices not available to the general public, and these experimental protocols may offer hope for improvement for some patients. We do not utilize narcotic analgesics for treatment and actively work to discontinue them in all patients referred to us.
For Your First Appointment: Your first appointment will consist of a thorough diagnostic interview and examination. Your initial diagnosis will be discussed at its conclussion. Together we will design and individualize treatment programs for you, to include prevention of further attacks and approaches to manage an acute headahe. Bring your insurance cards, referral from your Primary Care Physician (if required), completed headache diaries, medication bottles, MRI’s or x-ray reports and copies of any and all previous medical records about headache or other relevant medical reports. This includes doctors' progress notes, discharge summaries from hospitalizations, pharmacy printouts for the last several years and the like. The more detail you can provide about past treatments that did not work, the more we can help you now.
Complete the new patient packet paperwork found in the downlowdable forms.
Please arrive at least 15 minutes early for registration.
The initial appointment lasts at least 80 minutes, so plan your day accordingly.
Insurances: New England Regional Headache Center participates in most insurance plans and will assist you in filing your claim. ANY CHARGES NOT COVERED WILL BE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.
Payment is due at the time of your appointment for services not covered by your insurance.
For your convenience, NERHC, Inc. accepts MC, VISA, DEBIT Cards, checks and cash.
Please understand that we take your migraines seriously. If you do not confirm your appointment with the receptionist your appointment time will be given to another patient who has been also been waiting to be seen, and a letter will be sent to your PCP letting him/her that you have missed this scheduled appointment. It is our goal to coordinate your health care delivery with all parties involved.
Emergencies/After hour calls: During regular office hours(Monday-Friday 8:30-5) call the office for emergency heaadache issues. For headache emergencies outside of office hours call the office number and he answering service ill contact the provider on call or go to the nearest hospital Emergency Room. Many insurance plans require that you contact your Primary Care Physician to secure approval before you can visit the Emergency Room. Once in the Emergency Room, your care becomes the responsibility of the ER team, who will select whatever medication seems appropriate to them. Please ask the Emergency Room staff to send a copy of the ER record to your Headache Center clinician.
The New England Regional Headache Center, Inc., is a multispecialty center dedicated to helping patients with intractable headaches and migraine disorders. Herbert G. Markley, M.D., is a neurologist who specializes in the treatment of headaches and migraines. 
