Getinet Abebe Kassa, MD

I was born and raised in Ethiopia where there were few medical facilities and medical personnel. As a child, I saw what a huge difference the local doctors and nurses made for me and my little sister when we got sick. I was fascinated by science in general, and medicine in particular, since my first encounter with those local doctors and nurses.

I chose neurology as a specialty long after finishing medical school and after working as a general practitioner for a few years, but my interest in the field was there since my teenage years. It is a challenging field with some continuing unknowns, and sometimes it’s like solving a complex puzzle or a crime. We have come a long way in the last couple of decades in terms of better understanding acute and chronic neurologic conditions and in finding new treatments and prevention methods.

I see patients who are referred by their primary care providers or other specialists when there is a concern for all sorts of neurologic conditions, such as headaches (be it acute or chronic), stroke, seizures, memory loss, visual disturbances, tremor, nerve pain, and balance and coordination problems.

I read and interpret EEGs, including ambulatory and long-term video EEGs. I also do Botox injection procedures for chronic migraines.

Based on feedback I’ve received from my patients, I have great listening skills that makes people feel relieved and at ease. I give patients adequate time during each visit because it is my priority that I get a clear idea of why a patient came to the visit to better help them.

I believe that every individual is unique, and treatment approaches should be individualized as much as possible. There is no one size fits all approach.

I am board certified in Neurology and Epilepsy by the American board of psychiatry and neurology, and I am a member of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society.

When I’m not caring for patients or keeping up on the latest neurological research, I like spending time with my family. I like playing chess and watching movies. I speak Amharic fluently which is a language spoken by people of Ethiopian origin and some Eritreans.