Adolescent and Sports Medicine
The Adolescent and Sports Medicine Section at ACH is unique as the FIRST and
ONLY SERVICE FOR TEENS IN THE REGION providing:
- Full-time Primary and Tertiary Consultative care for virtually all adolescent
conditions, by an expert multidisciplinary team, in a free standing Adolescent
Center.
- The only integrated Mental health service for adolescents integrating Psycho-Social-Medical
care under one roof.
- Comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of Eating Disorders, delivered in
the ACH Specialty Clinic on Financial parkway.
- Developmentally appropriate Sports Medicine care through the Adolescent
Center and Sports Medicine PLUS; reaching out to 12 area schools with "no
charge" team physician and athletic training services for over 14 years.
Over 75% of the Pediatric residents graduate with sports medicine training
& experience (unusual in Peds).
- The only Adolescent Diabetes and Insulin Resistance clinical service.
- Rounded educational experiences for students, interns and residents of many
disciplines in comprehensive adolescent care.
Allergy/Immunology
- Only pediatric immunology program in Arkansas with complete lab, clinical
evaluation and care
- Performed first twin to twin bone marrow transplantation to boost severe
combined immune deficiency (SCID) transplant
Asthma
- Only multidisciplinary program in pediatric asthma in Arkansas
Burns
- Only dedicated Burn Center in the state treating adults and children
- Only clinic specifically dedicated to burn would care and rehabilitation
- Only program in Arkansas to offer burn prevention and treatment classes
taught by burn nurses and physicians
- Only hospital in Arkansas to offer Advanced Burn Life Support training
- Only hospital in Arkansas with appointed American Burn Association Committee
members
Cardiology
- Only hospital in the state performing pediatric heart transplants
- Only pediatric electrophysiologist in Arkansas
- One of the first hospitals to be involved in testing the Angel Wings procedure
for repairing holes in the heart
Diagnostics/Laboratory
- First and only Cytogenetics Laboratory in Arkansas
- Only full service Virology Laboratory in Arkansas
ECMO
- Only pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) center in Arkansas.
ECMO is a treatment that uses mechanical devices to supply oxygenated blood
to the body when the body is incapable of performing the task
Endocrine/Diabetes
- Only clinic specializing in growth hormone treatment in Arkansas
- Only pediatric insulin pump program in Arkansas for children with diabetes
- Only clinic specializing in education, treatment and long-term care of
children with Type I and Type II diabetes
- Only program in Arkansas that has board certified or board eligible Pediatric
Endocrinologists to care for children and adolescents with diabetes or endocrine
disorders
- Only program in Arkansas that trains physicians to become Pediatric Endocrinologists
- Only source in Arkansas providing specialized care to children born with
congenital hypothyroidism
Genetics
- Only clinical geneticist in Arkansas
- Only clinical biochemical geneticist in Arkansas
- Only pediatric genetics counselor in Arkansas
- Only laboratory in Arkansas performing definitive testing for inborn errors
of metabolism
Infectious Disease
- Only pediatric Infectious Disease physicians in Arkansas
Nephrology/Kidneys
- Only pediatric dialysis unit in Arkansas
- Only pediatric renal transplant center in Arkansas
- Only pediatric hypertension program in Arkansas
Neonatology
- 24 hour a day, seven day a week, in-house neonatology attending coverage
- The 53 bassinet unit is staffed with a 2/1 nursing ratio, with up to 24
nurses working each shift
- Only NICU in the state of Arkansas with ECMO capabilities
- Only NICU to participate in the “Head-Cooling for the Treatment of
Perinatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy” study and the new Continuation
Access Protocol.
- Beds and equipment are arranged in six-unit pods where there is a noticeable
reduction in the bright lights and noise levels. Other facilities include
a lactation room and five multi-purpose rooms that can be used for teaching
homecare or mother-child bonding.
- Dr. Sunny Anand, as guest editor for a recent issue of Seminars in Perinatology,
compiled a series of articles from various researchers, including himself,
on the subject of pain management for children up to age 18 months. Dr. Anand
is a recognized world leader in pain management in children. This just-published
research tells how to determine pain and intensity in a newborn and how to
deal with it. Until recently, it was commonly believed that newborns did not
feel pain, or felt it only minimally. That has now been proven untrue.
Neuroscience/Brain
- Only pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit and comprehensive pediatric epilepsy
program in Arkansas
- The neurosciences center of excellence is particularly outstanding in its
groundbreaking work with neuromuscular problems such as cerebral palsy.
- Only pediatric vagal nerve stimulator program in Arkansas
- Only pediatric baclofen pump program in Arkansas
- Only pediatric spasticity and movement disabilities program in Arkansas
- Dr. May Griebel has overseen the State’s first two surgically implanted
Vagal Nerve Stimulators for epilepsy. The pre-programmed stimulator sends
periodic, brief electrical charges to the brain via attachment to a nerve
in the neck. This stops or lessens the intensity of severe seizures. ACH is
one of a handful of test sites for the device, sometimes referred to as a
"pacemaker for the brain
- Only ketogenic diet program in Arkansas
- Only pediatric neurophysiology lab in Arkansas
- Only pediatric neuromuscular clinic in Arkansas
- Only pediatric headache clinic in Arkansas
- Only pediatric multi-disciplinary brain tumor clinic in Arkansas
- Only multi-disciplinary craniofacial clinic in Arkansas
- Only pediatric multi-disciplinary neurospine clinic in Arkansas
Oncology/Cancer
- The oncology program is a full-member institution with the national network
of children’s hospitals called Pediatric Oncology Group (POG). This
group meets regularly to share information on children’s cancer and
standardize treatment protocols for each different kind. There are approximately
100 member institutions nationwide. This means that the patients receive the
same treatment given at all the leading children’s cancer institutions
in the nation. For example, ACH does the new stem-cell transplant which involves
giving the patient’s own pre-harvested and frozen, healthy blood cells
back to him/her after intense chemotherapy. This precludes the need for anti-rejection
drugs and can lead to a patient’s full recovery.
Orthopedics
- Dr. James Aronson is the recognized leading practitioner of the Ilizarov
bone-lengthening technique in the United States. He is one of only a half-dozen
orthopedic surgeons in America who are truly accomplished in this procedure.
He studied this unique method of lengthening short limbs from the developer
of the process, Professor G.A. Ilizarov in Siberia in the 1980s and was the
first to bring it to this country. It is a complex procedure involving the
severing of bones and attachment of external metal fixators (braces) to stretch
them as they heal.
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (Reynolds PICU)
- State of the art medical technology
- 22 private patient rooms that include daybeds to accommodate a parent who
wishes to stay at their child’s bedside
- Each patient room is equipped for ventilator support, dialysis treatment
and controlled airflow that minimizes the spread of airborne infections.
- 4 private isolation rooms
- 2 private multi-purpose suites
- 4-bed semi-private observation area
- Family waiting area amenities include lockers, private telephone booths,
consultation rooms, laundry facilities, sleeper chairs, a kitchenette and
a lactation room for nursing mothers
Pharmacology
- Only pediatric pharmacologists/toxicologists in Arkansas
Pulmonary/Lung
- The ACH Pulmonary Department was chosen by the national Muscular Dystrophy
Association to be featured in a video produced for the Muscular Dystrophy
Telethon hosted by Jerry Lewis. The video describes new methods of assisted
breathing of Muscular Dystrophy patients, especially during sleep. The association
cited ACH as being of the three best hospitals in America in this area.
Rehabilitation/Physical Therapy
- Only pediatric rehabilitation unit in Arkansas
- Only pediatric medicine and rehabilitation physician in Arkansas
- First children's hospital in the nation to install a hydraulic therapy
pool
Research
- Houses one of only two pediatric nutrition centers in the United States,
and the only center in the U.S. conducting research on the effects of early
dietary intervention on the prevention of chronic illnesses
Rheumatology
- Only pediatric rheumatologists in Arkansas
Radiology
- ACH has the only pediatric bone densitometer in the state, it is used for
monitoring the effects of long-term medication in Cystic Fibrosis patients
- The radiology team discovered and now teaches a method of screening sickle-cell
patients for risk of stroke. Stroke is one of the worst side effects of the
disease that predominately strikes African Americans. The risk of strokes
can be lessened by blood transfusion if the at-risk patients can be identified.
Previously this required an MRI and other procedures, but the ACH team has
found a way to accomplish it using a simple ultrasound to examine the blood
vessels in the neck that supply the brain with blood. We hold seminars to
teach the method to other health care providers from around the United States.
ACH is treating approximately 450 sickle cell outpatients at any given time.
Sleep Disorders Center
- ACH has the only accredited sleep lab in the state, and is one of only
6 pediatric hospitals in the nation to receive full-service accreditation
from the American Sleep Disorders Association.
- The pediatric Sleep Disorders Center provides comprehensive evaluation,
diagnosis, testing, treatment and follow-up for a wide spectrum of sleep-related
disorders in children and adolescents. The center offers state-of-the-art
technology designed to evaluate sleep physiology.
Miscellaneous
- Beginning in October 2001, ACH began a new animal assisted therapy program
called T.A.I.L.S. (Therapeutic Animal Intervention Lifts Spirits). This program
is used with patients in all areas but the Burn Center and the NICU. Through
the T.A.I.L.S. program, patients will be given opportunities for social interaction,
stress reduction, and sensory stimulation through interaction with specially
trained dogs in a hospital setting.
- March 2003 - “ICU – Arkansas Children's Hospital” (the
ABC miniseries) won a prestigious Christopher Award in the category of Television
& Cable. First presented in 1949, the Christopher Awards acknowledge that
the role of the media is unique and its influence far-reaching. The Awards
were established in accord with the principles of their parent organization
to salute media that “affirm the highest values of the human spirit.”
The Awards are noncompetitive and their goal is to encourage men, women and
children to pursue excellence in creative arenas that have the potential to
influence a mass audience positively.
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