JUNE 2001

Table of Contents

Arkansas Children's Hospital

Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) is the pediatric teaching affiliate for UAMS and the home of the Department of Pediatrics of the UAMS College of Medicine. The facility also contains the pediatric component of the Departments of Anesthesiology, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Otolaryngology, Pathology, Psychiatry, Radiology, Surgery and Urology. UAMS physicians care for 98 percent of the patients at ACH.

Arkansas Children's Hospital is the only pediatric hospital in Arkansas and is among the ten largest pediatric hospitals in the nation treating patients from birth to 21 years of age. It is a freestanding, not-for-profit facility. Its highly acclaimed Burn Center treats persons of all ages.

For the year ended June 30, 2000, there were nearly 200,000 admissions and patient visits to Arkansas Children's Hospital with patients from every county in Arkansas – 43 percent were from outside Pulaski County.

ACH offers a state-of-the-art intensive care transportation system to bring critically ill newborns and children from referring hospitals. With the availability of two helicopters, three transport ambulances, and fixed-wing aircraft, critically ill children from every county in the state have ready access to high quality pediatric health care.

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at ACH is the largest neonatal unit in the state and one of the most advanced in the region. While very low birth weight babies make up the largest number of infants admitted to the NICU, the unit is also equipped to care for full-term infants with medical or surgical problems. Last year more than 1,000 babies were admitted to the NICU through regional hospitals in Arkansas. The great majority (about 80%) of the babies in the NICU at ACH came from outside Pulaski County.

Community outreach programs at ACH have reflected the hospital's emphasis on reaching children and adults throughout Arkansas with informative health education programs relating to child safety, wellness and prevention.

Health and Safety

Classroom presentations about basic health and safety were presented to children in grades K through five. Last year, 69 sites were visited with 405 presentations made to 15,165 children in 33 Arkansas counties.

Burn Prevention Education

Led by a nurse from the ACH Burn Center, 7^th and 8^th grade science students learned about initial treatment for burns, fire safety and burn prevention. Burn treatment education programs were provided for adult audiences such as health-care workers and firefighters. 143 sites were visited and 390 presentations made to 10,714 children and adults in 45 counties across the state.

Fire Safety Houses

The mobile fire safety houses teach children about smoke detectors, checking doors, two-ways-out and the importance of not hiding during a fire. In addition to the fire safety house based at ACH, other houses are also located at Walnut Ridge, Rogers, Camden and McGehee. 37,058 children at 108 sites in 30 Arkansas counties received instruction at the five fire houses last year.

Child Passenger Safety

ACH and the Arkansas Safe Kids Coalition promoted child passenger safety in the state by sponsoring educational classes, community-wide checkpoints and phone consultations for concerned parents, grandparents, daycare workers and other caregivers. 1,332 total car seats were checked and 127 individuals certified as car seat technologists. The coalition sponsored 28 car seat safety checkpoints and offered 28 educational training classes throughout 14 counties last year.

ACH sponsors an active Speakers Bureau and participates in health fairs and other events related to children's health. Last year, staff distributed 243,093 educational materials to persons all across the state.

© 2001 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Division of Institutional Advancement
4301 W. Markham St., Slot 716
Little Rock, AR 72205
501-686-8200

08/15/06