Public Invited to Autism Town Hall Aug. 9, Walk Kickoff
| July 25, 2016 | The public is invited to a town hall featuring clinical and community outreach and education programs on autism and a kickoff of the 2016 Autism Speaks Walk from 4-5:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is holding the event in conjunction with the Arkansas Autism Treatment Network, Autism Speaks and Arkansas Children’s Hospital. The event is for parents, clinicians and the community.
Ed Buckner, chief meteorologist with KTHV Channel 11, will emcee. The event will be in Arkansas Children’s Hospital Chairman’s Hall, S1161-1 Sturgis Building. Participants are asked to RSVP at Events.AutismSpeaks.org/ARKickoff2016. Space is limited.
UAMS’ James L. Dennis developmental Center is one of the national sites for the Autism Treatment Network, which is a collaboration of Autism Speaks and children’s hospitals and academic institutions specializing in treating autism.
The Autism Speaks Walk is the world’s largest awareness and fundraising event for autism. The Arkansas event is at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 1 at the Clinton Presidential Center. The 2016 goal is to raise $115,500 to support research and treatment programs. More information is available at AutismSpeaksWalk.org.
In addition to the kickoff, the event will feature poster exhibits highlighting clinical and community outreach and education projects of the Arkansas Autism Treatment Network site and its community partners. There will be a series of short presentations that feature key programs projected to enhance ways children with autism and their families can access services.
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a northwest Arkansas regional campus; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,021 students, 789 medical residents and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS regional centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.
Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) is the only pediatric medical center in Arkansas and one of the largest in the United States serving children from birth to age 21. Over the past century, ACH has grown from a small orphanage in Little Rock to a statewide network of care that includes an expansive pediatric teaching hospital and research institute, as well as regional clinics in several counties. ACH also reaches children across the state and nation through a range of telemedicine capabilities that ensures every child has access to the best care available, regardless of location or resources. The hospital’s campus in Little Rock spans 36 city blocks and is licensed for 359 beds. ACH has a staff of 505 physicians, more than 200 residents in pediatrics and pediatric specialties and more than 4,000 employees. A campus under development in northwest Arkansas will bring 233,613 square feet of inpatient beds, clinic rooms and diagnostic services to children in that region of the state. A private nonprofit, ACH boasts an internationally renowned reputation for medical breakthroughs and intensive treatments, unique surgical procedures and forward-thinking research — all dedicated to fulfilling its mission of championing children by making them better today and healthier tomorrow. For more info, visit archildrens.org.