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Centers for Children Brings Neurologic Services to NW Arkansas with Addition of Dr. Tonya Balmakund

Publication Date: Wednesday, September 24, 2008

(LOWELL, Ark.) Sept. 24, 2008 – Children in Northwest Arkansas now have the advantage of nearby neurologic care with the addition of those services at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences/Arkansas Children’s Hospital (UAMS/ACH) Centers for Children.
Tonya Balmakund, MD, recently joined the Centers, providing daily, on-site treatment. She will hold clinic at the Lowell facility four days each week. Pediatric EEG services also now are offered and are interpreted within 24 hours.

“This clinic will provide much needed neurologic care to the children in this area,” said Balmakund, who is an associate professor of Pediatrics and Neurology in the UAMS College of Medicine. “Having access to pediatric neurologists and EEG with rapid interpretation will allow the pediatricians in the area to have prompt consultation for their patients.”

An Arkansas native, Balmakund comes to the Centers for Children from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She holds a medical degree from UAMS. Before moving to Cincinnati, Balmakund served as the academic coordinator of the Pediatric Neurology Division at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, where she had earlier served her residency. She also has been on numerous medical mission team trips to Honduras. Balmakund can interpret American Sign Language.

Northwest Arkansas families that have children who need neurologic care have long been required to drive to Little Rock for continued treatment. As gas prices rise, these trips have become more of a hardship. 

“Many of these kids have physical conditions that make travel challenging at best,” Balmakund said. “The neurology clinic at the Centers will give them the advantage of staying close to home. I look forward to working with these families, many of whom I am sure I will remember from my past practice at ACH years ago.”

The UAMS/ACH Centers for Children brings pediatric subspecialty health care closer to families in Northwest Arkansas with clinics and follow-up medical care. Currently, 14 subspecialty services are offered at the facility, including pulmonology, cardiology, neurology and endocrinology.

The Centers for Children in Lowell is part of a statewide working collaborative between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Department of Pediatrics and Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) to enhance and expand regional pediatric subspecialty clinics across Arkansas. The Center houses the Schmieding Developmental Center and Schmieding KIDS FIRST programs. For more information, visit www.centersforchildren.org.

*Editor’s note:  High-res photo attached

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