LITTLE ROCK, AR. (Oct. 2, 2019) – Northeast Arkansas children with heart defects now have a full-time cardiologist dedicated to their care at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) Jonesboro Clinic, with appointments offered daily.

Sam Lee, MD, is an associate professor of Pediatrics in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine who will begin seeing patients at Arkansas Children’s Hospital Jonesboro Clinic, located at 520 Carson Street.

Dr. Lee most recently served as a full-time pediatric cardiologist at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University. He now works full time at Arkansas Children’s Hospital Jonesboro Clinic, where he will soon see patients every day of the week in a clinic offering nationally recognized heart care drawing on the latest advancements in technology.

A graduate of the Medical College of Georgia, Lee joined Children’s Hospital of Richmond in 2005. He has since served as director of the hospital’s exercise physiology lab, and has treated children in the inpatient and outpatient settings as a board-certified pediatric cardiologist.

“Children with heart problems need the expertise of a pediatric cardiologist, and now they’ll have more opportunities to seek that care right where they live, learn and play through the ACH Jonesboro Clinic,” said Paul Seib, MD, chief of Cardiology at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and an associate professor of Cardiology in the UAMS College of Medicine. “With Dr. Lee’s expertise, we’ll be able to help even more Northeast Arkansas children have healthy and happy hearts.”

Arkansas Children’s Hospital Jonesboro Clinic, recently expanded its pediatric subspecialty care offerings. The expansion of services was made possible through a generous gift of $750,000 from Arkansas Children’s Foundation Board Member Kim Fowler and her husband Chris Fowler, president of Fowler Foods, Inc. The funds were used to purchase the building that houses the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Jonesboro Clinic, and renovate the 8,000 square-foot facility to expand services, including additional clinic space, as well as space for speech, audiology, physical and occupational therapy.

Arkansas Children’s Hospital Jonesboro Clinic has 18 subspecialties, saving approximately 700,000 minutes of patient travel time to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock each year. Northeast Arkansas has the third largest concentration of children in the state with approximately 36 children per square mile. More than 99,000 children live in the Northeast Arkansas region.

Families can make appointments through a referring physician or by calling 870-336-2175.

About Arkansas Children’s

Arkansas Children's, Inc. is the only healthcare system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas' 710,000 children, giving the organization a unique ability to shape the landscape of pediatric care in Arkansas and transform the health of children throughout the region. The private, non-profit organization includes two pediatric hospitals, a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, and many education and outreach programs.

Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) is a 336-bed, Magnet-recognized facility in Little Rock operating the state’s only Level I pediatric trauma center; the state's only burn center; the state's only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric intensive care unit; the state’s only pediatric surgery program with Level 1 verification from the American College of Surgeons; and the state's only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Additionally, ACH is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in five pediatric subspecialties (2019-2020): Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics and Pulmonology. Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the Northwest Arkansas region, opened in Springdale in early 2018. ACNW operates a 24-bed inpatient unit; a surgical unit with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering over 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and Northwest Arkansas' only pediatric emergency department, equipped with 30 exam rooms. Generous philanthropic and volunteer engagement has sustained Arkansas Children's since it began as an orphanage in 1912, and today ensures the system can fundamentally transform the health of children in Arkansas and beyond. To learn more, visit archildrens.org.

About UAMS

UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute and Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise including its hospital, regional clinics and clinics it operates or staffs in cooperation with other providers. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. U.S. News & World Report named UAMS Medical Center the state’s Best Hospital; ranked its ear, nose and throat program among the top 50 nationwide; and named six areas as high performing — cancer, colon cancer surgery, heart failure, hip replacement, knee replacement and lung cancer surgery. UAMS has 2,727 students, 870 medical residents and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.

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