Welcome from the Chief
Section Chief Jill Fussell, M.D., with PMR faculty Fernando Vargas, M.D., Vikki Stefans, M.D., and Esther Thomkins, M.D. (ret.)
Welcome to the Division of Pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR)! My name is Jill Fussell and I am a Professor of Developmental Pediatrics. I have been the Section Chief for both Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) and PMR since 2018. In response to a clear need to expand services for the children of Arkansas and surrounding areas, leadership at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s (AC) are committed to supporting the development of an independent section for Pediatric PMR. We are currently conducting a national search for a section chief to join other hospital and departmental leaders, to build a robust Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation service.
The UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Spinal Cord Team
Our PMR specialists work diligently to provide evidence-based evaluation and treatment, and are committed to improving services for our population of patients and families across the state and region. We help children achieve their highest level of independence, connect families with support and services needed to get there, and help mitigate the interferences to that trajectory of progress. Our PMR physicians provide inpatient consultation across pediatric medical teams, and collaboratively coordinate multidisciplinary care for children and adolescents needing inpatient PMR services, In addition to providing follow up care after discharge of these patients, we provide other outpatient care, such as spasticity management and evaluation and management of concussive injuries.
UAMS and AC are very invested in growing our peds PMR program to one of regional excellence, and that earns us national recognition. It is an exciting time! Please contact me, if you want to learn more about where we are headed.
Sincerely,
Jill J. Fussell, MD
Chief, DBP and pediatric PM&R
Harvey and Bernice Jones Endowed Chair of Developmental Pediatrics
Professor of Pediatrics