UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Northwest Partner to Provide Free Puberty Education to Teen Girls in Northwest Arkansas
| FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Arkansas Children’s Northwest will present Girlology, an educational program for tween and teen girls to learn about health and social topics they may experience during adolescence, on Sept. 17.
Held from 2-4:30 p.m. at the Schmieding Center for Senior Health & Education, 2422 N. Thompson St. in Springdale, the event is for girls ages 8-14, accompanied by a parent or other caregiver.
Girlology’s Something New About You program will be facilitated by UAMS physicians from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology — Nirvana Manning, M.D., professor and chair; Laura Hollenbach, M.D., associate professor; and Kathryn Stambough, M.D., assistant professor in the department’s Division of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Hollenbach and Stambough also see patients at Arkansas Children’s campuses in Springdale and Little Rock.
The Girlology program aims to help teen girls face puberty with additional knowledge, resources and confidence. Girls attending the program will learn about:
- Growth and development
- Bras and bra shopping
- Hygiene and hair management
- Nutrition and growth
- Menstruation and menstrual hygiene
- Respect for themselves and others
- Moods and emotions
- Internet safety and curiosity
The program is being offered for free Sept. 17. Spaces are limited, and registration is required. For more information and to register, visit uamshealth.com/girlology/.
“We’re so excited to bring the Girlology program to Northwest Arkansas,” said Nicole Bedard, associate director of community programs at UAMS Office of Community Health & Research. “We know puberty can be difficult, and Girlology provides teen girls and their guardians with the information, support and tools to understand what they may be experiencing in their bodies and lives.”
The UAMS Northwest Regional Campus includes 307 medical, pharmacy, nursing and health professions students, 66 medical and pharmacy residents, two sports medicine fellows, and 1,000 community-based faculty. The campus has nine clinics including a student-led clinic, orthopedics and sports medicine, and physical, occupational and speech therapy. Faculty conduct research to reduce health disparities.
ABOUT ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S
Arkansas Children’s is the only healthcare system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas’ more than 700,000 children. 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 — all focused on fulfilling a promise to define and deliver unprecedented child health. 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 (ACS); the state’s only magnetoencephalography (MEG) system for neurosurgical planning and cutting-edge research; and the state’s only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Arkansas Children’s is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in seven pediatric subspecialties (2023—2024): Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Nephrology, Orthopedics, Pulmonology and Urology. Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the Northwest Arkansas region, is a level IV pediatric trauma center. 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 deliver on its promise of unprecedented child health. 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; a 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. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,240 students, 913 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.