News
Neuromuscular & Rehabilitation Associates of Northern Michigan Physician Voted as one of the Area's Best Doctors
Peers acknowledge Dr. Ball as top in his fieldTraverse City, May 14, 2008 - Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine featured the areas best doctors in their June issue. The magazine announced the area’s best doctors in each field. Dr. Richard Ball, from Neuromuscular & Rehabilitation Associates of Northern Michigan, has been selected by his peers as one of those physicians.
Dr. Ball received his B.S. and M.A. from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. He earned his Ph.D. and his M.D. at the University of Michigan, where he also completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation. He is a frequent contributor to scientific journals, and a lecturer at national meetings. In addition to being board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Electrodiagnostic Medicine and Pain Management, he is a member of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine as well as the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He has been with Neuromuscular & Rehabilitation Associates of Northern Michigan for 20 years.
Neuromuscular & Rehabilitation Associates of Northern Michigan is located at 3988 West Royal Drive in Traverse City. Visit tc-rehab.com for more information or call 231.935.0860 or 800.770.8109.
Local Physician Donates Services to Mission Hospitals in Africa
Dr. Kimberly Augenstein Spent Three Weeks in Kenya and ZambiaTraverse City, March 25, 2007 - Dr. Kimberly Augenstein, a physician with Neuromuscular and Rehabilitation Associates of Northern Michigan, recently spent three weeks in Africa as a volunteer for CURE International, which has started six pediatric rehabilitation/orthopaedic hospitals since 1998. Dr. Augenstein is a specialist in pediatric rehabilitation, spasticity management, electrodiagnosis and inpatient rehabilitation.
Pediatric rehabilitation doctors are rare in this program, and non-existent in sub-Saharan Africa, but Dr. Augenstein has donated her services for 3-8 weeks almost every year since 1999, working mainly with CURE International and World Medical Mission to set up and upgrade comprehensive rehabilitation programs for children with neurological disabilities. On this trip she and a team that included Julie Smith, RN, and Virginia Nelson, M.D., as well as her daughter, worked with the AIC CURE International Hospital in Kijabe, Kenya to upgrade a comprehensive rehabilitation program for children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. She also treated young patients and helped to educate nurses, parents, clinical officers and physiotherapists. Dr. Augenstein assisted in the inception of this program in 1999. Since then, it has grown into a model for comprehensive rehabilitation care in an African mission context.
Her second stop was the Beit Trust CURE International Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. "Zambia was of particular interest to me, because this hospital is introducing a pediatric neurosurgical program headed by the first fully qualified Zambian neurosurgeon," says Dr. Augenstein. "In Sub-Saharan Africa, disabilities have traditionally been looked on as a curse for some wrongdoing. This program gives us great potential for changing traditional attitudes and improving the quality of life for children and families affected by disability."
Every time she travels to Africa - thanks to the support of many local businesses, churches, schools and professional colleagues - Dr. Augenstein is able to take along a shipment of medical supplies ranging from catheters to wheelchairs. "The teams at the mission hospitals have taken what we and other volunteers have been able to give them and teach them and have used it in difficult circumstances to grow more excellent programs than I ever could have dreamed of," she says.
Dr. Augenstein encourages anyone who might be interested in helping in this effort to check out the websites www.curinternational.com and www.bethanykids.org.
Neuromuscular & Rehabilitation Associates of Northern Michigan is located at 3988 West Royal Drive in Traverse City. For more information, call 231.935.0860 or 800.770.8109.
