Pinnacle Pointe Hospital Congratulates ‘Big Sister of the Year’ Kimberly Claud

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — (May 13, 2010) — Pinnacle Pointe Hospital proudly congratulates Kimberly Claud for being named Arkansas’ “Big Sister of the Year” by Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS). Claud, a therapeutic recreational specialist at Pinnacle Pointe, was first nominated by Anna Button, Claud’s match support specialist, and received support from her “little sister” and the faculty at her little sister’s school through BBBS of Central Arkansas. Claud was then later selected by a panel of directors for the organization as this year’s statewide recipient.

Claud and her little sister were matched about two years ago when Claud first decided to start volunteering with BBBS of Central Arkansas. For Claud, involvement in BBBS seemed only natural for her, as she already provides physical and social activities for her patients at Pinnacle Pointe, a Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. (PSI) behavioral health facility, to help them learn coping skills through teambuilding exercises. Through the BBBS site-based program, Claud was matched with a third grader at a nearby elementary school who needed extra assistance to read at an age-appropriate level.

Over the course of the last two years, Claud has visited her little sister’s school on a weekly basis to talk and read books together. Two years later and now in the fourth grade, Claud’s little sister has advanced from a first-grade reading level to a fourth-grade reading level highly in part to the pair’s weekly reading sessions. In addition to reading together, Claud supports her little sister by chaperoning class fieldtrips and regularly attending her church choir performances.

“These past two years have been as much of a learning experience for me as they have been for my little sister,” said Claud. “When I get caught up in the day-to-day things, it is refreshing and inspiring to realize how much you can make someone else’s day brighter by doing something as simple as reading a story or bringing them lunch. For me, it really puts everything in perspective.

“I am honored to receive this award, but I don’t consider my involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters as volunteering anymore—spending time with my little sister has become my lifestyle, my everyday routine.”

Claud’s BBBS experience will be entered along with the other states’ “Big Sister of the Year” recipients for selection of a national “Big Sister of the Year,” though the overarching emphasis is on creating lasting relationships between big and little sisters. Competition or not, Claud has a large number of supporters who will sing her praises.

“Kimberly Claud absolutely exemplifies the impact a big sister can have on the life of a little sister. She understands that some children just need that extra bit of attention or an extra nudge in the right direction in order to succeed in life, and Kim has given that to her little sister through hard work and dedication,” said Anna Button, the site-based specialist for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas responsible for paring Claud with her little sister. “Kimberly has earned the award of ‘Big Sister of the Year’ without a doubt, and others can really learn from her inspiring example.”

About Pinnacle Pointe Hospital
Pinnacle Pointe Hospital, founded in 1991, provides quality psychiatric and chemical dependency acute services for children and adolescents ages 5 to 17. The 124-bed facility provides acute (short term), residential (longer term) and school-based outpatient services to its patients. Pinnacle Pointe focuses on individualized treatment and early intervention in order for the child to achieve optimum results and an expedient return to family and school. For more information, visit www.pinnaclepointemediapsi.com

About Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. (PSI)
Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. offers an extensive continuum of behavioral health programs to critically ill children, adolescents and adults and is the largest operator of owned or leased freestanding psychiatric inpatient facilities with more than 11,000 beds in 32 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. PSI also manages freestanding psychiatric inpatient facilities for government agencies and psychiatric inpatient units within medical/surgical hospitals owned by others. For more information, please visit www.psychiatricsolutionsmedia.com

Jennifer June
(o) 615-780-3316
(c) 615-419-8000
jennifer.june@dvl.com

Kristin Hampel
(o) 615-780-3365
(c) 615-275-7926
kristin.hampel@dvl.com

209 Seventh Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37219

This release was published on openPR.