Barbara Koval, CPNP
Barbara grew up near the beach on the Gulf Coast of Florida. After receiving her BSN degree from Jacksonville University in 1998, she started her RN career working in a Level 1 trauma center in the PICU and a stepdown trauma unit at Florida University Medical Center’s Jacksonville location. Barbara moved to Atlanta in 1999 and worked in the Emergency Room at Egleston while attending graduate school at Emory University. In 2001, she received her Masters in the Science of Nursing and a Certification in Pediatric Primary Care. Barbara worked with a private Physicians group called Pediatric Emergency Medical Associates (PEMA) in the Emergency Room at both Scottish Rite (CHOA) and Gwinnett Medical Center, gaining valuable experience working closely with seasoned doctors that had been working in the ER for 20+ years.
By 2013, Barbara’s family had grown to the point that she wanted to move out of the ER and into Primary Care. She had the opportunity to join the Piedmont Pediatrics group in Atlanta’s Buckhead area. Barbara was fortunate again to work with extremely brilliant physicians and PNP’s, who expanded on her ER experience by teaching her the fundamentals of outstanding pediatric primary care. During her time there, Barbara found that she particularly enjoyed working with newborns and first-time parents, helping them navigate those hectic initial months and years. She realized one way to make a positive impact with families like this was to become a certified lactation specialist. After completing her certification, Barbara started the practice’s first lactation program and was able to help many parents overcome the obstacles that may have prevented them from successfully breastfeeding their newborn. In addition to newborns, Barbara also enjoys working with school-age children who struggle with mental health illness. She likes to convey to her patients that this is treatable and help them formulate a plan to best manage their symptoms.
Barbara lives in East Cobb with her husband and 3 kids who are in elementary and middle school. She enjoys traveling, exercising, and playing tennis. However, most weekends she can usually be found on the lacrosse fields cheering for her kiddos!
After 21 years in pediatrics, Barbara is thrilled to bring her experience to East Cobb Pediatrics, helping families that live in and around the same community as her family!
