UAMS Centers on Aging
Developed by the Reynolds Institute at UAMS, the UAMS Centers on Aging has developed eight satellite Centers on Aging throughout the state. No other state in the country has a similar network of health care and educational services for seniors. Through these Centers on Aging, every older adult in Arkansas can reach quality health care in less than 60 minutes. Educational programs are available for older Arkansans, their families, students, health care professionals and the general public in nearly every county in the state.
The UAMS Centers on Aging was born through partnerships with UAMS’s Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), statewide Area Agencies on Aging, local and regional hospitals, local colleges and universities, and communities. Some funding for the UAMS Centers on Aging is provided through Arkansas’ share of the national tobacco settlement – Arkansas is the only state in the union that chose to use the settlement monies to improve the state’s health.
The mission of the UAMS Centers on Aging is to improve health outcomes of older Arkansans through interdisciplinary clinical care and innovative educational programs. An additional focus of the program is to influence health policy at the state and national levels with an emphasis on the needs of rural older adults.
Schmieding Home Caregiver Training Program
In 2009, the UAMS Centers on Aging (program received a $3,015,565 grant from the Reynolds Foundation funding the replication of the Schmieding Home Caregiver Training Program. Between 2009 and 2012, sites were established in Jonesboro, Pine Bluff, Texarkana and West Memphis. In 2012 the Reynolds foundation gave the UAMS Centers on Aging an additional grant of $7.9 million to continue the initial programs and to add sites in Ft. Smith, Little Rock and El Dorado. All eight programs will be up and running by October 2013. The Schmieding Home Caregiver Training Program provides education and skills training to individuals caring for older adults in the home. The program originated in Northwest Arkansas and was made possible because of the generosity of Lawrence H. Schmieding who foresaw the need for quality trained home caregivers and education of family members. More information can be found on the Schmieding Home Caregiver Training program website.