In Arkansas, there are nearly 500,000 unpaid family caregivers, many of whom are juggling those duties along with full-time jobs and other family responsibilities. A large proportion of them are looking for help.

Through the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, the UAMS Schmieding Caregiver Training Program offers help for caregivers through specialized training for paid caregivers, workshops for those who provide care to their family members and one-on-one caregiver coaching sessions for those caring for a loved one with dementia. Our mission is to educate individuals to care for older adults in the home and allow as many people as possible to age in place. We have multiple education programs geared toward Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

The Reynolds Institute’s network of six Centers on Aging also seeks to improve the quality of life for older adults and their families in the areas they serve by providing older Arkansans with local access to specialized educational programs and clinical care.

These include exercise programs such as Tai Chi, Ageless Grace, Drums Alive, Walk with Ease and more. Also included are healthy eating, fall prevention and pain management education as well as chronic disease management programs.

With sites in Springdale, Jonesboro, Pine Bluff, Texarkana, Fort Smith and El Dorado, as well as at the Reynolds Institute on Aging in Little Rock, we offer programming around the state.

We are continually expanding services and resources to serve each community throughout our great state. I personally welcome you to join us in our mission to improve the lives of older adults.

AmyLeigh Overton-McCoy, Ph.D, GNP-BC, APRN
Director, UAMS Centers on Aging