Event Offers Caregivers, Health Care Providers Opportunity to Experience Symptoms of Dementia
| LITTLE ROCK – The Schmieding Home Caregiver Training Program of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging in Little Rock will host an event to simulate the symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia on Thursday, May 5.
“The Alzheimer’s/Dementia Experience: Take a Walk in Their Shoes” will be held 9 a.m. to noon at the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, located at 629 Jack Stephens Drive. The experience takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. Call 501-526-6500 or email rahoward@uams.edu to make an appointment.
The event will simulate symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, including loss of hearing, vision, sensory nerves, fine motor skills and onset of arthritis and neuropathy. The goal of the event is to increase awareness of the physical challenges and sensory disorders common in persons with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia so that caregivers and health care providers can become more empathetic with those individuals. This will thus enable them to provide care and living environments that are more sensitive and suitable for these individuals.
This program is sponsored by the Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative (AGEC), the Health Resources and Services Administration-funded Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program. The AGEC improves the quality of care for older adults through education by offering programs for health professionals, first responders, family caregivers and direct care workers.
The UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging serves the needs of an aging generation with the highest standards of research and care. It was established through a 1997 gift of $28.8 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and expanded through a 2009 foundation gift of $33.4 million. Within the institute is the Arkansas Aging Initiative (AAI), created from part of Arkansas’ share of the Master Tobacco Settlement to improve the health of older Arkansans through interdisciplinary clinical care and innovative education programs, and to influence state and national health policy. The AAI created seven Centers on Aging throughout the state to provide senior adults access to quality care within a 60-mile drive from their homes. These centers offer the Schmieding Home Caregiver Training Program so older adults might have more opportunities to remain at home.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.
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