Local Volunteer Aims to Increase Dementia Awareness

By David Robinson

The AGEC is hosting a virtual ‘Dementia Friends’ Information Session on January 12th and is looking for community members to join in learning about dementia and helping people who are living with it in our area. Dementia Friends of Arkansas, the Arkansas State Library and the Central Arkansas Library System are collaborating with the AGEC for this event.

Dementia Friends is a global initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia. It aims to transform the way people think, talk and act about the disease. The Dementia Friends session helps participants learn about dementia and the small ways they can help. From telling friends about the program to visiting someone people living with dementia, every action counts. Over 58,000 Arkansans are living with Alzheimer’s disease.

The one-hour session will take place on Zoom at noon.

Anyone interested in attending the Dementia Friends Session can join the Zoom session with this link: https://bit.ly/34Vfhur.

The AGEC is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program grant #U1QHP28723.

UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven 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 and Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise including its hospital, regional clinics and clinics it operates or staffs in cooperation with other providers. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. U.S. News & World Report named UAMS Medical Center the state’s Best Hospital; ranked its ear, nose and throat program among the top 50 nationwide; and named six areas as high performing — COPD, colon cancer surgery, heart failure, hip replacement, knee replacement and lung cancer surgery. UAMS has 2,876 students, 898 medical residents and four dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.