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News from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
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UAMS
Opens Aging Center in El Dorado
OCT. 15, 2001 | The
South Arkansas Center on Aging, a partnership program
of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
(UAMS), opened Thurs., Oct. 11, in El Dorado to serve
older adults and train caregivers for senior citizens.
The new center is a partnership of the Donald W.
Reynolds Center
on Aging at UAMS; South Arkansas Area
Health Education Center, a regional program of
UAMS; Medical Center of South Arkansas; and the City
of El Dorado. The center will provide blends
of services for older adults and training and
resources for caregivers.
A
delegation of UAMS administrators participated in the
grand opening: UAMS Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson,
M.D.; David Lipschitz, M.D., Ph.D., director of the
Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging; Claudia Beverly,
R.N., Ph.D., director of the Arkansas Aging Initiative
and associate director of the Donald W. Reynolds
Center on Aging; Allan Pirnique, M.D., SACOA executive
director; Charles Cranford, D.D.S., M.P.A., UAMS vice
chancellor for regional programs and director of the
Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Program; and
Sherrel F. Johnson, interim vice chancellor for
institutional advancement. Steve Smart, M.D., chairman
of the board of the Medical
Center of South Arkansas (MCSA), and Martha
Murphy, co-chair of the SACOA Funding Committee, also
participated.
“A New Day Is Dawning for Seniors” was the theme
of the dedication ceremony.
Northwest
Elementary School students Nathan Davis, Tonetta
McDuffie, Kevin Roscoe and Adriana Villegas and
Resource Officer Eric Price led the audience in the
Pledge of Allegiance to begin the program, and the El
Dorado Barber Shop Quartet, comprised of Michael Odom,
Dr. Allan Pirnique, Ray Scroggs, and Mark Southall,
sang the “Star Spangled Banner.” Mayor Mike Dumas
introduced podium guests and other officials.
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Pete Caroll, M.D., former
director of the South Arkansas AHEC, Elizabeth Pruet of
El Dorado, and Chancellor Dodd Wilson celebrated at the
grand opening of the South Arkansas Center on Aging Oct.
11.
Left to right: Luther Lewis,
Martha Murphy, David Lipschitz, Elizabeth Pruet,
Chancellor Dodd Wilson and
Mayor Mike Dumas.
Billie Riley (101) cut a
ceremonial ribbon to open the center with the help of
students from Northwest Elementary School in El Dorado.
El Dorado Barbershop Quartet
led the crowd in singing “The Star Spangled Banner.”
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Mayor Dumas stressed the
importance of the SACOA and re-emphasized the city’s
partnership in the project. Dr. Smart highlighted the MCSA’s
involvement with the project and praised the medical center,
MCSA’s CEO Luther Lewis and AHEC for their leadership.
He said, “The medical community embraces this center on
aging.”
Dr. Lipschitz, a renowned geriatrician whose vision was
instrumental to the development of regional centers on aging in
Arkansas, discussed the “aging experience” and its effect on
Arkansas’s population. He stressed the importance that the
Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging at UAMS has on health care in
the state and thanked the people of El Dorado and south Arkansas
for showing UAMS how to achieve success through community-wide
cooperation.
UAMS Chancellor Dodd Wilson explained the use of part of
Arkansas’s share of the nationwide tobacco settlement to
support the new center. He emphasized the center’s strong
connection to UAMS.
Dr. Allan Pirnique introduced the SACOA staff and praised UAMS
for its leadership role in developing the South Arkansas
facility. “Our goal for the South Arkansas Center on Aging is
to improve patient care and education for a seven-county service
area in South Arkansas,” he said.
“We plan to work closely with communities, educational
institutions, and health-related and other service organizations
to provide centralized access, information and assistance with
services. Truly, ‘a new day is dawning for seniors’ in South
Arkansas.”
In conclusion, Martha Murphy expressed gratitude for
participants’ dedicated attention to the project and
encouraged everyone to embrace the importance of partnership.
Flanked by podium guests, Billie Riley, a 101-year old El Dorado
resident, cut the ceremonial ribbon to officially dedicate the
new facility. Ms. Riley said she was honored to participate in
the formal dedication, noting that she was “one of the first
patients at the South Arkansas Center on Aging” when the
Center began caring for patients on September 17.
The programs offered through this facility ensure that the
quality of life for older adults is greatly improved through
access to a state-of-the-art health clinic, educational
classrooms and resource center. South Arkansas counties served by the new Center on Aging
include Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Columbia, Dallas, Ouachita and
Union.
Dr. Claudia Beverly chaired a steering committee that was formed
in 1999 and which laid the groundwork for the Center’s
creation. “This committee continues to provide strong leadership,”
she said “We can
all be very proud of the efforts of this fine committee.”
Members of the steering committee include Carol Cobb, Elise
Drake, Mayor Mike Dumas, Sherrel Johnson, Luther Lewis, Martha
Murphy, Doug Owens, M.D., Elizabeth Pruet, Lucy Ring, James
Sheppard, M.D., Dr. Steve Smart, David Sneed, Linda Stringfellow,
and Knox White.
Links on This Page
Center on Aging: http://centeronaging.uams.edu/
Area Health Education Center: http://www.uams.edu/ahec/AHEC22.HTM
City of El Dorado: http://www.boomtown.org/
Medical Center of South Arkansas: http://www.mcsaeldo.com/
© 2001
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). A single
copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial
personal use only. “UAMS,” “UAMS Medical Center,”
“UAMS Online,” “UAMS Today,” “uams.edu,” and
“Here’s to Your Health” are marks of UAMS.
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10/16/01 |
