APRIL 11, 2002 | The Schmieding Center for Senior Health and Education, a satellite of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), opened in a new facility in Springdale, Ark., Tuesday.

The center’s name honors Lawrence H. Schmieding, who donated $15 million for its creation. Mr. Schmieding’s desire to establish the center stemmed from difficulty he had locating caregivers to assist his gravely ill brother who wished to remain at home.

“Mr. Schmieding chooses carefully the programs he supports and defines his interests as bettering the lives of the youngest and the oldest – those who are least able to take care of themselves,” David A. Lipschitz, M.D, Ph.D., director of the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging at UAMS, said.  “His legacy of kindness is one that will be appreciated by many generations of Arkansans.”

The center is a satellite of the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging at UAMS. The university plans six more satellite centers for senior health and education around Arkansas.

The new Schmieding Center (SCSHE) includes a clinical wing with 14 specially equipped examination rooms, an x-ray suite, a mammography suite, osteoporosis diagnostic equipment, a minor procedure suite, and an outpatient rehabilitation area with a fitness center and therapy pool. An educational wing is home to a resource library for professionals and the public, a simulated apartment for caregiver training, a multi-purpose conference room, and a 124-seat auditorium with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment. The interior of the attractive building features a natural wood decor and a spacious lobby.
 
“Everything is designed with the senior patient in mind,” Larry D. Wright, M.D., FACP, medical director of the Schmieding Center and Senior Health Services at Northwest Health System, explained. 

“We have exam tables that raise and lower, floor-level scales, and facilities that simulate in-home situations to train caregivers.  Even the colors in the center were chosen based on research which indicated what colors help prevent older adults from falling,” Randy Shinn, M.D., one of three fellowship-trained geriatricians on the SCSHE staff, said.

The architectural firm of Polk-Stanley-Yeary of Little Rock designed the building. Heckathorn General Contractors of Fayetteville handled construction.

A collaboration of the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging and the Northwest Arkansas Area Health Education Center, another UAMS program, the Schmieding Center began in July 1999 in temporary quarters with Dr. Shinn as its only trained geriatrician. While the new facility was under construction, Northwest Health System provided the SCSHE’s outpatient care. Two additional trained geriatricians have since joined the Northwest Senior Health and Schmieding Center staff. They are Scott Simmons, M.D., and Maria Judit, M.D. In addition, Stephen Gemmell, Ph.D., a geriatric neuropsychologist, has developed the area’s only Memory Disorder Center at the center.

The center’s mission is to improve the quality of life for older adults and their families in Northwest Arkansas through education and patient care.  A portion of the Schmieding Foundation gift was used to build the 27,500 square-foot facility and to develop and maintain the educational program.