AGEC Partners
Existing geriatrics initiatives in Arkansas serve as a platform on which to build new projects and expand and improve the educational opportunities for practicing health professionals, faculty, and students who will be the next generation of providers.
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC),
Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS)
The GRECC has been a leader in geriatric education in Arkansas since its founding in 1977 and has earned a national reputation for sponsoring quality continuing education (CE) programs on geriatrics/gerontology topics, with a particular focus on nutrition and aging. The GRECC sponsors 3 major conferences annually, including Geriatric Medicine Update (February), Best Practices in the Continuum of Care (April), and Nutrition & Aging (September).
The GRECC has supported traineeships in nursing, occupational therapy, and pharmacy since 1984. In 1998, a unique traineeship in geriatric nutrition for registration eligible dietitians was awarded to the Little Rock GRECC. The GRECC has also provided team training workshops for health practitioners at all 10 Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 16 facilities, including Arkansas (2), Louisiana (3), Oklahoma (2), Mississippi (2), and Houston.
The Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System has a sophisticated continuum of health care for elderly veterans including acute care, a geriatric consult service, rehab care, transitional care, outpatient clinics, long term care, contract nursing homes, hospital based home care, medical foster homes, and palliative care. The CAVHS funds 4 geriatric fellowship positions and provides rotations for medical residents on the geriatric wards.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)
UAMS, a campus of the University of Arkansas (UA), includes the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions, and Public Health, as well as the Graduate School. UAMS is the only institution in the UA system that provides professional and graduate education in the health and biomedical sciences, has the only medical school in Arkansas, and maintains strong ties with the GRECC and the CAVHS.
Donald W. Reynolds (DWR) Institute on Aging and Department of Geriatrics
In 1996, UAMS received a major grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to establish an Institute on Aging that would include a clinical Department of Geriatrics.
The Reynolds Institute on Aging (RIOA) sponsors an outpatient clinic, an acute care consult service, several nursing home medical directorships, a house calls program, and the 7 rural centers on aging.
Arkansas State University
The Arkansas State University (ASU) campus occupies 800 acres in Jonesboro, located in the northeast corner of Arkansas. ASU was one of the four original state agricultural schools established in 1909. It has 5 branch campuses located in Beebe, Mountain Home, Heber Spring, Paragould and Newport. Additionally, ASU offers a variety of courses and degree programs on a number of community college campuses throughout Arkansas. It is classified as a regional comprehensive university and offers associate, baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degree programs.
ASU is a key partner in the development of the Northeast Arkansas Center on Aging (Arkansas Aging Initiative) and the 400 contracted clinical affiliation sites that positively impact the operational capacity of the College’s programs. The collaboration between ASU and UAMS through the AGEC has been successful since its inception in 2002.
University of Central Arkansas
Established in 1907, the University of Central Arkansas (UCA), located in Conway, has experienced significant growth and change in the past three years with a surge in enrollments crossing a threshold of 12,300 students, including 1800 graduate students.
UCA seeks to deliver excellence in undergraduate education in Arkansas as well as in several graduate programs. The University offers a variety of undergraduate and graduate programs in liberal and fine arts, in the basic sciences, and in technical and professional fields in addition to its historical emphasis in the field of education.
UCA will be a new partner in the Arkansas GEC consortium. The College of Health & Behavioral Sciences will be the specific collaborator and is the home of Nursing, Dietetics, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Pathology, and Psychology programs.