Annual Report: About Us: Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics

	Our Mission

	Colleges and CAVHS

	Annual Report

Annual Report

HIGHLIGHTS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics of the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS):

Has achieved in five years all of the milestones in the original proposal to the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.
Has an established and well-accepted mandatory rotation for medical students. An article with details of our program was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in February 2002.
Has expanded the number of geriatricians through recruitment and training. We now have more fellowship-trained geriatricians per capita than any other state in the nation.
Has developed a robust and successful clinical program that not only provides superb patient care but also serves as an ideal laboratory for education and clinical research.
We are one of the largest clinical programs on the UAMS campus, receive high marks on customer satisfaction surveys, and have the lowest staff turnover in the system. Growth in patient numbers has been exceptional.
Is ranked 2nd in the nation in NIH funding under the category of “Other Health Related Programs” in 2001 and has experienced growth in grant support to over $50 million in the past five years. The National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health provides the largest percentage of research support to UAMS.
Is the only academic program at UAMS and in the state of Arkansas ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News and World Report.
The UAMS Medical Center was ranked 40th in the country in geriatrics by U.S. News and World Report.
Maintains a strong commitment to the state of Arkansas at large and has as one of its priorities a mandate to improve the health of every older Arkansan, no matter where they live. Thanks to support from the Tobacco Settlement and the Administration on Aging, a Center of Excellence in Geriatrics will be established in each of the seven Area Health Education Center sites across the state. Of particular importance, every major community in the state has a hospital that is establishing a senior health center. We believe that these centers will have a great impact on the health of older persons living in rural settings, will provide unique research opportunities, and will serve as a model for novel approaches to health care nationwide.
Has received additional funding of $18.25 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation that includes three years of bridging funds, and a $15 million match to provide the Department with a $30 million endowment.

Education
A major goal of the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics’ programs is to increase the number of qualified geriatricians trained to treat older persons. We have addressed this issue by developing a mandatory rotation in geriatrics for medical students. In addition, the geriatrics fellowship program has expanded, leading to an increase in the number of graduate geriatricians electing academic careers in the field and in the number of practicing geriatricians in the state. These efforts are summarized as follows:

Junior Medical Students
Developing a mandatory rotation for junior medical students was the highest priority for the new RDG. The program is fully established, stable, and well received by students. This four-week clerkship exposes students to older patients in four of five settings of care: ambulatory care clinic, transitional care unit, acute inpatient service, community nursing home, and hospice.

Geriatrics Fellows
The Geriatrics Fellowship has increased significantly in popularity. Since the grant award:

Seventeen fellows have graduated from the program.
Twelve fellows have assumed faculty positions in medical schools.
Six fellows—Mohamed Aniff, MD, Thomas Benton, MD, Burcu Ozdemir, MD, Ann Layton, MD, Osama Bishara, MD, and Bilal Malik, MD have joined the RDG as clinician educators.
Three fellows—Randy Shinn, MD, Theresa Shinn, MD, and Scott Simmons, MD—remain on the faculty as clinician educators in the Schmieding Center for Senior Health and Education in Springdale.
Twenty-six third-year residents applied for a Geriatrics Fellowship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences UAMS commencing in July 2002; five were accepted.
A Special Fellowship in Geriatrics, recently created through a Veterans Affairs (VA) grant, supports second- and third-year fellows in the clinician scientist (basic, clinical, or health services research) and clinician educator tracks. Fifteen GRECCs submitted applications for this fellowship program. The Arkansas GRECC was one of six nationwide to receive funding. Beginning in July 2002 two fellows were appointed to this prestigious position at the Central Arkansas Veterans Health Care System, Dr. Jim Bridges and Dr. Gohar Adzar.

Impact of Geriatric Training on Geriatricians in Arkansas
As a consequence of our commitment to geriatricians, we believe we now have more geriatricians per capita than anywhere in the nation. At present, there are:

Twenty-four fellowship-trained geriatricians in Little Rock.
Nine geriatricians in Northwest Arkansas.
Geriatricians—one each—in Hot Springs, Batesville, Russellville, El Dorado and Jonesboro.

Medical Residents
At all times, two internal medicine residents and one family medicine resident rotate on the UAMS geriatrics service. They spend their time in inpatient, ambulatory, home, and nursing home care.

Postgraduate Education for Physicians

Two annual postgraduate symposia on aspects of geriatrics were sponsored by the GRECC, the Arkansas Geriatric Education Center (AGEC), and the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging (RCOA).
An annual update on geriatrics for primary care providers was sponsored by the GRECC, the AGEC, and the RCOA.
The Arkansas chapter of the American Medical Directors Association held two symposia on nursing home issues.
To make the health care community aware of the programs of the RDG, a quarterly newsletter, Geriatric Rounds, is mailed to 4,000 members of the American Geriatrics Society and to the Association of Professors of Medicine, Deans of Medical Schools and Chancellors or Presidents of Medical Schools. Total circulation is over 7,000.

Interdisciplinary Education Programs
The RDG provides support for and contributes to the training of health care providers in other disciplines, including:

A 7-week mandatory rotation in the baccalaureate program in nursing.
GRECC Expansion Traineeships for graduate nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacy residents, and a postinternship registration-eligible dietitian.
A geriatric nurse practitioner track in the Masters of Nursing science program.
A geriatric nutrition track in the Masters of Science in clinical nutrition program.
Recent funding of the AGEC’s major mandate to train rural health care professionals in geriatrics. This goal is being achieved through a series of video teleconferences that are broadcast via interactive compressed video to receiver sites at the Area Health Education Centers (AHECs), the Rural Hospital Network, and independent receiver sites (colleges, community colleges, community education centers, hospitals). Video teleconferences are taped and edited and are available for distribution as VHS tapes; six tapes are currently available. A new program, Arkansas Geriatric Education Mentors and Scholars (AR-GEMS), was developed for pilot-testing in spring 2002. This program will train practicing health professionals in a concentrated didactic course with home study modules, and provide experiences in local Centers on Aging throughout Arkansas.
Interdisciplinary courses focusing on issues in aging (death and dying, communicating with older adults), which have been developed and introduced into the curriculum as electives for students in all UAMS colleges.
The AGEC’s Web site, which offers information about upcoming educational programs through a calendar and program brochure. The site has a downloadable registration page.

Educational Programs Targeting the General Public

The Senior Outlook Series covers important topics about aging and age-dependent diseases. Topics covered include diabetes, hypertension, depression, coronary artery disease, and memory loss.
The SeniorLife Program offers older adults and their families access to the most up-to-date and innovative health care information and services at UAMS. SeniorLife members receive the quarterly newsletter SeniorView, which provides useful information on aging.
The SeniorNet program, housed in the RCOA, teaches older adults the basics of computer use—for example, word processing, e-mail, and Internet skills.
In November 2001, the second 13 segments of the series “Aging Successfully with Doctor David” were filmed at AETN with generous support from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. The series has aired in virtually every PBS station in the nation and has won numerous awards including Telly (3), Aurora (1), Cine (1) and many others.
Dr. Lipschitz now writes a weekly column on aging successfully, which appears in Donrey Media newspapers nationwide.

Research
The Reynolds Department of Geriatrics has developed a number of research foci concerned primarily with studying the causes of age-related dependency (cognitive loss or physical disabilities). These research efforts may be summarized as follows:

Cellular and Molecular Biology of Aging

Sue T. Griffin, PhD, leads a large group of scientists studying the basic biology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Her group has pioneered research on the role of inflammation in the development of AD. She has also identified a number of genes that are critically important in this disorder. This past year Dr. Griffin’s NIA-sponsored project, “Early Events in Alzheimer’s Pathogenesis” was renewed for $7.2 million over 5 years.
Robert J. S. Reis, PhD, is studying the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to isolate and characterize genes governing longevity. In June 2001, Dr. Reis and his group applied to the NIA for a competitive continuation of funding for this project, for which he is the principal investigator. If funding is continued, this program will bring in an additional $10 million over 5 years. Dr. Smookler-Reis also has received a five-year Program Project from NIA, to begin fall 2002, titled “Metabolic Mechanisms Limiting and Protecting Longevity.” This grant has a total budget of approximately $10 million.
Usha Ponnappan, PhD, focuses on the effects of aging on the immune system.
Joan McEwen, PhD, is studying the effects of aging on mitochondria in yeast and other organisms. Dr. McEwen’s research concerns mechanistic links between mitochondrial metabolism and cellular oxidative and nitrosative stress. Her work is supported by a Department of Veterans Affairs Merit Review Award (“Role of Mitochondrial Metabolism in Histoplasma capsulatum Virulence,” 1999-2004). A new grant (“Mitochondrial Respiration, Oxidative Damage, and Aging”) is one of the projects of a favorably reviewed P01 application (P.I.: Robert J. S. Reis).
Beata Lecka-Czernik, PhD, is studying the role of adipogenesis and age-related alterations in fat metabolism in osteoporosis. In June 2001, she received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a researcher-initiated (R01) grant proposal to study the role of a key enzyme (PPR-g) in the formation of osteoblasts.
Charlotte Peterson, PhD, a muscle molecular biologist reported the major finding this year that the stem cells in muscles that normally repair muscle damage tend to turn into fat-like cells with age. This phenomenon may contribute to frailty and the increased fat content in muscle in the elderly. She received a major NIH grant to extend this work into humans in collaboration with Drs. Todd Trappe and Marjorie Beggs also from the Department of Geriatrics. Meanwhile, Dr. Peterson is joining forces with her colleagues Drs. Beata Lecka-Czernik, William J. Evans, W. Sue T. Griffin, who specialize in studying bones, the benefits of exercise, and Alzheimer’s disease, respectively, to investigate whether there are common factors at work in muscle loss, bone loss, and even memory loss - and if the same genes contribute to all three problems of aging. They will determine if variation in the genes that control the inflammatory response and confer risk to Alzheimer’s disease, also predict a tendency to frailty. These projects utilize state-of-the-art technology called DNA Microarrays, to study large numbers of genes simultaneously. Dr. Peterson was recently named head of the University Microarray Facility, housed in the COA. Finally, in another project funded this year by the NIH, Dr. Peterson is working with Dana Gaddy-Kurten, Ph.D., from the Department of Physiology and Drs. Esther E. Dupont-Versteegden and James Fluckey from Geriatrics, to identify mechanisms that control muscle and bone loss during disuse, specifically as it might apply to astronauts exposed to microgravity in outer space, as well as to the elderly population.
Steven W. Barger, PhD is a cellular neurobiologist who has focused largely on Alzheimer’s disease. He has an ongoing NIH grant to elaborate on his original discoveries about the biological actions of beta-amyloid precursor protein (beta-APP), a gene product that has been connected to Alzheimer’s by both biochemistry and by genetics. Beta-APP is the source of the beta-amyloid peptide that accumulates to form plaques in the Alzheimer brain. However, Dr. Barger has found that other processed derivatives of beta-APP prevalent in normal conditions are neuroprotective. In contrast, Alzheimer’s disease is associated with an alternative processing that creates derivatives that—on the balance—harm neurons through activation of localized brain inflammation. The mechanistic details of this neurotoxicity have formed the basis of a contract awarded to Dr. Barger by Guilford Pharmaceuticals. Relatedly, Dr. Barger leads a project on Dr. Sue Griffin’s Program Project Grant, aimed at providing molecular explanations for the relationship of inflammatory agents to Alzheimer’s disease; this work includes collaborations with Paul Drew, Ph.D., in the Department of Anatomy. Two years ago, Dr. Barger was honored with an award from the Neurosciences Education and Research Foundation, and these funds have been applied to a collaboration with Mark Luer, Pharm.D. (Department of Pharmacology), studying the potential clearance of beta-amyloid from the brain by a drug transporter in blood vessels. Preliminary findings from this project will form the basis of grant applications this fall. Finally, Dr. Barger continues to explore very basic aspects of gene regulation in neurons, focusing on specific transcription factor proteins, and expects to apply for competitive renewal of funding for this work this fall as well.
Esther E. Dupont-Versteegden, PhD, a muscle physiologist has been studying age-related changes in skeletal muscle mass and muscle stem cells. She has received funding from the American Federation for Aging Research and from the NIA to look at different intracellular pathways involved in age-related loss of muscle mass and the recovery from muscle atrophy after a period of disuse. Dr. Dupont-Versteegden is also part of a collaborative study, funded by the NIH, with Drs Peterson, Fluckey (Geriatrics) and Gaddy-Kurten (Physiology). In this study the effectiveness of a resistance exercise protocol is being tested under disuse conditions, similar to bed rest. Recently, Dr. Dupont-Versteegden received funding from the American Heart Association to study the transplantation of skeletal muscle stem cells into heart muscle after a cardiac infarction and is collaborating with Drs. Richard Kennedy and Russell Melchert from the Pharmaceutical Sciences department on this project.
Yuekui Li, PhD, using a microglial-neuronal coculture model, has demonstrated that a neuronal-glial interaction mediated by IL-1 directly affects the neuronal acetylcholine system. In the past year, he continued his work on understanding glial-neuronal interactions and mechanisms involved in regulation of microglial activation, which are important steps toward identification of therapeutic targets and potential development of treatment strategies for neurodegenerative conditions.
John Joseph Thaden, PhD, joined the UAMS faculty 2½ years ago upon completion of a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Robert J. S. Reis. Continuing with the Reis group, he is responsible for the creation and testing of congenic strains ¯ strains divergent at but one genetic region ¯ that differ in their longevity and stress tolerance, and for the characterization of global gene expression in animals rendered long-lived through dietary calorie restriction, or through a genetic mutation affecting signaling by an insulin-like factor.
Kodetthoor B. Udupa, PhD Research on erythroid cell stimulating factor (ESF), a factor present in the serum and involved in the proliferation of late erythroid cells, has continued over the past several years. The production of a monoclonal antibody to this factor has given a big boost to this research. This antibody not only affects the erythroid cell formation in vitro in cultures, but also suppresses erythropoietin induced erythroid cell proliferation in exhypoxic polycythemic mice. This suppression is both in a dose- as well as time-dependent manner. Hence, an inverse relationship between ESF level in the serum and erythroid cell formation exists. Purified ESF is now being sequenced and further characterized. These findings were recently presented at national meetings of the American Society of Hematology. The work is supported in part by Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Corporation and Aventis Pharmaceuticals.

Nutrition, Metabolism, and Exercise Laboratory
The research goal of the NMEL is to investigate the combined interaction of nutrition, exercise, and aging on functional status, macronutrient metabolism, and skeletal muscle function and metabolism. The clinical research programs based in this unit have already produced important findings that are being used to train physicians, other health care professionals, and the public how to greatly delay late-life dysfunction. Studies conducted in the NMEL involve both healthy and frail elderly persons. The NMEL also provides expertise and facilities to develop health-promotion and disease-prevention programs.

Bill Evans, PhD is the director of the Nutrition, Metabolism, and Exercise Laboratory in the Donald Reynolds Department of Geriatrics. His laboratory examines the relationship between exercise, nutrition and aging. His landmark studies have demonstrated the ability of older men and women to improve strength, fitness, and health through exercise, even into the 10th decade of life. He receives grant support from a variety of sources including the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Administration, and NASA. He has served as an expert advisor to NASA in a number of committees, including the Science Working Group responsible for the design of the Human Research Facility aboard the International Space Station and The Life Sciences Advisory Subcommittee. He also served at the head of the Nutrition and Exercise research group for the National Space Biomedical Institute.
Todd Trappe, PhD Dr. Trappe’s research continues to focus on the interactive effects of aging, disuse, and exercise. He has been collaborating with Dr. Charlotte Peterson on two new projects looking at the molecular basis of an individual’s adaptation to resistance exercise and the molecular basis of the change in muscle quality that occurs with aging. He has also completed a project with the European Space Agency at the MEDES bedrest facility in Toulouse, France. This study examined the effectiveness of a resistance training program and device for the International Space Station. Individuals were studied while undergoing simulated microgravity (-6° head down tilt) for 90 days. Specifically, changes in muscle strength and size, as well as muscle biopsy samples were measured in a group that did not complete any exercise and a group that completed resistance exercise regularly throughout the 90 days. Findings from these studies will be used to define the exercise countermeasures that will be prescribed for astronauts living on the ISS. Dr. Trappe also spent three months at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden on a grant from the Swedish government collaborating with scientists to develop new metholodogies to study aging and disused skeletal muscle.
Jim Fluckey, PhD, has focused on mechanisms of muscle protein turnover (plasticity), and how these mechanisms may be affected by age (sarcopenia) and/or muscle disuse (accelerated muscle atrophy). He is currently working on grants that are exploring muscle cellular signal transduction for the initiation of protein synthesis and degradation after resistance type exercises in both human and rodent models. Dr. Fluckey has an NIH K0l grant entitled “Aging and Mechanisms of Human Protein Synthesis.” This project is funded for 5 years.
Dennis Sullivan, MD, serves as principal investigator for applied clinical research initiatives of the NMEL and focuses on nutrition, muscle metabolism, and functional approach to the delivery of nutritional and rehabilitative care to frail, institutionalized elderly persons, and to maintain optimal health in the non-frail elderly. For the past 15 years, he has been funded to study the interrelationship between nutrition, physical fitness, and illness in the frail elderly. The results of this research have been published in numerous journals.
Charles Lambert, PhD, is currently supported by a NIH funded National Research Service Award to examine the effects of exercise and testosterone on skeletal muscle. He is also involved in research to examine the etiology of fatigue among cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. He is also recently submitted an RO1 NIH application to examine the influence of the Atkins diet on insulin action and body weight in older, overweight individuals.

Cognitive Impairment Research

Cornelia Beck, PhD, RN, FAAN, heads a group of researchers examining the role of disruptive behaviors in dementia and strategies for improving best practices in long-term-care settings. In addition, the UAMS Alzheimer’s Disease Center, established by a major grant from the NIH in 2001, is directed by Dr. Beck and co-directed by Sue Griffin, PhD, and Victor Henderson, MD. Other faculty from the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics play key roles, as well. The Center includes an Administrative Core, Clinical Core, Neuropathology Core, and Education Core. Like other Alzheimer’s Disease Centers nationwide, the UAMS center brings together scientists, physicians, and other health care professionals dedicated to finding causes and effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. The Alzheimer’s Disease Center seeks to assist qualified scientists by providing clinical data from healthy volunteers and older participants with dementia, as well as postmortem tissues and other biological specimens. The Center also provides pilot funding for research into Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.
Victor Henderson, MD, received funding from the national Alzheimer’s Association to evaluate memory changes during normal aging in a well-defined population of middle-age women in Melbourne, Australia. One important goal of this international collaboration is to determine whether common genetic variations, including variations related to hormones like estrogen, might play a role in memory loss that affects nearly everyone during “normal” aging. This three-year project is co-directed by Professor Lorraine Dennerstein at the University of Melbourne. Important findings have already emerged, including the demonstration that memory skills are well-maintained during the a woman’s transition through the menopause.
Sandy Pope, PhD, was recently awarded a five-year grant totaling more than $622,000 from the NIH. Her research project is “Dietary & Genetic Risk Factors for Cognitive Decline.” She has also been notified of a $100,000 grant from the Alzheimer’s Association for similar studies.

Service

The Reynolds Senior Health Center (RSHC) is the site of more than 16,000 clinic visits annually. This primary care clinic for seniors is well received and supported by the community and by University Hospital. The major goal of the RSHC is to promote functional independence in older persons. A priority is to deliver care to relatively healthy older persons in order to promote successful aging through diet, exercise, stress management, and screening. The evaluation and management of frail older persons are offered through a team of health care providers including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, and rehabilitation specialists. A major focus is the care of patients with memory loss. Approximately six new patients with this disorder are seen weekly in the RSHC. Adequate resources, including a full-time neuropsychologist, are available to meet the needs of these patients and their families.
RDG faculty staff eight nursing homes and four transitional care units.
Reed Thompson, MD, heads a hospice and palliative care program within the RDG.
The House Call Program, directed by Delbra R. Caradine, MD, was established in spring 2000 to provide in-home visits by a geriatrician to individuals who are unable to come to the clinic for care.
Clinical programs of the RDG parallel those developed at the VA Medical Center. The Little Rock GRECC initiated the concept of geriatric evaluation units and interdisciplinary teams to provide comprehensive care to older adults with complex medical histories. Currently, the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System has a complete array of clinical programs in aging. These include a geriatric primary care clinic, a 162-bed nursing home care unit (which includes a dementia unit, a geropsychiatric unit, and a transitional care unit), a hospitalwide consultation service, an inpatient geriatric evaluation and management unit, an adult day health care program, a system of monitoring patients by telephone, home-based primary care with satellite offices across the state, transitional care, inpatient respite care, a geriatric rehabilitation medicine service, and hospice services.

Outreach
Arkansas Aging Initiative
The RCOA and RDG sponsor programs that reach far beyond Central Arkansas, and remain firmly committed to improving the health and well being of older Arkansans and their families regardless where they live. It is this commitment, plus strengths in Geriatrics, that led to $2,000,000 being earmarked annually from Initiated Act One (the “Tobacco Settlement”) for development of the Arkansas Aging Initiative (AAI). The aim of the AAI is to create a network of Centers on Aging (COA) statewide that will provide improved care to older Arkansans through quality geriatric healthcare and education. The Tobacco Settlement funds are used to provide support for health care provider and general public educational programs that target older Arkansans and their families. The AAI has two primary missions:

1) To develop an infrastructure to improve health outcomes of older Arkansans through interdisciplinary clinical care and innovative education programs; and
2) To influence health policy at the state and national levels with emphasis on care of rural older adults.

To create this network, seven COAs are being established in Arkansas. These COAs are developed by the RCOA and RDG in partnership with regional AHEC programs, local/regional hospitals,and local communities. Each COA, located in an AHEC region, provides programming for that region, and includes an administrative component, an education program and a Senior Health Center.

Development and Marketing
Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging Community Advisory Board
Chaired again this year by Judy Grundfest, the RCOA Community Advisory Board consists of 35 representatives from throughout the state. The board serves as the support and advisory group for the development and marketing efforts of the RCOA’s programs. The Board Development Committee reviews nominations for membership and strives to create a membership profile that is representative of the RCOA’s constituency and is balanced with respect to sex, geography and ethnicity. Eleven new members joined the board in 2002 replacing members who had served their limit of two terms.

Development and Marketing
Carolyn McCone, MSW,CFRE serves as Director of Development and Marketing for the RCOA. Marsha Hines serves as Director of Public Relations, and Electra Ford serves as Project Program Specialist. Additional support is provided by staff of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institutional Advancement and UAMS Public Relations/Marketing. Collaborative efforts include marketing, public relations, web site assistance, special events and major proposals.

Development Business Plan
The Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics would not be able to survive and maintain our current commitment to education without continued support from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

In July 2002, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation approved a $18.25 million grant to the department. The goal of the grant is to assist the Reynolds Department of Geriatrics in establishing a permanent funding base that will assure the ongoing operation of the department. Fifteen million dollars of the grant must be matched dollar-for-dollar by the geriatrics department. The resultant $30 million fund will be used to create an endowment. The additional $3.25 million will be used for continuing operations over the next 3 years.

Until such time as the $30,000,000 endowment is reached, the Chancellor of UAMS has committed to making up the shortfall between interest earned on any raised endowment and the $1.5 million needed to allow the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics to flourish. He also committed to continuing, at a minimum, the current level of state support that the Department of Geriatrics receives annually.

All funds raised as part of the match will be used exclusively to replace the current $1.5 million received annually from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging: Physical Facility
The RCOA was formally dedicated in September 2000. It is now fully functional and nearly fully occupied. It is a truly unique facility that creates a special synergy facilitating improvements in all aspects of our mission. Highlights of the facility follow.

The educational resources include a superb auditorium named in honor of Jo Ellen Ford.
State-of-the-art telecommunication resources allow us to connect to affiliated programs throughout the state. Already conferences initiated elsewhere in the U.S. are offered in the RCOA. Conferences that we will stage will also be offered nationwide in the near future.
Telemedicine and consultation resources are available in the facility.
The Reynolds Senior Health Center is a state-of-the-art clinic focusing on the prevention of dependency. It is uniquely designed to meet the needs of an older population and to allow cohesive interdisciplinary care. The clinic invariably ranks, in surveys, as the most popular clinic on the UAMS campus. We expect to reach 18,000 clinic visits this coming year.
A student lounge, equipped with work stations and computers, is available for medical students. There is Internet access, as well as access to electronic journals through the UAMS Library Web site, to aid in medical student education.
The Ottenheimer Rehabilitation and Fitness Center promotes functional independence and is the major site for ambulatory physical and occupational therapy for older persons. It also offers the Fitness for Life Program. For $30 a month, persons age 55 years or older can use exercise equipment under the close supervision of highly trained physical therapists.
The Charles Meyer Aquatherapy Pool is extensively used for rehabilitation of patients with gait and balance problems or with back and joint pain. It is also used for aerobic exercise training.
A large area of the RCOA is devoted to health services research and the Alzheimer’s Disease and related disorders program. This fully functional area is nearly fully occupied and includes the research programs of Dr. Cornelia Beck and Dr. Victor Henderson.
One floor of the RCOA is devoted to clinical research: the Nutrition, Metabolism, and Exercise Laboratory, headed by Dr. William Evans.
One floor in the building is devoted to basic research. This area is occupied by Dr. Sue Griffin and her group studying Alzheimer’s Disease, Dr. Charlotte Peterson studying muscle, and Dr. Beata Lecka-Czernik studying the effect of aging on the ability of cells to form fat.
The administrative area on the ground floor is well-designed and fully occupied.
The Resource Library opened Fall 2001 on the ground floor of the Reynolds Center on Aging. The purpose of the library is to help clinicians, patients and the general public address the health concerns of older adults. The library has a collection of over 75 videotapes, over 135 books, plus a variety of newsletters, informational literature, and computer access. In Spring 2002, a system was put into place where individuals wishing to visit the library while accompanying a clinic patient can be notified when the patient is ready for discharge from the Reynolds Senior Health Clinic.
A unique aspect of the RCOA is its art collection, which provides the facility with its personality. Made possible in large part by a gift from Cooper Communities, this $400,000 collection represents the best work of Arkansas artists with a special emphasis on those who are older.