Sept. 27, 2010 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging celebrated its 10-year anniversary with several events over the weekend. 

The institute is marking 10 years of achievement this month, including national recognition for its work. The anniversary is being celebrated in conjunction with the start of construction on the 55,000-square-foot expansion of the Reynolds Institute.

The existing 101,000 square-foot Reynolds Institute on Aging was made possible by a $29.7 million investment by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. Last year, the Reynolds Foundation honored UAMS and the work of the institute by donating $30.4 million to build the four-floor expansion.

“In the past 10 years, the Reynolds Institute on Aging has benefited thousands of older Arkansans and it has earned a national reputation for its clinical, research and educational programs,” said Reynolds Institute Director Jeanne Wei, M.D., Ph.D. “Patients seek us out and keep coming back because they receive wonderful care from a multidisciplinary team of geriatric experts.”

Wei, who also serves as chairman of the Reynolds Department of Geriatrics at UAMS, said the start of construction this month marks the beginning of another fruitful 10 years on behalf of older Arkansans.

“By the year 2020, there will be more people age 80 and older than newborns,” Wei said. “We must be prepared to care for them.”

The weekend’s activities concluded Sunday evening with the Golden Stethoscope Awards dinner. The Golden Stethoscope is the institute’s highest honor, recognizing those who gave at least $1 million to the Reynolds Institute on Aging during the past 10 years. The honorees are: Dillard’s Department Stores, Golden Living (formerly Beverly Enterprises), Inglewood Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lyon Jr., Martha W. Murphy, The Murphy Foundation, Ottenheimer Brothers Foundation, Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, Schmieding Foundation Inc., Jackson T. Stephens (in memoriam), and the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation Inc.

Other activities were:

• A reception on Friday to honor the artists, friends and patrons featured in the Cooper Communities Inc. art collection at the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. The Reynolds Institute on Aging art collection is one of the largest on the UAMS campus.
• The Ageless Health Fair on Saturday to educate guests on healthy aging and to provide screenings on balance, vision, hearing and how to navigate the Medicare system. Thirty-minute workshops were offered on nutrition, fitness, caring for the caregiver and Alzheimer’s disease.
• The Hot Dogs, Hard Hats and Hogs Street Party adjacent to the Reynolds Institute on Aging. Attendees enjoyed great food and music by the band The GroanUps.