Feb. 24, 2011 | Feb. 24, 2011 | Jane and Frank Lyon Jr., today donated $1.5 million to the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). The gift gives a significant boost toward the required matching funds for the expansion project.

“We are absolutely delighted and appreciative to receive such a visionary, generous gift from Mr. and Mrs. Lyon,” said Jeanne Wei, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Institute on Aging and chair of the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics in the UAMS College of Medicine. “Their generosity will enable us to help our senior Arkansans improve their cardiovascular health.”

The 55,000-square-foot expansion is scheduled for completion in February 2012. Construction is being funded by a $27.9 million Donald W. Reynolds Foundation gift, announced in June 2009. Under terms of the gift, the Institute on Aging can’t move into the new space until it raises $5.6 million to support programs there. With the Lyon gift, the institute moved past the halfway mark at $3.4 million.

Frank Lyon noted that his parents, Frank and Marian, and Jane’s parents, Henry and Helen Thomas, all were beneficiaries of the advanced geriatric care provided at the Reynolds Institute on Aging.

The Lyon and Thomas families’ gratitude led to a $2.5 million gift in 2007 that established the Thomas and Lyon Longevity Clinic.

“The Reynolds Institute on Aging has been invaluable to the quality of life for our family,” Lyon said. “It is my hope that the tremendous care, research and education that it provides will continue to expand on behalf of all Arkansans. We see this donation today as an investment toward that goal.”

Wei, whose medical specialty is geriatrics and cardiovascular disease, said it was fitting that the announcement was made in February, American Heart Month.

“This is truly a gift from the hearts of grateful Arkansans that will support important heart research specifically for aging Arkansans,” Wei said.

She said there are significant differences in the cardiovascular systems of older adults, and treatments must be adapted to their unique physiology.

Arkansas ranks in the top three among all states for deaths due to heart disease. Heart disease also is the No. 1 killer of older women and men, and as people get older, more women than men die of heart disease.

In addition, Wei noted, Arkansas is No. 1 in the disparity of health outcomes for cardiovascular disease based on measures of socioeconomic and geographic status.

“Based on these facts, we in Arkansas must embrace this effort to improve the cardiovascular health among aging Arkansans anyway we can,” Wei said. “We will partner with other care providers and come forward with new, innovative treatments as we gain a better understanding of cardiovascular disease.”

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a 540,000-square-foot hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and six institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,836 students and 761 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.