Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health

TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCE CENTERS ANGELO STATE UNIVERSITY

exclusive sponsor San Angelo Community Medical Center

In 2000, the Women’s Health Research Institute was initiated by the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) as a communitywide effort to improve women’s health through research and education. Seven years later, TTUHSC and the Institute proposed to First Lady Laura W. Bush that she lend her name to what was certain to be a global force in women’s health. Permission was granted in August 2007, and the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health (LWBIWH) was born.

The LWBIWH is located in six West Texas cities and brings together the strengths of Texas Tech’s schools of medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, pharmacy and graduate school of biomedical sciences. The potential for excellence in research is endless with the pooling of these resources.

In support of this unique and groundbreaking effort, San Angelo Community Medical Center (SACMC) is proud to be the exclusive sponsor of the LWBIWH in San Angelo. SACMC medical staff will participate in the effort and be among the first in the country to hear about and help initiate advancements in women’s health.

THE INSTITUTE’S GOALS

There are major gaps in studying how gender impacts health. The Institute performs research in areas unique to women’s health and studies gender differences and has found:

• Ninety percent of national medical recommendations are based on research performed in groups that were composed of mostly males—the results were then applied to women.
• Until 1993, premenopausal women were prohibited from participating in clinical drug research trials.

Gaps in knowledge about women’s health are particularly striking for those women at highest risk for poor health—the elderly, minorities and those living in poverty. Among these, there is a special focus on issues such as breast cancer, aspects of pregnancy and osteoporosis.

WEST TEXAS RESEARCH & EDUCATION INITIATIVES

• Bilingual/multigenerational women’s health programs
• Cancer prevention
• Community outreach: West Texas Conference on Women’s Health (see box below)
• Gender differences and teaching those differences to physicians
• Health and aging
• Pregnancy/breastfeeding: A national InfantRisk Call Center is available for mothers to inquire about safe medication use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Call (806) 352-2519 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or visit www.infantrisk.org.