Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Tech honors Laura Bush for advocating women's health
By Hannah Boen
Daily Toreador, Texas Tech
June 09, 2009

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health honored former First Lady Laura W. Bush Monday in Dallas for her advocacy for women's health.

The luncheon, hosted by Texas Tech Chancellor Kent Hance and the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health, featured Bush as the keynote speaker.

"I believe that lifelong good health begins with advocacy and awareness," said Laura Bush, whose speech was streamed live on the Internet.

When it comes to women's health, she said, education is often the only means to prevention. The event showcased the ways Bush has spread education and awareness to women throughout the country and allowed her to thank several individuals who have also made an attempt to advocate for women's health.

Dr. Marjorie Jenkins, founding director of the LWBIWH joined Bush to speak about women's health, along with two other women's health advocates: Ambassador Nancy Brinker, founding chair of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the Heart Truth campaign.

Nabel spoke at the event about the process of raising awareness concerning women's heart health. The full story behind the progress of advocacy for the issue would take days to tell, she said, however, the tipping point of the campaign began with Bush's efforts to draw attention to women's health issues.

In February 2003, Bush brought national attention to the Heart Truth campaign for prevention of heart disease by launching the red dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease, Nabel said. Awareness raised by Bush has, in turn, led to lives saved through awareness and research.

Jenkins said Bush has been instrumental in both the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Heart Truth Campaign.

"She's done a great many things to raise awareness that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of females," she said. "And by speaking about heart disease, she's literally saved lives."

As Komen has expanded, Bush has been a global advocate for the organization, Jenkins said.

The institute began 18 months ago, shortly after Jenkins put together a proposal for the institute, asking Bush for permission to use her name. The institute has been dedicated to research and educational programs since it was established, and have become successful, thanks to the name backing it and the determination to change women's health care.

"She's given a ton of her own energy for the sole purpose of helping save lives," she said. "Her roots are deep in West Texas and she also has a heart for women's health."

Jenkins said the institute is honored to carry Mrs. Bush's name, however, feels great responsibility to have her name attached.

"It carries an obligation to serve women and families," she said, "but also to educate and raise awareness about women's health issues."

The institute was approved for establishment in August 2007 by Laura. Bush. Since then, a muti-campus women's health institute has been established in not only Lubbock, but also in Abilene, Amarillo, El Paso and the Permian Basin.

Laura Bush said she was happy to support the goals of the institute and honored to have the institute bear her name.

Too many women, she said, have no idea that heart disease poses such a threat to their health. Her goal is to educate and empower women to take charge of their health, which she also believes is the goal of the institute, which is the only university research center in the state uniquely focused on solving a broad spectrum of women's health issues.

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