New Partnership for ASU Laura Bush Institute and Shannon Medical Center

(L-R) ASU President Ronnie Hawkins Jr., Dr. Susan Wilkinson, ASU Laura Bush Institute regional director; Dr. Genevieve Mejia, Shannon OB/GYN and LBI Mammogram Program medical director; and Shane Plymell, Shannon president and CEO

“Shannon is excited to collaborate with the Laura Bush Institute and Angelo State University to continue supporting these vital programs in our community,” said Shane Plymell, president and CEO of Shannon. “Education, outreach, prevention and early detection programs provided through the institute are essential to supporting the health of women in the region we serve. The institute’s work over the last 10 years has changed the lives of thousands of women, and helped save the lives of many who were screened through their mammography program. We look forward to working together with their leadership and Board of Directors and our medical staff to further advance research, knowledge and care for women.”

Shannon’s support will allow ASU’s regional office of the LWBIWH to continue to improve care for multicultural, multigenerational, urban and rural female populations by:

• Establishing community education and outreach programs
• Developing curriculum for professional healthcare education
• Strengthening scientific research and translating that research into medical practice

Dr. Susan Wilkinson “Local impact of the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health will continue to grow with this collaboration,” said Dr. Susan Wilkinson, regional director of the LWBIWH. “It is a pleasure to support this partnership with Shannon Medical Center to improve the health and lives of women and girls of the Concho Valley through outreach events like Girl Power, Dia de la Mujer and Girls/Guys Night Out, research supporting scientific discoveries unique to women’s health and gender differences, and education advancing the knowledge of healthcare professionals.”

ASU’s regional office of the LWBIWH opened in 2010. Since then, it has impacted the lives of over 30,000 individuals; raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support research, education and outreach in the Concho Valley; and provided free breast and cervical cancer screening services for over 2,000 clients in need.

The institute also collaborates with ASU’s Archer College of Health and Human Services and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) to cultivate research that impacts women’s health issues. San Angelo Community Medical Center was previously the exclusive healthcare sponsor, and that role has now been assumed by Shannon Medical Center.

Ronnie Hawkins Jr. “We are incredibly grateful for Shannon Medical Center’s generous support, which will allow our Laura Bush Institute to continue its important and impactful work in the community,” said ASU President Ronnie Hawkins Jr. “This agreement not only illustrates our shared commitment to the welfare of women in the Concho Valley, it is also another example of the outstanding relationship between Angelo State and Shannon.”

The history of the LWBIWH dates back to 2000, when the TTUHSC in Amarillo initiated its Women’s Health Research Institute as a community-wide effort to improve women’s health through research and education. In 2007, 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 was born. It has since expanded to include campuses in Abilene, Amarillo, Dallas, Lubbock, the Permian Basin and at Angelo State.