KFDA - NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo News, Weather, SportsJenna Bush Hager Stops In Amarillo

Jenna Bush Hager Stops In Amarillo

By Megan Moore
NewsChannel 10

Amarillo, Texas - Mothers everywhere will soon be able to make a call to Amarillo medical professionals asking medical advice, free of charge.

Jenna Bush Hager, was here in Amarillo Friday to support the InfantRisk Center, which is undergoing renovations on the second floor of the Laura W. Bush Institute For Women's Health building.

Local Texas Tech doctors are behind the development of the call center, which will be the only one of its kind in Amarillo, and the United States.

The InfantRisk Center's visionary, Dr. Tom Hale, says "four point one million mothers per year deliver infants. 70-80 percent go on to breastfeed. They have very few places they can call to ask questions, can i take a tylenol, can i take an antibiotic, what medication is safe or not safe."

Dr. Hale's vision is local medical professionals in the call center answering those questions for women from around the world.

TTUHSC Ob/Gyn Marjorie Jenkins says, "I cannot tell you the fear that mothers have when they need to take even an over the counter medication and they're afraid they're going to harm their baby, when they can pick up the phone and get an answer to say its safe or not safe."

Friday was the inaugural Power of the Purse luncheon, where designer handbags were auctioned off and proceeds went straight to the InfantRisk Center.  Jenna Bush Hager was a guest speaker at the event.

She thanked the people of the Panhandle and congratulated them on launching a national resource in their own backyard.

$150,000 was raised for the call center.  About half a million dollars is needed to get the center fully up and running.