In its ongoing effort to encourage and empower women to take control of their unique health care needs, the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health is set to host its Day of the Woman symposium in Amarillo from 5:30-8 p.m., Feb. 8, at the Polk Street United Methodist Church, located at 1401 S. Polk St.

This will be the third Day of the Woman program in Amarillo according to Angela Knapp Eggers, senior director of community outreach for Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health. She said the institute also hosts the Day of the Woman program in Corpus Christi.

“Our annual Day of the Woman health symposium is designed to bring pivotal topics to our communities,” Knapp Eggers said. “We want to enable women to be better health advocates for themselves and for their families.”

Terry Bentley Hill, a criminal defense attorney in Dallas who also lived in Amarillo for 15 years, will deliver the keynote address for the 2018 Amarillo event. Laura Street, chairwoman of the Panhandle Behavioral Health Alliance, is also scheduled to speak. In addition, Lea Wright, community advisory board chairwoman for the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health, will moderate a panel discussion following the speaker’s presentations.

Bentley Hill, a nationally recognized mental health advocate, dedicates her practice to the mental health and substance abuse issues that many of her clients experience and seeks solutions for her clients in lieu of incarceration. Removing the stigma of mental illness and substance abuse became Bentley Hill’s focus following the losses of her first husband and her 14-year-old daughter to suicide. After dealing with the cloud of shame and misunderstanding that often accompanies brain diseases, it became her healing mission to help others suffering from the diseases by sharing her story of pain, healing and recovery.

Bentley Hill’s peers selected as one of Dallas’ Best Criminal Defense Attorneys for Mental Health representation, and the State Bar of Texas awarded her its Presidential Citation for her work with attorneys struggling with mental health and substance abuse. In 2016, she was nationally recognized as a “Woman Who Soars” for her mental health advocacy, and in 2017 received the Grant Halliburton Foundation “Faces of Hope” award. She also serves on multiple boards of non-profit agencies and foundations that provide assistance, education and support for those suffering from the illnesses and for their families.

For more information about Day of the Woman or the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health, visit www.laurabushinstitute.org or call Knapp Eggers at (806) 414-9941.