Description

This article describes a strategy adopted by Baylor Scott & White Health to reduce rising rates of emergency department use and inpatient hospitalizations in an underserved Dallas community that is home to many people with low socioeconomic status. Baylor Scott & White partnered with the Dallas Park and Recreation Department to create a level-three primary care clinic integrating wellness and prevention programs in a city recreational center in order to exemplify the integration of social determinants of health within a population health strategy. People who used the center’s services showed a reduction in ED use of 21.4% and a reduction in inpatient care use of 36.7%, with an average cost decrease of 34.5% and 54.4%, respectively; these data support the use of population health strategies to reduce the use of emergency services.