Baylor Health Care System To Transform South Dallas Recreation Center Into New Diabetes Institute!..

South Dallas residents are 30 percent more likely to be admitted to a hospital due todiabetes or a diabetes-related condition than other city residents. In fact by 2010, 13 percent of those living in South Dallas will be diabetic.

Baylor Health Care System is reaching out to the traditionally underserved neighborhood, transforming a local recreation center into the area's first and only diabetes health and wellness institute. Baylor will invest $15 million in the project with the mission of saving lives through improved diabetes care, education and research. The new institute is expected to open in Spring 2010.

The focus of the Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute at Juanita J. Craft Recreation Center (Institute) will not only be on treatment, but prevention as well.

The Institute will provide:

- Full-time, on-site physician and nurse practitioner*
- Visiting medical specialists*
- Referral coordinator for specialty and ancillary care
- Diabetes management educator
- Affordable diabetes medications
- Nutrition and healthy cooking classes
- Exercise programs including running and walking clinics and weight training

More About Diabetes In Texas

- According to the Texas Diabetes Council, the prevalence of diabetes in Texans (18 and older) rose to 10.3 percent in 2007
- More than 1.8 million adults in Texas are diabetic, 460,000 are believed to be undiagnosed
- Diabetes is slightly more common in women than men (10.8 percent vs. 9.9 percent)
- Diabetes rates are higher among African Americans (12.9 percent), Hispanics (12.3 percent) and other minorities (11.8 percent) than Whites (8.5 percent)
- The prevalence of diabetes increases with age (2.7 percent for people under 30, 32.2 percent for people 65 and older)
- Diabetes rates decrease as education levels increase (15.8 percent among those without a high school diploma, 6.9 percent among those who attended college)
- One-of-every-five health care dollars is spent caring for someone with diagnosed diabetes