ABSTRACT
The Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute (DHWI) at Juanita J. Craft Recreation Center in the southern sector of Dallas was developed as a holistic health equity model of care, aiming to not only meet the clinical needs of a medically underserved population, but to provide targeted interventions that promote wellness and behavior modification with the ultimate goal of improving disease management, health, and quality of life. DHWI is a collaborative partnership between BHCS, the City of Dallas, and a local community (comprising schools, churches, community leaders, and local businesses ). It represents an unconventional solution to a crisis that cannot be solved using traditional approaches-an “escape fire,” such as some experts have called for to deal with the crises of a health care system beset by medical errors, confusing and inconsistent information, a lack of personal attention, and fragmented care.1
