The satellite location will also have lab and chronic disease services in a part of Dallas County that needs more places to get health care.
County officials approved the location and additional funding for the clinic on Tuesday.
“This will be the first access clinic outside of the main one … that will be in the zip code where the most need has been demonstrated,” Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price said.
The area is underserved by private health care companies and parts of Southeast Dallas continue to bear a high burden of chronic disease, according to the 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA).
“It’s still about access, access, access,” said Price, whose district includes the planned clinic, slated for 7201 S. Polk Street in Dallas.
The original approval for a clinic somewhere in the Southern sector came in November 2021. The total cost of staff, leasing the building, renovations and supplies is about $1.5 million.
Southern Dallas has several zip codes with life expectancies far lower than areas in the northern part of the county.
The zip code 75232, the location of the planned clinic, had a life expectancy of 74 years in 2019. By contrast, 75204 in Uptown Dallas had a life expectancy of 90. The lowest life expectancy was in zip code 75215, south of Fair Park, where the CHNA estimated it at 68 years.
Dallas County Health Director Philip Huang said they wanted to place the clinic in an area with high rates of sexually transmitted diseases or other chronic conditions.
The new clinic will be on South Polk Street. The anticipated move-in date for the health department is next January.
Got a tip? Email Bret Jaspers at bjaspers@kera.org. You can follow Bret on Twitter @bretjaspers.
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