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Baylor Health Care System > Physicians & Locations > Diabetes Health & Wellness Institute

DHWI

See the Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute full site for more information.

DHWI Grand Opening Videos

Press play to see general information video for DHWI titled "The Walk". Below that see the three WFAA segments about the DHWI.

Diabetes Health & Wellness Institute  

About the Institute

The Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute (DHWI) at Juanita J. Craft Recreation Center is the cornerstone of Baylor’s Southern Sector Health Initiative, created in 2006, to address the region’s health care needs relative to diabetes. The goal of the center is to weave diabetes prevention into the fabric of the community so that it is a natural and convenient part of life in this neighborhood. DHWI is conveniently located near the Fair Park DART line.  

DHWI is built on four fundamental principles which include collaborative financial support and governance, integration of social, cultural, political, and economic initiatives, clinical care in the neighborhood and community-based, multidisciplinary research. 

We leverage existing resources in order to prevent and treat diabetes, incorporating four core competences:

  1. Prevent the onset of diabetes by offering exercise classes, nutrition and cooking classes, wellness education, and primary care.
  2. Identify and treat asymptomatic people who have risk factors for developing diabetes, or who have pre-diabetes, with the goal of helping people reduce their risk of complications, reduce their health care costs, minimize hospital visits, and reduce lost work or school time.
  3. Care for people who have diabetes by helping them regain their highest functional level, minimize the negative effects of the disease, and prevent complications.
  4. Measure the impact and outcomes of this unique health care delivery model. 
DHWI provides an integrative care model including:
  • On-site physician and nurse practitioner*
  • Visiting medical specialists*
  • Referral coordinator for specialty and ancillary care
  • Diabetes management educator
  • Access to affordable diabetes medications
  • Nutrition and healthy cooking classes
  • Exercise programs including running, 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.

Physicians are members of the medical staff at one of Baylor Health Care System’s subsidiary, community or affiliated medical centers and are neither employees nor agents of those medical centers or Baylor Health Care System.