Regional Healthcare Partnership (RHP) 9 includes Dallas, Denton, and Kaufman counties in the North Texas region. It had an estimated population 3,448,687 in 2015, with 10.04 percent population growth between 2010 to 2015.2 The population of the RHP 9 area was about 12.6 percent of the state of Texas in 2015.3
The North Texas area has experienced significant population growth and economic indicators point to continued population growth. RHP 9 has had a steady increase in its population from 2010 to 2015, and that trend is estimated to continue up to the year 2025. The region is expected to experience an 8.12 percent population growth between 2015 to 2025 with an estimated population of 3,561,812 in 2025. Dallas County is expected to grow its population by 8.5 percent between 2015 to 2025, while Denton and Kaufman counties are expected to grow 7.1 percent and 6.5 percent respectively.
Dallas County had the highest number (19.3 percent) of people living in poverty in RHP 9 in 2014. The prevalence of poverty in Dallas County was greater than the rate in Texas (17.2 percent) and nationally in the USA (14 percent) average. In comparison, Kaufman and Denton Counties had poverty rates 13.8 percent and 8.7 percent in 2014.3,4 Nearly 40 percent of Dallas County residents are low-income earners3.
Accordingly, the 22 providers that make up RHP 9 serve the very large vulnerable population who are at the center of this transformational waiver program. Each of these providers is working on various programs and activities that are addressing the needs of our region. Below you will find a summary of the most recent key priority areas as identified in the 2017 RHP 9 Community Needs Assessment. Detailed information on these priorities can be found in the completed RHP 9 Community Needs Assessment Report.
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RHP 9 Priorities
Key findings from current Community Health Needs Assessment (2017)
This new assessment presents an updated set of regional priorities as the primary community health needs within RHP 9. The following priorities and high-level strategies were identified as RHP 9’s major community health needs.
- Capacity and Access - More Providers and Better Health Care Coverage: Improve Access to Primary and Specialty Care in Rural Areas.
- Chronic Diseases Care – Focused Care on Specific Chronic Diseases: Cardiovascular, Diabetes, Lung Cancer, Breast Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, and Respiratory Diseases.
- Care Coordination- Organized Culturally Competent Patient Care: Activities and Sharing of Information across all Patient Care Participants including Oral Health and Palliative Care.
- Behavioral Health - Mental Health and Substance Abuse: Collaborative and Coordinated Efforts to Address Disparities Associated with Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
- Infant and Maternal Health: Community-Level Education, Awareness, and Coordination with Social Services to Reduce Infant and Maternal Mortality.
Bridging the Gap: In addition to above-focused priorities the following themes are key factors that were identified across all priority areas as ways to enhance the ability to implement sustainable and improved care for the patient populations identified in this community needs assessment:
- Technology in Healthcare
- Promoting Telehealth/ Tele psych
- Use of technology to improve health outcomes
- Health information sharing strategies
- Addressing Social Determinants of Health
- Advancing Nursing Workforce
2. DFWHC Foundation’s data warehouse. www.DFWHCFoundation.org
3. County Health Rankings and Roadmaps (2017). Retrieved March 20, 2017: http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/
4. DFWHC Foundation Healthy North Texas (2017). Retrieved from www.healthyntexas.org