More than 4.2 million Texas residents living in high or very high vulnerability neighborhoods in the five most populous counties

PCCI identifies more than 4.2 million Texas residents living in high or very high vulnerability neighborhoods in the five most populous counties

Researchers at Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) have completed a vulnerability assessment of Texas’s five most populous counties using PCCI’s Community Vulnerability Compass (CVC). The assessment found that in Harris, Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant, and Travis counties, a total of more than 4.2 million residents live in high or very high vulnerability block groups.

PCCI’s CVC analysis of these counties included a true, holistic analysis, at a block-group level, of 27 clinical and socio-economic indicators underpinning the health, resiliency, and economic vibrancy of their neighborhoods, down to the block group level. A block group is a statistical geographic subdivision of a census tract used by the U.S. Census Bureau for data tabulation and presentation, and it typically contains between 600 and 3,000 people.

Root causes that trigger a block group to be rated as high or very high vulnerability include socioeconomic challenges, access to healthcare, and several non-medical drivers of health (NMDOH), such as unsafe neighborhoods, chronic diseases, education attainment, and life expectancy. The “very high” designation indicates that these neighborhood block groups are in the top 20 percent of vulnerability when compared to the rest of the state. CVC vulnerability groupings are broken into quintiles and clustered into very low, low, moderate, high and very high areas. Groupings can be localized to specific catchment areas, with the ability to include or exclude individual block groups.

“Going well beyond typical ZIP Code analyses, this assessment offers a deeper look into Texas’ major metropolitan areas,” said Steve Miff, PhD, President and CEO of PCCI. “Our researchers use the CVC’s data insights to reveal the challenges and opportunities our community leaders can leverage to better understand the conditions their residents are experiencing and develop suitable approaches to address the needs of those populations. What we are seeing is that 33 percent (1 of 3) residents in our five largest counties are facing daily challenges that put their health and wellness at risk.”

In its statewide assessment, PCCI’s CVC found that nearly 43 percent of Bexar County’s block groups fall into the high or very high vulnerability rating, the highest percent of the five largest counties.

Following Bexar County was Harris County, with nearly 41 percent of its block groups falling into the high or very high vulnerability category. Dallas County followed with nearly 40 percent of its block groups in the high or very high level.

Rounding out the most populous five counties, nearly 31 percent of Tarrant County and nearly 12 percent of Travis County block groups were in the high or very high vulnerability category.

“As we train the next generation of physicians, they must understand the critical window into the drivers of their local community’s health the CVC powerfully highlights so we can continue to forge strategy to drive sustainable improvements.” – Stuart D. Flynn, MD, Founding Dean of the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University. 

  • Harris County’s high or very high vulnerability block groups (1,154 of 2,830 total block groups) represent 1.7 million residents. Drilling down into vulnerability root causes, the CVC found the top three challenges in the most vulnerable block groups are neighborhood safety1, followed by health insurance coverage2 and mental health3.
  • Dallas County’s high or very high vulnerability block groups (627 out of 1,570) represent 1.1 million residents. The CVC found that the top three issues in Dallas County’s most vulnerable block groups are clean air4, neighborhood safety, with health insurance coverage5 and education attainment6 tied for third.
  • Bexar County’s high or very high vulnerability block groups (486 out of 1,139) represent 657,131 residents. For Bexar County, the CVC found that the top three challenges in Bexar County’s most vulnerable block groups were neighborhood safety, followed by chronic diabetes7 and households without vehicles8.
  • Tarrant County’s high or very high vulnerability block groups (382 out of 1,246) represent 618,942 residents. Additionally, the CVC found that the top three challenges for Tarrant County’s most vulnerable block groups are clean air, chronic obesity9, and neighborhood safety.
  • Travis County’s high or very high vulnerability block groups (89 out of 766) represent 140,760 residents. The CVC analysis found that the top three challenges for Travis County’s most vulnerable block groups are chronic alcohol abuse10, neighborhood safety, and green space access11.

“Each of these counties have unique and distinct challenges so there is no one solution to address issues across all of Texas,” Dr. Miff said. “The power of the CVC is that it gives us the ability to surface insights not only at the county level, but for each neighborhood making up these regions. This refined geographic precision allows us to learn the true nature and shared characteristics of neighborhood vulnerabilities so that our health and community leaders can create sustainable, customized solutions to address those vulnerabilities.”

About PCCI

The Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) is a not-for-profit, mission-driven organization with industry-leading expertise in the responsible application of artificial intelligence, machine learning and NMDOH data modeling to address the needs of vulnerable populations. PCCI started as a department within Parkland Health and was spun out as an independent organization in 2012. PCCI strives to leapfrog the status quo by harnessing the transformative potential of data. Our unique capabilities allow us to provide innovative, actionable solutions that more effectively identify needs, prioritize services, empower providers, and engage patients. 

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1Neighborhood Safety: Crime and violent crime rates per 1,000 residents in the past year

2Health Insurance Coverage: Percentage of uninsured

3Mental Health: Percentage of adults ages 18+ who stated that their mental health was not good for 14 or more of the past 30 days

4Clean Air: An indication of the level of air pollution

5Health Insurance Coverage: Percentage of uninsured

6Education Attainment: Percentage of population without high school degree

7Chronic Diabetes: Prevalence of diagnosed diabetes among adults ages 18+

8Households without Vehicles: Percentage of households without a vehicle

9Chronic Obesity: A BMI of 30 or greater indicates obesity, according to the CDC.

10Alcohol Abuse: Prevalence of binge drinking among adults ages 18+

11Green Space: Number of parks within ZIP Code boundaries

PCCI COO, Aida Somun, MBA, has been invited to join the 2025 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

PCCI COO, Aida Somun, MBA, has been invited to join the 2025 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

For the third time since 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has invited Aida Somun, MBA, PMP, Chief Operating Officer at Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI), to the 2025 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The Baldrige Award is the nation’s highest honor for organizational innovation and performance excellence.

Appointed by the NIST Director, examiners are responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted for the Baldrige Award, as well as other assessment-related tasks. The examiner board is composed of leading experts competitively selected from industry, professional, trade, education, health care, and nonprofit (including government) organizations from across the United States.

Those selected meet the highest standards of qualification and peer recognition, demonstrating competencies related to customer focus, communication, ethics, action orientation, team building, and analytical skills. All members of the board must take part in a nationally ranked leadership development course based on the Baldrige Excellence Framework and the scoring/evaluation processes for the Baldrige Award. They must also complete an independent review of a Baldrige Award application or other comparable examiner task.

Somun has 20 years of experience as a business leader known for driving profitable growth, cost savings and delivery. She ensures operational excellence through consistent contributions to bottom line efficiency, performance and process improvements. She is most passionate about leading and influencing strategic decision making for operationalizing the right innovative programs focused on improving individual’s health, both physical as well as socio-economic.

Somun recently was included in the Dallas Business Journal’s first-ever C-Suite Leaders Awards was also a recipient of the Dallas Business Journal’s 13th annual Women in Business Awards.

Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th Secretary of Commerce, the Baldrige Award was established by Congress in 1987. Awards may be given annually to organizations in each of six categories: manufacturing, service, small business, education, health care, and nonprofit. The Award promotes innovation and excellence in organizational performance, recognizes the achievements and results of U.S. organizations, and publicizes successful performance strategies.