Jewish Family Service of Dallas opened a new 100,000-square-foot campus in Addison offering comprehensive services—including medical, mental health, nutritional and social services—under one roof. The campus is located in a “medically underserved area,” with fewer than 5% of people in the underserved population having a community health center close enough to them, leaving almost 800,000 people without accessible care.
JFS Dallas is in the process of becoming a federally qualified health center, or FQHC, a model designed to support uncompensated care that health centers provide to underserved populations, like low-income individuals who are uninsured or underinsured, or people enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare. JFS Dallas hasn’t received the FQHC designation yet, but the organization expects approval later this year. Last year, JFS Dallas served 22,000 individuals across all services. That number should increase to 38,000 individuals by 2028 and 50,000 by 2030.
Integrated Clinical Services and Warm Handoffs
The clinical space is located on the first floor with on-site lab services, nurses’ stations and a dozen exam rooms. According to Cathy Barker, president and CEO of JFS Dallas, patients in underserved populations often rely on safety-net providers, which means seeing different providers from visit to visit. “When you come to any one of JFS’s health centers, you’re going to see the same doctor. This becomes a medical home,” Barker said. The clinic has integrated behavioral health services, allowing providers to do a “warm handoff”—for example, a doctor can pull a behavioral health clinician in to assess a child’s behavioral challenges.
Holistic Support Model
The campus includes one of the metroplex’s only accredited clubhouses for people with severe and persistent mental health issues. The member-run program has about 150 registered members who work and find community, meaning and purpose. More than 95% of clubhouse members don’t get re-hospitalized. JFS Dallas’s comprehensive approach includes food assistance programs, Meals-on-Wheels providing Kosher meals in North Texas, and an on-site food pantry. Barker stated, “By having it all under one roof, individuals can become physically, emotionally, nutritionally and financially healthier.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.keranews.org/health-wellness/2026-04-02/jewish-family-services-dallas-new-addison-campus-community-health-center-comprehensive-care-fqhc-underserved