Discussions with community members led to inclusion of some specialties like child psychiatry.
By Sriya Reddy
Parkland Hospital is hoping to bring holistic health care to southern Dallas with its clinic opening Tuesday at the former Red Bird mall site.
The 40,000-square-foot RedBird clinic will offer primary care, family medicine, mammography and simple radiology. It also will include child psychiatry and a physical rehabilitation center, which no other Parkland clinic in the area have to the capacity of the new clinic. It will be the second-largest health care center in the Parkland system.
Herron Mitchell, Parkland’s director of operations in the southern region, said the center will be for routine check-ups or health needs. It is now taking appointments.
“We consider ourselves a patient-centered medical home. So what that means is that we’re partnering with you for your long-term health,” Mitchell said.
The RedBird clinic will join three others in the region: Bluitt-Flowers, Oak West and Southeast Dallas.
James Perez, Parkland’s vice president of clinic operations, said Parkland met with various community members to determine what medical services were most needed. Those meetings, along with data from the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment, contributed to the decision to include child psychiatry among the clinic’s offerings.
“They gave examples of the children not being able to be properly diagnosed at an early age,” Perez said. “And now, parents are in the situation where they need assistance. They’re like, ‘Well, what do we do, what resources are out there?’”
Mitchell said the two most common diagnoses in this area are hypertension and diabetes. To combat the complications of these illnesses, including blindness and foot amputations, the clinics also offer podiatry and optometry services.
The RedBird clinic is part of the Reimagine RedBird project alongside numerous shops, restaurants, living spaces and offices.
The $200 million redevelopment of the site will have 200,000 square feet dedicated to health care. This includes the Parkland clinic and a UT Southwestern Medical Center that offers cancer, neurology and cardiology services.
