Houston's Lower-Income and Minority Communities Face Lack of Access to Medical Care

John D. Harden of The Houston Chronicle shows how the distribution of medical facilities follows the patterns of income inequality in the city. Areas with higher incomes in the city's west have a higher concentration of clinics, while areas in the northwest and east are suffering a shortage of medical care facilities.

The lack of resources puts residents in those communities -- largely lower-income and minority -- at higher risk for developing preventable conditions like heart disease and diabetes, according to state officials with the Texas Department of Health Services.