This so-called City of Medicine has long represented the highs and lows of the U.S. medical system: It has a private medical school with a proud and profitable tradition of producing experts in such specialties as neurology and gynecology - and a population riven by diabetes, obesity and other chronic illnesses. But in a turnabout, Duke University has been focusing closer attention on the neighborhood that surrounds it by forming a partnership with Durham's Federally Qualified Health Center.
It's an experiment in community care that began well before health care became a heated political battle. It's one that has been closely watched by the Obama administration as a model for its vision of widespread reform.