Franklinton, located just west of downtown Columbus, Ohio, has a population
of over 16,000 people. Franklinton, Ohio's oldest settlement, began as a fairly
wealthy community, but over the past century, problems with flooding, together
with interstate highway construction, lowered property values, which in turn
drew a large number of low-income families to the area.

Franklinton has the highest poverty rates in the city of Columbus, with over 60% of residents having incomes below 200% of poverty. The largest majority (80%) of Franklinton residents are Caucasian, 15% are African American, and 5% are of other ethnic origins. Families that are headed by women make up 15% of the population. Almost half of the families with children live in poverty. 56% of the population do not have a high school diploma. Many people do not have any type of health insurance.

Not surprisingly, many health care disparities exist in this community, and the availability of primary care services is woefully inadequate. Some of the significant health disparities are infant mortality, high incidence of diabetes, lung cancer, STD's/HIV, and breast cancer. Franklinton has some of the highest obesity and teen pregnancy rates while having the lowest childhood immunization rate in the county.