San Francisco children living in non-redeveloped public housing are 39 percent more likely to repeatedly visit emergency rooms, according to new research. "The average emergency department (ED) visit costs two to five times more than an office visit, and many children visit EDs for potentially preventable reasons," said a senior author of the research. "There is a clear need to better understand the range of social and economic factors that lead to these high visit rates, and understand the link between housing and health."

Source: San Francisco public housing type a strong predictor of kids' use of emergency rooms