When adults with developmental disabilities can see their primary care doctor, psychiatrist, and therapist all in one visit to the same clinic, something remarkable happens: they stop ending up in emergency rooms. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University have quantified what seemed intuitive but had never been rigorously proven—integrated care works, dramatically.
The finding matters because adults with developmental disabilities often fall through cracks in America's fragmented health system. Transitioning from pediatric to adult care means leaving behind coordinated services and entering a landscape where physical and mental health exist in separate silos, miles apart. For people who may struggle with transportation, communication, or navigating bureaucracy, these barriers can mean crisis becomes the default pathway to care.
The study, published in Disability and Health Journal, tracked 6,706 adults with developmental disabilities from 2022 to 2023 at University of Cincinnati and UC Health facilities. Some received care at the Timothy Freeman MD Center for Developmental Disabilities, which collocates primary care, psychiatry, behavioral health, counseling, and community navigation services under one roof. Others received traditional psychiatric care at the Mood Disorders Center. The contrast was stark: adults at the Freeman Center had 50% lower odds of visiting the emergency department and 38% lower odds of requiring hospitalization for any reason. For psychiatric emergencies specifically, the difference was even more striking—72% lower odds.
Corey Keeton, an associate professor in family medicine and psychiatry who co-authored the study, explained the transformation in simple terms: "With all those services within one clinic, it really opened the ability to collaborate among providers, medical professionals and community organizations. It is this collaboration that has allowed our patients to succeed and thrive."
The Freeman Center isn't a small pilot anymore. In September 2025, it celebrated the grand reopening of a newly expanded 15,000-square-foot facility—a physical commitment to the model's future. The center now offers primary care, psychiatric medication management, psychological testing, behavioral health care management, counseling, behavioral intervention support, and community navigation, all with a philosophy that service doesn't end when patients walk out the door.
"Creating a space where patients have access to multiple specialized services within a single location works to mitigate barriers to care," Keeton said. The practical benefit of this is profound: a patient can attend their annual physical, adjust their psychiatric medications, and attend weekly therapy in a single trip—eliminating cascading obstacles to care.
What makes this research particularly hopeful is its potential to reshape how systems think about serving vulnerable populations. The findings come not from a tiny demonstration project but from a real health system serving thousands of real patients. Daniel Gilmore, the Ohio State University postdoctoral scholar who led the study, and his team have handed other health systems a roadmap.
Keeton's vision extends beyond Cincinnati. "Hopefully more places will think about using integrated care models to serve adults with disabilities," he said. "We want the Freeman Center to serve as an example of how things could be and want to support those working within more traditional models, which is essential to improving access to care." For adults with developmental disabilities tired of being shuttled between providers, that example could change everything.