dayna gurley is getting dressed for work.'s a social worker charged, not with treating infectious diseases, but with figuring out why her clients all but live in houston's hospitals. >> what's been going on? >> reporter: this patient, who asked not to be identified, has chronic massive ulcers, aids and hears voices. and, at times, spends three weeks out of the month at multiple hospitals around houston. gurley is part of a promising effort in the u.s. health care system, honing in on so-called "super utilizers:" patients with complex problems who frequent emergency rooms and cost public and private insurers dearly. >> super-utilizers make up just 5% of the u.s. population but they account for 50% of health care spending. as health care costs continue to rise, providers are trying to figure out how to find these patients and get to the root of their problems. >> reporter: an effort to do just that started in new jersey's poorest city, camden. family physician dr. jeffrey brenner was inspired by how police departments were usin