New Colorado Black Resource Directory connects patients with specialized health resources; “someone with that lived experience”

A new resource is bringing culturally appropriate health care providers to Black Coloradans. It’s called the Colorado Black Health Resource Directory — a collaboration between Colorado Black Health Collaborative and Connect for Health Colorado. The 108-page guide is the most comprehensive source of Black health information in Colorado and provides listings for doctors and specialists from Fort Collins to Pueblo.

“It’s all encompassing,” said Dr. Terri Richardson, co-founder of CBHR. “We go cradle to grave, that’s what we say.”

Recently, she gathered with a group of fellow Black women to celebrate the release of CBHR.

Richardson says the idea first came about in 2010, a response to requests for information from Black Coloradans seeking to connect with medical providers who understand their unique concerns. It’s now in its fifth edition.

“People said, ‘You know what we could use? A holistic view of health.’ A guide. We wanted to cover the Black diaspora not just African Americans. Folks from all over,” she told CBS News Colorado’s Mekialaya White.

According to the state of Colorado, in 2023, 4.18% of our population was Black or African American alone. It’s a population that needs these resources, Richardson says.

“Sometimes, we feel like we get lost here in Colorado being only a small percentage of the population, yet our health disparities are at the top or the bottom as we always say.”

Lielt Bedilu knows the struggle all too well. She says finding her current pediatrician, Dr. Sophia Meharena was an answered prayer. “There are things walking around as a Black individual that every day that you have to explain. You have to explain things about your culture, the way you speak, all these nuances, like your hair. I think the physician-patient relationship is so sacred, intimate, and vulnerable and my hope would be that we wouldn’t have to do that in that space,” she said.

“It’s not about being a better physician,” explained Meharena. “It’s about being able to connect with your patient in a way that the patient is looking for.”

But doctor by doctor, the directory works to make offices more welcoming. “It’s very important to have someone with that lived experience. You don’t have to explain to me what it means to be Black in America. I already know,” added Richardson.