Colorado’s Black Health Resource Directory Makes Culturally Appropriate Health Care A Reality

The Black Health Resource Directory boasts a guide filled with culturally aware providers in Colorado.

Colorado’s health care community is doing its part to better aid Black residents. The latest Colorado Black Health Resource Directory connects Black patients with culturally aware and specialized medical providers.

The directory came into fruition through a collaboration between the Colorado Black Health Collaborative and Connect for Health Colorado. Within the 108-page guide, Black people seeking health care support can find information about doctors and specialists throughout the state.

No matters one’s predicament or age, they can source medical providers that are aware of their identities and how it can impact their needs. The comprehensive directory is now in its fifth edition, also proving its necessity across the years.

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

The idea sparked in 2010 after Black residents in the state requested medical providers that considered systemic factors in their approach to treatment and consult. For Richardson, that launched an initiative to amplify these providers that offered a “holistic” way of treating patients.

“People said, ‘You know what we could use? A holistic view of health.’ A guide,” explained Richardson. “We wanted to cover the Black diaspora not just African Americans. Folks from all over.”

The directory is free for all ,while expanding into the vast fields of medicine. From chiropractors to maternal health and dance instruction, the resource allows Black residents to feel seen while gaining the treatment they specifically need.

Colorado also hosts a relatively small Black population, accounting for only 4.18% of its total residents. Despite this, the need for Black Coloradoans to find providers that understand their plight remains at an all-time high.

“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,” Richardson said. “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.”

However, the directory’s continuation remains a feat, especially amid the Trump Administration’s crackdown on DEI programs. Although these concerns are still prevalent, the directory’s founders are committed to getting this medical information to the Black community.