Founder of Chicago’s Black Healthcare Startup, Working Nationally to Change the Culture of Care

When Ashlee Wisdom launched an early version of her health and wellness website, over 34,000 users (mostly black) accessed the platform in the first two weeks.

“It wasn’t the most fully functional platform. It wasn’t sexy,” Wisdom said.

However, the launch was successful. Now, more than a year later, the Wisdom company Her shade healthNationally connects black women and other colored women with culturally sensitive doctors, doulas, nurses and therapists.

As more people want Culturally competent care — Awareness of the heritage, beliefs and values ​​of the patient being treated — a new wave of Blacktech founders like Wisdom is looking to help. Just as Uber Eats and Grubhub have revolutionized food delivery, Black tech health start-ups across the United States are looking to change the way people exercise, eat, and communicate with doctors.

Inspired by their own experience and the experience of their parents and grandparents, black entrepreneurs are launching startups aimed at bridging the cultural gaps in healthcare with technology and creating profitable businesses. ..

Unity Stoakes, President and Co-Founder of, said: Startup health, A San Francisco company that has invested in many health companies led by people of color.

He said these leaders “have an essential and strong understanding of how to solve some of the biggest challenges in healthcare.”

The platform created by the black founders for the black and color communities continues to blossom as entrepreneurs often see problems and solutions that others may have missed. According to business experts, without diverse opinions, a category or entire product would not exist in an important area such as healthcare.

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Kevin Dedner, 45, founder of a mental health startup, said: hurdle. “Mission alone is not enough. We need to solve the problem.”

Dedner’s company, headquartered in Washington, DC, has paired patients with a therapist who “respects culture rather than ignores it,” he said.

He started the company three years ago.More people turned to hurdles After the murder of George Floyd..

In Memphis, Tennessee, 33-year-old Erica Plybeah is focused on providing transportation. Her company, MedHaulWork with healthcare providers and patients to ensure low-cost vehicles to and from healthcare institutions. A caregiver, patient, or healthcare provider fills out a form on MedHaul’s website to help Plybeah’s team schedule a ride.

MedHaul is for everyone, but Plybeah knows people of color. Low-income people and rural residents are more likely to face transportation hurdles. She founded the company in 2017 after years of watching her mother, who lost two limbs due to type 2 diabetes, take care of her grandmother. They lived in the Mississippi Delta, where transportation was scarce.

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“My family had a hard time transporting us because my mother was her main carrier for many years,” said Prebear. “Trying to schedule all of her doctor’s appointments around her work schedule was just a nightmare.”

Plybeah company recently received Funding from Citi, Bank giant.

“I’m proud of her,” said Annie Steele, Prebear’s mother. “I’m surprised at every step. What she’s doing will help people for years to come.”

Her hue health began in 2018 and there are only 6 doctors on the roster. Two years later, users will be able to download the app for free and scroll through about 1,000 providers.

“People are always talking about the poor health of black women, where the conversation stops,” said Wisdom, who lives in New York City. “No one was building anything to empower us.”

Wisdom is inspired by friends such as Nathan Pelzer, 37, another Blacktech founder who started the company in Chicago. Clinical health We work with community health centers and independent clinics in poorly serviced areas.

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The company analyzes medical and social data to help doctors identify patients who haven’t seen the highest-risk patients for some time. Health providers can help improve their health and avoid traveling to the emergency room by focusing on providing preventive care to them.

“Clinify Health can be thought of as a company that supports triage outside the emergency room,” says Pelzer.

He said he started the company by printing his online slideshow and throwing it into the trunk of a car.

“I drove around the South Side of Chicago, knocked on the door and said,’Hey, this is my idea,'” Pelzer said.

Wisdom came up with the idea for an app because he was stressed and hives while working at graduate school.

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“That was really bad,” Wisdom said. “My hands just swelled and I couldn’t understand what it was.”

The breakout also confused her allergist, a white woman. A white woman told Wisdom to take two Allegra daily to manage her discomfort.

“I remember thinking that if she were a black woman, she might have shared a little more about what was happening in my life,” Wisdom said.

At that moment, she began to build an online community. Her idea started with a small one. She found health-related content in academic journals, searched for eye-catching photos that complemented the text, and posted that information to. Instagram..

Things took off. This fall, Health in Her Hue launched a “care team” for users who want to discuss their health with doctors and other women interested in the same topic.

“The last thing I want to do when I go to the doctor’s office is to feel like I have to wear armor and fight that person, or, as you know, confront the supposed person. I feel like I’m doing it to help you on your health journey, “said Wisdom. “And that’s often the position that blacks and mostly black women have to deal with when navigating healthcare. And that shouldn’t be the case.”

Black tech founders Wisdom, Dedner, Pelzer, and Plybeah are looking for ways to support each other by exchanging advice, chatting about funding, and looking for ways to get together. Pelzer and Wisdom met a few years ago as participants in a contest hosted by Johnson & Johnson. They reconnected at an event for the black founders of a technology company and decided to help each other.

“We are therapists of each other,” Pelzer said. “As a black founder, you can be lonely here.”

Plybeah wants to provide transportation services and additional assistance to those who care for older families. She also wants to expand her services to include running grocery stores and pharmacies, training in the gym, and dropping customers for other basic errands.

Pelzer wants Clinify Health to make tracking healthcare more enjoyable. Perhaps there is an incentive to keep the user interested. He has a plan and wants to take advantage of the competitiveness of a fitness company.

Wisdom wants to help doctors trying to improve their relationship with color patients. The company plans to build a library of resources that professionals can use as a guide.

“We are not the first people to try to solve these problems,” Dedner said.

Still, he and the other three feel the pressure to succeed, not just themselves and the people who came before them.

“If I fail, I feel it could close the doors of other black women trying to build in this space,” Wisdom said. “But I try not to think too much about it.”

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national news room that produces detailed journalism on health issues.