Q&A with Adrienne Hibbert of Black Doctors of South Florida

This Black female founder is changing the healthcare system for people of color.

Did you know that Fearless Foundry has a podcast?? Our CEO, Madeline Pratt, goes deep to learn from underrepresented leaders. In a recent episode, Madeline had a much needed conversation about equity in the healthcare system with Adrienne Hibbert.  

Adrienne is the Founder and CEO of Black Doctors of South Florida and Black Health Doctors—a medical directory to help Black patients find Black medical practitioners. She’s an advocate for equity in healthcare and safety for Black people within our medical and healthcare fields.  

Adrienne is such a badass that we just had to pull some highlights from the podcast. There’s a disconnect between Black health providers and patients looking to reach a provider who understands their lived experience and will listen to them and support them. The work Adrienne does helps bridge that divide: 

Madeline: 

There’s a high level of inequity that exists inside the healthcare system, especially for people of color. How far off are we from equity in health care?  

Adrienne: 

We're so far off that myths are still being circulated about Black patients in healthcare fields. There are still doctors that believe Black people's nerve endings are less sensitive than white people's. There are still doctors that believe Black patients exaggerate their pain and have a higher tolerance for pain. How is there a myth that says that our nerve endings are less sensitive but we're also exaggerating our pain? They're opposites. There are myths that say that Black people's skin is thicker than white people's skin, but we all use the same needles. The majority of the medical books in this country were written by white men, and are the books we use to teach doctors of all races and ethnicities about each other. 

The people who are losing this battle and are dying more quickly in our medical field are Black people. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy related cause than white women. Black women are more likely to receive inferior care when suffering heart attacks. Pain is significantly undertreated in Black patients. 

How do we fix this? How do we feel safer? I wanted to give Black people a way to be proactive. That’s why I started Black Doctors of South Florida. If we can’t stop someone from implicitly exercising bias onto us, the least we can do is in our preventative care—going to see a PCP, OBGYN, dentist, nurse practitioner, or cardiologists—in that area we can be the first to say, “I'm going to go to someone who I can relate to who will listen to me”. 

If you’re around someone who looks like you, you’re more able to open up, speak candidly about your experience, and feel a level of comfort and safety. I wanted Black Doctors of South Florida to at least give Black people the level of comfort to say, “I can go to the doctor, I can go to a therapist, I can get my kids the prescriptions they need,” and know that the person taking care of them is listening to their needs.    

Madeline: 

What can we all be doing to help that evolution and that equity come to life?   

Adrienne: 

I've learned in business that change is inevitable. I've learned in life that change is inevitable, but specifically in business, and our healthcare system is a business. It’s a system that has been created to protect and prevent certain outcomes within our country. We make decisions based on money in our healthcare system. I know for a fact that our healthcare system is evolving—we’re moving into a space of evolution because implicit bias hasn't been talked about as much as it has been the past couple of years. We're listening to people speak openly and candidly about their experiences with our healthcare system. We're listening to it on platforms, we're listening to it on TV shows; there is attention being put on our healthcare system and there’s no choice but to evolve or be left behind.  

Our healthcare system is changing, but it's not evolving in a way that’s going to benefit everyone and be the most dominant and prominent player in the healthcare field. I believe what I’ve done is make it easier for Black people to have access to Black doctors. As we keep choosing to feel safer and choosing to find comfort in another Black doctor, therapist, or dentist, we’re forcing the healthcare system to train doctors better, look into implicit biases, look at the numbers, look at the data, and to say something's not right.  

I feel that you can't just stand by and be complicit as non-Black people. You have to start speaking up if you see something that looks a bit uneasy or unnecessary or uncomfortable—when you see someone who is unable to advocate for themselves in a situation dealing with healthcare. If you see a child or a young adult who you believe is not getting the best treatment, ask questions. Truly advocate for the care and safety of your family. That's how we can do what is necessary to make sure the healthcare system evolves to make everyone feel safe.    

Educate yourself if you're not aware of these inequities inside of the medical system. Once we're educated, we can see the disparity, and then we can start to advocate and push for change. 

Want to learn more about Adrienne’s story?