From abortion and reproductive care to hormonal treatments, the US government is tightening access to women’s health, and the Black community remains the most vulnerable. Black women have the highest maternal mortality rates (50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births as of 2023) and face higher rates of untreated mental health conditions than other races, while access to affordable health care remains increasingly difficult to obtain.
While the healthcare system has long had systemic, social, and economic inequities, the new virtual health clinic, Kyndred, is the latest to offer a safe space for Black women. With a history in social work, public health, sexual education, and therapy, “our healthcare experiences can be a significant source of trauma for a lot of us,” co-founder of Kyndred Kimberly Huggins tells ESSENCE.
“[We] tried for a very long time to figure out how to address all the issues that were impacting Black women,” adds co-founder Brittany Braithwaite, a community organizer specializing in reproductive policy, rights, and justice. Huggins and Braithwaite started advocating for the sexual health of Black and Brown people on their college campus over 15 years ago. Their student organization, “Sex Symbols,” was a safe space for taboo conversations, like relationships, sex parties, and STD testing.
Back then, HIV was one of the leading causes of death for Black women, who accounted for nearly two thirds of infections in 2010, which Huggins says was part of what started their sexual wellness company, Kimbritive in 2016. “Kimbritive is an extension of the need that we saw on our college campus at the time,” says Huggins. Now, almost 10 years later, Kimbritive is giving birth to Kyndred.
Unlike Kimbritive, which is an all-access community, Kyndred is a healthcare company looking to take up space in the broader healthcare industry. “We’re looking at research and data sets and building out care protocols and workflows for Black women, specifically,” says the nurse practitioner and doula leading Kyndred, Tesiah Coleman. At Kyndred,“Black women get to be centered in their care.”
According to the NIH, Black patients receive significantly less time with their physicians. Because of this, Kyndred is setting a new standard for Black women, allowing them the time to take full advantage of their health with doctors who have decades of expertise. “When someone signs up, they get an hour intake appointment with a medical provider, and that kind of sets the initial tone,” Coleman says.
Specializing in sexual and reproductive health, Kyndred takes a different approach than other providers, which are known to disregard Black concerns. For example, 58% of Black women have high blood pressure, which can cause difficult issues while you’re pregnant. “We have what’s called healthcare homegirls,” she says, a care advocate to support you through even the most drastic health disparities, which includes help with insurance, referrals, resources, and education.
While most people Google their symptoms before talking to a healthcare provider, Kyndred includes the learning hub, Sugar, which can provide a more personalized analysis of your concern. And although the platform is exclusively virtual right now, providing care in New York, California, DC, Maryland, and Virginia, their vision for the future is to have a space to offer in-person care.
“Black women receive less than 2% of venture capital funds and funding in general,” says Braithwaite, noting the obstacles with opening an office. After all, having a space to provide in-person Paps On Tap, their quarterly health education series—which you can catch this Friday in NYC in honor of Black Maternal Health week—would be nice. And although the US government interferes with the health of Black women, Kyndred and the team’s work isn’t just a reaction to white supremacy. “We don’t build in response,” she says. “We build because we have to.”
