Lecresha Sewell, CEO and founder of Louisville-based startup Melanated Healthcare LLC, fell into entrepreneurship. It just seemed to happen as an opportunity became obvious to her and she seized on it.
And that opportunity came from a very personal place for her and for the people that use Melanated Healthcare’s app. Sewell, a women’s health nurse practitioner, frequently heard from her patients that they sought her out specifically. They wanted someone who might more intuitively understand their culture or other aspects of their lived experience.
Sewell is Black. But apart from race, she wanted to find connection within her education (she holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in nursing and women’s health) and her profession. And she wanted to be able to find connections and relate with patients.
“It was something that really drew me in and something that I'm still very passionate about with women's health,” Sewell said.
The passion for helping people find connections in health care eventually led her to get connected with a business consultant who advised her before things took off. She connected with Fred Burns, a Dallas-based app developer, to build the Melanated Health app.
Sewell founded the company on Sept. 4, 2020, but didn’t launch her business until May 24, 2021. The app went live at the beginning of November 2020.
The app “assists Black and brown patients to locate melanated health care professionals with the ultimate goal of increasing access to care and decreasing health disparities.”
“Some patients may be a little bit more reserved about seeking care just because of distrust in the health care system,” Sewell said. “And a lot of different things come about with their cultural background, experiences, and things that have been passed along from generation to generation.
“Patients who trust their health care professionals are obviously more likely to have better health outcomes in general.”
Features of the app
Health care providers are able to add their listings to the app’s directory by using the app. Users likewise download the app to find providers. There is also a chat feature where users can forward health questions or comments. It also includes a blog of credible health information and an event feature where users can find community health events.
The latest census data on race shows that about 61.6% of people in the U.S. identify as white only, the largest racial cohort in the data. The next largest cohort is people who identified as Black or African American alone at 12.4%. In raw numbers, that’s about 204 million and 41 million, respectively.
Compare that to workforce data for the health care sector.
Across all health care practitioners and technical occupations, white people made up about 76% of the workforce while Black or African American people made up about 12%. In health care support occupations 64% of workers were white and 25% were Black or African American. That’s according to recent survey data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A growing body of research finds that people of color engage better with the health care system and have better outcomes when they receive care from providers of color.
"According to the CDC, people from racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected by lack of access to quality healthcare," Sewell said. "As a result of health inequities, skepticism and distrust for healthcare systems developed among these groups. Lack of trust and health inequities increases the risk for poor health outcomes for people from racial and ethnic minority groups."
Louisville-based health care accelerator XLerateHealth selected Sewell to participate in the 12-week program in August. XLerateHealth selected only two of its cohort of seven startups from Kentucky.
In the short term, Sewell hopes to secure funding to help her scale up the app and its user base. Long-term, she hopes to add a telehealth feature and become the No. 1 digital health platform for people of color nationwide.
Sewell shared more with us in the following Q&A:
Do you have a role model that inspires your approach to entrepreneurship?
My role model that inspires my approach to entrepreneurship is Rebecca Enonchong. Rebecca is a female technology entrepreneur. She is the CEO and founder of AppsTech. She created her business in 1999 at a time when mobile technology was in its infancy. Not only was she successful in the United States, but she was able to scale to a global enterprise.
What do you think the Louisville market needs more than anything else to foster startups?
Unless you are introduced into the startup community in Louisville then you are likely unaware of some of the opportunities that are available. Consequently, I think it may be advantageous to enhance connections in the startup community.
Where do you see Melanated Health in five years?
Within 5 years, I envision Melanated Healthcare as a telehealth platform for Black and persons of color that will serve as a first line of care. The telehealth platform will not only increase access to care but will also decrease health disparities. Ultimately, this will drive down healthcare costs and reduce the healthcare deficit.
What’s your big takeaway so far from XLerateHealth?
My biggest takeaway so far from XLerateHealth has been a solid business foundation is critical, but adaptability is just as important.
