Black Doctors in Savannah, GA
A common concern I often hear from Black patients is that it is challenging to find a Black Doctor in Savannah, GA. While Blacks make up 13% of the US population, Black Doctors make up only 5% of the total physician population. Recent data shows the percentage of Black Physicians in the United States has shown a marginal increase.
Thus, it would seemingly be a challenge to find Black Doctors in any setting. Still, when you look at major cities such as Atlanta, New York, Houston, Los Angeles, etc there are active minority medical groups, medical programs, and organizations that highlight their diverse physician workforce and the work being done in the community.
Interestingly, in Savannah, despite the population being 54% Black it seems that the Black Doctors are even harder to come by. When I relocated to Savannah, Georgia to complete my medical training, the void of Black Doctors was noticeable. It was even more poignant when a few patients told me, “I have never seen a black doctor before, I mean I’ve seen them on TV but not in real life”.
While making strides to engage the community, I came in contact with a few of the Black Doctors in Savannah and heard about others via word of mouth. Interestingly, there are a number of physicians in the area who just aren’t visible on the internet, do not have a social media presence, or are not actively engaged in community outreach. To provide solutions to this problem, I created a list of Black Doctors in Savannah, GA to increase their visibility in the community.
Coming from a major city (New York City), it was confusing to me that it was such a challenge to find other Black Physician colleagues. I initially began searching for Black Doctors in the area as an effort to develop my physician network, but later realized it was less about me and more about developing a resource for patients looking for Black Doctors in and around Savannah, Georgia.
There are many important reasons for Black People to have access to Black Doctors, particularly when it comes to racial discrimination, inequitable care, and racial biases within the healthcare system. Additional barriers include a lack of cultural competence, medical distrust, limited medical education, being under/uninsured, and costs.
It is important for Black Patients to have access to a Black Physician for a number of reasons, but most importantly to help improve health outcomes and to combat the health inequities that are rampant throughout our healthcare system. Some reports have shown that when black patients see a Black Doctor, communication, trust, and willingness to adhere to treatment plans improve which ultimately results in better health outcomes.
One of my goals over the next few years is to increase the visibility of Black Doctors in and around Savannah, GA. Click below to access the Resource List that I compiled of Black Doctors in Savannah, Georgia. I hope this list helps you on your journey to obtain health equity, culturally competent experiences and improved health outcomes.
>>Resource List of Black Doctors in Savannah, Georgia<<
Harvest Health MD
👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿 Thank you Doctor Lawrence.