22 | MARCH 30 • 2023 

OUR COMMUNITY

A 

West Bloomfield physician and 
mountain climber is aiming to 
boost the health of communities 
in the city of Detroit by using a model he 
developed 13 years ago in Nepal.
Richard Keidan, M.D., a surgical 
oncologist with Michigan Healthcare 
Professionals, is working with Brilliant 
Detroit to hire community health work-
ers. They will be based at some of the 
centers the organization runs in neigh-
borhoods across the city.
Brilliant Detroit started in 2015 to 
provide a radically different approach 
to kindergarten readiness. It operates 18 
neighborhood houses, with a goal of hav-
ing 24 by next year. Brilliant Detroit does 
not open a home until it is invited in by 
a community group, such as a block club. 
Originally aimed at providing activities 
for young children (“from belly to age 8,” 

the organization likes to say), the homes 
now offer a variety of programs for chil-
dren up to middle school age.
Co-founded by Carolyn and Jim 
Bellinson and Cindy Eggleton, Brilliant 
Detroit has served more than 16,000 peo-
ple. More than 500 children have gone 
through its programs, said Regina Reid, 
programming director.
The goal of the new initiative is to help 
neighborhood residents get the healthcare 
they need.
Keidan says the reason many Detroiters 
have poor healthcare is not because they 
lack medical insurance — fewer than 
9 percent have no coverage — or even 
because physician practices and clinics 
are in short supply. But a single mom 
holding down a low-paid hourly job and 
perhaps also caring for an elderly parent 
has scant time to make appointments for 

checkups and preventive care at times 
when medical offices and clinics are 
open. Getting referrals to the right clinic 
can be difficult. And even with insurance, 
co-pays can be a problem. Hospital emer-
gency departments become the default 
health care provider for many city resi-
dents. 
Keidan, a longtime member of Temple 
Israel, says accessing public programs of 
any kind, including healthcare, can be 
intimidating. “I was a practicing physi-
cian for 40 years when I applied for Social 
Security, and I had to work with a consul-
tant to do it,” he said. 
Brilliant Detroit’s community health 
workers, who will live in the neighbor-
hoods they serve, will offer health edu-
cation and referrals, informal counseling 
and social support and encourage resi-
dents to seek help when needed. Keidan 

continued on page 24

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The community health 
team at Brilliant Detroit’s 
home in the Osborn 
neighborhood near 
Gratiot and Eight Mile 
on Detroit’s east side: 
Bottom row: Regina Reid, 
programming director; 
Sarah Rose Holloway, 
project manager. Top row: 
Dr. Richard Keidan; Safiya 
Blue Jackson, community 
health worker.

Healing Neighborhoods

Detroit2Nepal community health model comes home.