PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pediatrician Dr. Elana McDonald and family medicine physician Dr. Delana Wardlaw, twin sisters from the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia, created the Twin Sister Docs Foundation, which seeks to increase awareness of health care disparities, implicit bias and cultural competency in minority and vulnerable communities.
“People would frequently come up to us and say, ‘Can I ask you a question? Because I don't feel comfortable talking to my doctor,’” said MacDonald. “So we would always say, ‘Well, that’s a problem.’”
Over time, they realized they were providing great health care to their patients, but they wanted to extend that information outside of their practices, with the understanding that representation matters — African American women make up just 2% of physicians in America.
“Studies have shown that when African Americans have an African American physician in their community, they have longer life expectancies,” said MacDonald. “So this work is very important to us and for everyone else.”
The sisters were motivated to become physicians by their former teachers and their grandmother, who died of breast cancer at the age of 53.
“That was my driving force to become a physician at that time,” said Wardlaw. “I had no idea about health care inequities. I had no idea about lack of access to care, but I knew that grandma died at a young age, and I wanted to be able to help people live longer lives.”
Through the foundation, the doctors work with health care institutions, community organizations and government officials to increase such awareness. They were instrumental in educating the community during the initial COVID-19 outbreak.
“We are proud to practice in our communities, help the communities that helped us,” Wardlaw added. “I always stand proud … to represent the community that I come from, and I’m here to help the community that I come from.”
During Black History Month, KYW Newsradio’s GameChangers honors individuals or organizations that have made a significant, positive impact in communities of color in the greater Philadelphia region. View the 2025 honorees here.