Hazel, Kweku | MD
Biography
Dr. Kweku Hazel is a general surgeon and faculty fellow in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery at the University of Colorado Hospital. He received his medical degree at Texas Tech School of Medicine in Lubbock, where he also started the Barbershop BP program which was aimed at educating communities of color about chronic health conditions including high blood pressure and diabetes.
Dr. Hazel completed his general surgery residency at the University of Colorado and is involved with community health education in his city of Aurora. His research focus is in advancing socially responsible surgical practices with the goal of improving surgical equity and patient outcomes. His recent efforts have been focused on promoting vaccination equity and vaccine acceptance, while reducing hesitancy in communities of color.
Dr. Hazel is the co-founder of the Gyedi Project, and has organized over 7 vaccine pop-up clinics which administered close to 4000 vaccines in 2021. He was nominated for the Colorado Public Health Association award for Excellence in the Promotion of Health Equity in Colorado in 2021, and currently serves on the community outreach and policy committees of the Colorado Vaccine Equity Taskforce.