Black in the West: Neko Upson, A Midwife
Adreanna Thompson-Paschetto
Neko Upson is a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) who grew up in Curtis Park and currently manages the Certified Nurse Midwife practice at Saint Joseph Hospital. Looking back on her journey up to this point, Upson stated that “God puts people in your life, sometimes they don’t know what a difference they made.” Upson came from humble beginnings, it was the people that she met along the way that made her career possible. Upson shares her story of growing up in the Curtis Park projects and returning to provide healthcare to women in the neighborhood for nearly 20 years.
Upson’s mother was 14 years old when she was born as Neko Robinson, by 2nd grade they moved to the Curtis Park neighborhood where she attended Gilpin Elementary school. As a black student in the Denver educational system, she was bussed to Force Elementary, Merrill Middle School, and later John F. Kennedy (JFK) High school from which she attained her high school diploma.
Perseverance was demonstrated by her grandparents who worked diligently without degrees, her aunts who went to college, and her mother who struggled to make a life for herself and her family. As a child, Upson had dreams of becoming a doctor but as she progressed in her education, the path to obtaining a degree became unclear. When her high school VP, Mrs. Emerson noticed her ambition, she helped Upson apply to college (even covering her application fees). Her encouragement helped start Neko on a path toward a Kinesiology degree with hopes of working in sports medicine. Although she obtained her degree, she was not particularly passionate about her chosen field of study.
The solution to her ambivalence towards her initial degree came in the form of another mentor, Loretta Ivory (midwife). Upson had known her since her childhood as a medical provider at East Side Clinic. Their connection spurred her to the nursing program at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC). It was here that she found a remarkable cohort with 5 other students of color. From the beginning of nursing school, Upson was drawn to Labor and Delivery (L&D). She secured an internship at Denver General (now known as Denver Health and Hospitals) and then moved to L&D where she worked for two years as a nurse.
It was not long until she returned to UCHSC and completed her Master’s degree in Midwifery. She later joined the Nurse-Midwives at Saint Joseph Hospital where she continued to grow as she practiced under the tutelage of Christie Bryant CNM and practice founder, Barbara Hughes CNM. Neko shifted into leadership under the encouragement of another midwife, Mary Wilterdink, taking on the management of the OB triage unit at Saint Joseph Hospital. From there it was a logical step to be the clinical coordinator of the entire midwifery practice at St. Joseph. She continues her clinical role of seeing patients in the clinic and caring for families in OB triage.
“Access to care in Denver is less of a challenge than knowing that patients have a choice” Upson explains. “I want women to know that they can choose midwifery care, right in the community.” She is grateful for those who believed in her, “If I can be that quiet influence in just one person’s life, then I will be happy.”
Black in the West
This piece is a part of a series of deep dives into the lives of African-American professionals who are thriving in the west. Black in the West pieces will spotlight people who are becoming or have become part of the modern-day story of Five Points.