5/23/2008 UPDATE

RE:    Restaurant Worker's Health Care Cooperative  (RWHCC)
A newly formed health care cooperative for restaurant workers in the 10002 and 10009 zip codes. It will work like a food co-op,  but provide basic health care instead. 

Dear Friends,

If you agree to participate in RWHCC,  please e-mail me.  Thanks. 
It is an informal “hand shake”  situation to start with.  If any of your employees or staff need medical attention,  please feel welcome to send them to me.  I will evaluate them and call you with a plan to help them on a case by case basis.  Call my mobile to reach me  917 723 4206

Restaurant Worker's Health Care Cooperative  (RWHCC)

Founded by David J. Ores, MD  (aka Dr. Dave) in 2008.  I will act as sole provider of services and Medical Director to start with.  Maybe other doctors will join us later?

Mission: To create and maintain a context and a physical space to provide routine low cost health care services directly to uninsured restaurant workers in a localized area or community.

A medical care delivery system for uninsured restaurant workers in the 10002 and 10009 zip codes in downtown NYC.

All the restaurants chip in a small amount of money on a monthly basis based on the number of "tops"  (number of people they can seat at one time)  they have. Monday can be collected monthly or twice a year?  Maybe 2 or 3 dollars per “top” a month or a quarter?     Money goes into separate fund / account.   After 12 months of operation, we can all agree adjust the restaurant donation amount as necessary. 

In the future,  these monies could possibly be treated as a tax deductible donation if we can set up tax deductible status.    We do not have that status yet.

Dr Dave will provide whatever basic health care he can for their uninsured workers / employees.     Separate accounting  /  books will be kept for this group of RWHCC patients.  RWHCC will be operated as a separate NOT FOR PROFIT entity from the beginning.  Will hopefully be able to obtain official 501c3 status after 2 or 3 years of operations (or as soon as possible)    We can review the financial records quarterly (or twice a year?) and make adjustments as indicated:

NOTES / SUGGESTIONS:

• offer more services or medications?  
• collect more or less funds?  
• have fund raising events?  
• Add more restaurants?  
• Do more medical screening? 
• Flu shots? 
• Some preventative programs?  
• Make a separate website?    Or start with FACEBOOK  as our "website" to begin with?
• Make window stickers with RWHCC logo to show member status of participating restaurants.  Round. Red and black.  about 7 inches diameter.  Crossed fork and knife as symbol.  DEMO of logo to follow
• Get some press coverage re:  "taking care of our own and NOT waiting around for national health care to occur."  "One local response to the absence of a national health care system"
• Get legal / business help  (and  / or person) who can act as the CFO of  RWHCC.
• Encourage other people and doctors to set up the same system in their own neighborhoods.  We want people to copy us and / or open "chapters" of the RWHCC in their own cities and zip codes. 
• This is an Experimental program /  it may or may not work.
• Members are Restaurants in the 10002 or the 10009 zip codes.   Clients are employees or staff of these restaurants
• Board of Advisors are restaurant owners and / or other prominent, helpful persons

Advisors /  potential members  (so far)

Wylie DuFresne
WD50    50 Clinton Street    NYC  10002

Chris Santos
Stanton Street Social
Stanton Street   NYC  10002

Beatrice Tosti  &   Julio Pena
Il Bagatto   192 East Second Street  NYC  10009

Seymour Burton Restaurant
511  East 5th Street  NYC  10009

Jason
EU restaurant of East 4th Street

**  Please e-mail other restaurant owners you may know personally in the 10002 or the 10009 that you think may be interested in RWHCC for their people and ask them to e-mail me…. or call my cell…..  Thank you.     Dr Dave    917 723 4206

Advisors:  Please call or e-mail me anytime with advice , tips and /or suggestions of how to best provide some basic health care services to uninsured restaurant workers in the neighborhood.   All comments / suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. 

Thanks

Dr Dave
www.LowerEastSideMedical.com