ABOUT RWRP

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Updated - June 29 2019 

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The Restaurant Workers Referral Program, Inc. (RWRP) is a 501(c) 3 not for profit corporation founded by David J. Ores, MD in 2007. David J. Ores, MD, a 1985 graduate of Columbia College of P & S, and a general physician on the lower East Side for over 25 years, built RWRP over 10 years ago as one possible way to keep service workers out of the ER as much as possible. And to see and treat these workers as early as possible in the illness process. 

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The goal of RWRP - project is to have a Medical Doctor see workers as early as possible with whatever problem they are experiencing. RWRP was designed and created to help reduce this health care gap

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Member Restaurants - contribute a small monthly fee and all their workers now have access to a physician / MD to (at minimum) make an initial assessment of their problem. In nearly all cases, these workers ad be diagnosed and treated without additional care. In a few cases, workers are referred to a more serious level of care as indicated. 

 

Heathcare Access for Workers -  The restaurant and service industry is one of the largest (or possibly the largest) employer in NYC. Many of these workers do not have rational access to a medical doctor. They are shut out by cost in dollars, cost in days or time (cannot miss work) or afraid of the huge unpayable bill from a hospital or ER.

 

RWRP was created to serve this patient population (working people) quickly and early (a first look) at VERY low cost in terms of time or money. Then, the very few who require more attention and care can be pointed in that direction. 

 

Prevention - Why does this make sense? Without MD access, most workers just “wait and see what happens” with their cough, fever, stomach ache or cut finger. Possibly exposing themselves, their co-workers and even customers to negative health consequences.

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     Serious enough to miss a day of work

     Serious enough to risk an unessacesary expense/debt which can quickly equal 3 months of wages.

   A nite cough with fever can cost $25.00 to treat early as an out-patient .... OR if ignored, 8 weeks later, that cough can become a serious pneumonia with ambulance, ER and ICU which now costs $400,000. And you have lost a critical trained work staff person, “family” member, for days, weeks or even permanently. 

 

Injured and sick workers; are now forced into the position to determine for themselves IF their problem is “serious” or “doctor worthy” (And most do not possess the training or experience to make such a judgement).

 

In Conclusion - To avoid big, unessascary negative health disasters (or even medium health disasters), all coughs need to be seen and treated as early as possible in order to catch and prevent it. Your workers cannot use a $2000.00 emergency room visit or a $400 dollar doctor visit for these purposes. Or even take the day off to wait in a clinic somewhere. They won’t and they don’t. They often “wait an see what happens”, until they are really sure they are really, really sick and now have no other choice but to seek some sort of expensive help. This is days, or weeks or even years too late. Early diagnosis is way cheaper and way better for everyone involved. 

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To become a member, contact Dr Dave for more information.TEXT: 917-723-4206  EMAIL: drdave.lesm@gmail.com