A Letter from Dr. Roger Hess, DDS

Dear Friend of Medworks,

I am excited to share that we plan to hold Medworks’ annual Dental Clinic this November 19^th and 20^th at the Huntington Convention Center. We are working with our partners to ensure a safe environment for you, our volunteer staff, and our patients.

You are critical to the success of this mission in providing the necessary dental care to those in our community, many of whom have no other options. I hope we can again count on you to join us this year. Stay tuned for more details coming by August. For now, please hold the dates.

You may or may not know that Medworks is 100% funded through grants, sponsorships, and donations. This is how Medworks makes 100% free care possible. The Dental Clinic is Medworks’ most significant clinic investment, and amazingly, for every $10,000 donated, collectively we provide nearly $25,000 in free dental services, more than doubling the value.

This past year, however, has been particularly difficult to raise funding. Many foundations have tightened their giving budgets. Due to COVID’s impact on hospitals’ bottom lines, many are not sponsoring events. While the Medworks staff is working hard to raise funding, I ask you to consider making a financial contribution if you can, to help support this year’s Dental Clinic. We need your help again.

I also want to share with you that on March 28^th this year, Cleveland lost a dear friend who passed away unexpectedly. Dr. Fredrick Lurie, DDS was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend, and esteemed dentist who will be greatly missed.

Medworks was fortunate to have had Dr. Lurie as a volunteer at its annual Dental Clinics, heading up Dental Triage as an Area Lead. He was passionate about what we did and often closed his entire office to have all his staff volunteer. Patients found comfort through the services and compassion he provided. We will miss him greatly.  I miss him tremendously.

To honor Dr. Lurie and memorialize the passion he felt for Medworks, we will be naming the Dental Triage area after him. If you would like your contribution to be made in Dr. Lurie’s honor, please note this on your check or online donation. This will help us continue Dr. Lurie’s legacy, serving those needing unconditional care. We will share a letter and photos with his family, showing our/your support.

With the pandemic, dental care has become even more difficult for low-income families to access and afford. Jobs and health insurance were lost. Dental practices and FQHCs are limiting the number of patients seen. Medworks gets calls weekly asking when its dental care services will reconvene. We are excited to bring back our annual clinic.

Please consider making a financial contribution to Medworks, to help fund the Dental Clinic, and join us again this year to make the Good Works of Medworks possible. I sincerely appreciate everything you have done to make what we do possible. Thank you so very much for giving back to our community.

Warmest Regards,