38 | FEBRUARY 29 • 2024 
J
N

E

mergency visits to 
hospitals or urgent 
cares often involve 
long stressful hours in packed 
waiting rooms and a weird, 
empty feeling when finally 
being seen by a rushed medi-
cal professional. Shmuel Bass 
and Bentzi Oseroff, friends 
and entrepreneurs from 
Southfield, decided that some-
thing had to be done.
“
A lot of medical care has 
become dispassionate over the 
years,” Bass said. “Sometimes 
patients didn’t feel like they 
were being treated as human 
beings; they felt like just a 
number or a source of finan-
cial gain.”
For about 18 months, Bass 
and Oseroff worked on the 

idea of creating a local Jewish 
urgent care. In February 
2023, they leased a building 
in Southfield and set to work 
getting credentials and equip-
ment.
On Oct. 15, Refuah Urgent 
Care first opened its doors.
Refuah’s medical director is 
Dr. Eli Kott, who 
has more than15 
years’ experience 
in emergency 
room medicine. 
He received his 
M.D. from Temple 
University and 
moved to Michigan in 2008 
for his residency at St. John’s 
Medical Center in Detroit. 
Family practitioner Esther 
Selik, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, 

has a robust nurs-
ing background, 
including experi-
ence in specialties 
such as oncology, 
hospice, neurolo-
gy, psychiatry and 
family practice. 
Also on staff is 
primary medical 
assistant Maya 
Greenstein, who 
famously saved a 
child’s life at the 
Oak Park pool 
while working as a 
teenage lifeguard in 2019. 
Currently, Refuah Urgent 
Care provides diagnostic test-
ing, vaccinations, breathing 
treatments and stitches, as well 
as X-rays. It has the latest test-

ing device that enables them 
to simulate the accurate results 
of an overnight strep test in 
just six minutes. 
Interestingly, the concept for 
Detroit Hatzalah, the Jewish 
emergency medical service, 
was also spearheaded by Bass 
and Oseroff. 
“Nine years later, Hatzalah 
has expanded and grown. 
It has even attained its first 
ambulance,” said Bass, who is 
an EMT. After the organiza-
tion took off, he stepped down 
from Hatzalah to focus on 
other endeavours.
“Refuah is Hatzalah’s natural 
extension. Hatzalah is always 
the first call, but when a 
patient is told to follow up or 
get a second opinion, Refuah 
can provide that next level of 
care. No need to spend hours 
in a busy hospital waiting 
room.”
In the first two months, 
more than 500 patients walked 
through Refuah’s doors just 
from word of mouth alone. 
“These numbers show us 
just how necessary Refuah is,” 
Oseroff said. 

A JEWISH URGENT CARE
These days, some members 
of the community might 
feel understandably anxious 
about others knowing they 
are Jewish; this anxiety can be 
exacerbated when a person is 
feeling at their most vulner-
able. 
“Refuah is geared for the 
Jewish community,” explained 
Bass. “Obviously, from a legal, 
ethical and moral perspective, 
whoever walks through our 
doors will get the same level of 
treatment. There’s no discrim-
ination. We’ll give high level 
medical care to anyone who 
needs a service that we can 
provide.”
There’s a recognizably 
haimishe (homey) feel at the 

 Help for a 
 Speedy Recovery

Refuah Urgent Care caters to Jewish patients.

ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

HEALTH

Dr. Eli Kott

Esther 
Selik

Maya 
Greenstein

The waiting room at 
Refuah Urgent Care 

