Physicians Choice Employee Resources
An overview for Physicians Choice employees.
We are excited to meet you all and to have you join us as we put the engines of business to work for humanity. But first, a few basics...
What is Obran?
Obran is a worker-owned cooperative organization that includes several businesses, now including Physicians Choice! We are growing our cooperative by bringing in small businesses like Physicians Choice. Obran is owned by its workers, specifcally the worker-owners from all of these businesses.
Our Mission, Vision, Values
Our Mission is to put the engines of business to work for humanity.
Our Vision is that Obran will be the world's largest worker-cooperative conglomerate. We exist to grow profitable, useful, and impactful businesses that serve our members, customers, and communities. We acknowledge structures of inequity and embrace the struggles to overcome them, one workplace at a time.
Our Values: Democracy, Innovation, Solidarity, Humanity, Balance
Why Join the Cooperative?
Obran Membership Benefits
We believe that everyone's heart beats the same and every voice should be heard. That is why our member benefits are equal for every member.
If you join as a member, you get all your regular Physicians Choice benefits, plus:
2% pay increase (1% upon signing your membership agreement, and 1% upon completion of 90-day period and contribution expectations)
Annual profit sharing across all Obran companies
The right to vote in elections for the Physicians Choice Board, the Obran Board, and certain major member-wide decisions
The right to run for positions on the Physicians Choice Board and the Obran Board, and to join Obran Committees
Down payment assistance for purchasing a home, up to $120,000
As we grow together, Obran will seek to provide additional benefits based on Physicians Choice member preferences. These may include:
Access to free personal enrichment classes
Financial planning services
Low-fee or no-fee payday lending and debit card services
YOU decide!
Obran Membership 101
To become a member and remain in good standing, you are expected to:
Buy a $250 membership share (payable over time, deducted from your after-tax paycheck)
Contribute at least 1% of your paycheck to your internal capital account
Complete at least 10 hours of work at an Obran Cooperative company (including Physicians Choice) each year
Complete the 5-part Member Training curriculum (optional, but strongly encouraged; content is being released on a rolling basis)
Pass the initial 90-day member candidacy period
Participate in at least 3 member meetings each year
For a full breakdown of what is required to join please checkout Becoming a Member page. Any Physicians Choice employee that is ready to become a member-owner of the cooperative (and of Physicians Choice) can sign up online at the Obran Member Center.
Communications and General Feedback
In an effort to streamline the feedback process, please direct general feedback on your experience to Adam Rose at adam@obran.coop.
You can also reference the Getting Help Page for other Obran related questions!
We're Sure You Have Questions!
We have put together a simple guide for you here:
What exactly is happening?
In order to meet the significant growth opportunities your hard work has helped create, Physicians Choice has joined Obran Health, part of the worker-owned Obran Cooperative. Obran Cooperative works with successful small businesses to help them scale and they do this by sharing ownership with workers at Obran’s businesses who elect to join in ownership. Yes, this means you have the opportunity to become an owner!
First, and most importantly, your job will stay the same. Shari is taking on a new role as Director of Growth. She will still be here to help, but her focus will shift to growing Physicians Choice, while additional leadership from Obran Health, including an office administrator and additional clinical leadership, will support day-to-day activities to prepare for growth. You will meet some new people and have more support than ever. And Shari, while focusing on the growth of the organization, will be transitioning her ownership stake to the cooperative, including every employee at Physicians Choice that elects membership.
Why is this happening?
Physicians Choice has the chance to serve Optum, and other anchor referral partners, in a broader geography, expanding in the LA and Orange Counties. Knowing the size of the opportunity, Shari wanted to bring in a partner that could support growth while preserving the strong Physicians Choice operations and culture. Shari also wanted everyone who has helped build Physicians Choice over the past 29 years to participate in this next phase of growth.
Shari found Obran, a partner providing a unique way to support growth and success—by transitioning Physicians Choice into an employee-owned business. Obran has pioneered this work and knows that giving everyone ownership is the best way to grow while preserving operations and culture. This new model, Physicians Choice as part of Obran Cooperative, will give all Physicians Choice workers a stake in the value they create and will give the company a competitive advantage in recruiting and retaining. Where else can a home health professional have the opportunity to join an organization and receive an ownership stake?
What is happening to my job?
Nothing! Everything is staying the same. You will keep doing the same thing you are doing now. If you elect membership (i.e. you choose to become a worker-owner), you will participate in profit sharing as well as in the governance of the company. That means you will be able to vote on who will be on the board, you can run to be on the board yourself, or you can join one of the committees that oversees other things at the co-op.
In the coming months, we will be launching teams to explore minimally disruptive ways to better coordinate business between Obran and Physicians Choice. This means looking at things like combining payroll systems and accounting software. If potential changes directly impact how you do your job, we will make sure you have the opportunity to get involved in the decision-making process. Remember we are growing! We have no intention of eliminating any jobs—we want to hire more people and give each of you more opportunities.
Why is worker ownership a good thing?
Worker ownership is great because it can help families and local communities grow their wealth and achieve economic stability. Owning a part of a company gives people a sense of pride that can carry them and their spirits throughout their lives. Worker ownership is also just the fair thing to do. You work hard and you should see the benefits of that work.
What is Obran Cooperative?
Obran is a worker-owned cooperative organization that currently owns a few businesses in staffing, logistics, and healthcare—and now your company! We are growing our cooperative by buying small businesses. Obran is owned by its workers, specifically the worker-owners from all of these businesses.
When workers decide to become members, they become owners of Obran Cooperative, which entitles them to a number of benefits, including profit sharing. As a worker at an Obran company, you have the right to become a member of the cooperative, and if you do, you will be one of the new owners of your business and all of the other Obran businesses.
What does it mean to be a worker-owner or member? Do I have to join?
Being a worker-owner or a cooperative member means the same thing. It means you become one of the many owners of Obran Cooperative. This entitles you to a number of benefits including your fair share of Obran’s profits.
In addition to profit-sharing, worker-ownership is also about having your voice heard. All Obran members are eligible to run for the board of their own workplace and the board of Obran itself! You also get to vote in future board elections for your specific company and in Obran board elections, as well as certain special member decisions. In addition, members can choose to participate in Committees, groups that recommend new ideas to the Board about topics such as Culture, Finance, and Governance.
To be clear, while access to Obran membership is your right, it is also open and voluntary. This means you do NOT have to join to continue your employment. That said, in other Obran businesses, the majority of employees elect membership. We hope you will consider the opportunity and join!
How do I become a member and what do I need to contribute?
Once you decide to become a member, you elect membership by signing your membership agreement. This is available in your online member profile at member.obran.coop, and we also have paper versions available. To activate your membership you must:
Buy a $250 membership share (payable over time)*
Contribute at least 1% of your paycheck to your Internal Capital Account**
Complete at least 10 hours of work at an Obran Cooperative company each year
Attend at least 3 member meetings (this includes Obran member meetings as well as public business review meeting for your company)
Pass the initial 90-day member candidacy period (to gain voting rights)
Complete the 5-part Member Training curriculum (optional but strongly encouraged)
*We recognize that this financial contribution may feel big. So we do a few things to make this easier. First, we offer a 2% pay raise for all employees who elect membership. This is meant to help offset your contribution. Second, you don’t need to contribute $250 upfront. You can pay it over time through paycheck deductions. Third, this money is yours! It is not dues that go to some other organization. Your contributions sit in an Internal Capital Account with your name on it, and you can access it when you need to. As long as you keep $250, plus your 1% paycheck contributions in the account, your membership is active.
**As with the $250 membership share, your 1% paycheck contributions go into your Internal Capital Account, which means that money belongs to you!
What do I get for membership?
Right off the bat, when you sign your membership agreement, you’ll receive a 1% pay raise. Once you complete the other membership requirements described above, you’ll receive another 1% pay raise.
Each year, you will receive a share of the profits. At a cooperative like Obran, profit sharing is done evenly. This means that the CEO, an office manager, and frontline workers all get an equal share. If there are 100 members, everyone gets 1/100th of the profits, if there are 500 members, everyone gets 1/500th. It doesn’t matter your role or position. However, it does matter how much you work. So if you work 40 hours/week you will get twice as much as someone who works 20 hours/week.
In addition to profit sharing, members have access to other member benefits including down payment assistance to buy a home, and over time we aim to offer more services like personal financial planning services, low-cost payday lending, a debit card account, and more.
As a worker-owned cooperative, our goal is to make the business work for our workers. We are constantly looking for new and better benefits to provide to our members. That means we will be asking YOU what benefits would make your life better, and we will work to make them a reality.
Finally, one of the most valuable member benefits is the improved experience you’ll feel as a member. You have the power to vote on major member decisions at Obran, and beginning next year, you will elect the board that oversees your company’s management. We also hope that you will feel invested in and supported by our dedicated people operations team. The organization exists to serve you and we believe you will feel that.
For the latest information on member benefits, click here.
How does Obran have money to invest in a company?
When Obran brings in a company, it invests some of its own money from its investment fund to pay the owner for the business, and gets a bank loan to cover the rest. We work with mission-motivated investors and banks who want to see worker-ownership grow and who give us good rates. These good rates mean that we can pay back our debt faster, and members can see profits sooner! Often it takes about 5 years to pay off the debts and, during those years, profits to the membership will be small. After the debts used to buy the company are repaid, members of the cooperative will likely see greater profits.
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