West Hollywood Childhood Friends Provide Meal and Mask to Every LA First Responder

The founder of a West Hollywood travel health care startup has been raising money to deliver personal protective equipment (PPE) and meals to hospitals and first responders.

Dimitri Kermani, CEO and founder of Innover HealthCare, told the Journal the company was established in December to provide materials such as disinfecting wipes to people who travel frequently. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, Innover’s manufacturers could no longer sell wipes and sanitizer to Innover.

“Our manufacturers are all in the United States … they come and they us tell us, hey, Defense Production Act, we can’t sell you any more sanitizers, we can’t sell you the products that you essentially need,” Kermani said. “So I thought this is a good opportunity to help our local communities.”

Kermani partnered with his childhood friend, Beverly Hills attorney Kevin Lipton, to raise money for hospital workers and first responders. Kermani has been fundraising money for PPEs; Lipton has been fundraising to provide food to first responders through his Lipton Legal Accidental Relief Fund. When the Relief Fund recently obtained nonprofit status, Kermani and Lipton put all the donations into that fund.

“We were able to collect tens of thousands of dollars,” Kermani said. “We’ve been sourcing masks, we’ve been sourcing goggles, gloves, gowns, all different forms of PPE that we’ve been donating all around the country.”

Kermani and Lipton first used the money to start the Mask and Meal Program, in which they provided one meal and at least one mask to each first responder at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for 14 days in April. Among the food items included in the meal donations are Thai food, tacos, grilled cheese sandwiches and burrito bowls. “They’re actually full nutritious meals,” Kermani said.

He said the food donations were important to first responders because “In a time where first responders are under extreme duress and a lot more stress than they would normally be under, that extra hour [not spent cooking and cleaning] really means a lot when it comes to improving morale.”

Kermani added that when he and Lipton saw the positive impact the masks and meals had on the first responders in the sheriff’s office, they decided to expand the program to local hospital workers, including staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

On May 6 — National Nurses Day — the city of West Hollywood held a morning and evening motorcade featuring police officers and firefighters driving to Cedars-Sinai, where they stopped and briefly applauded medical personnel. During the motorcades, Kermani, West Hollywood Mayor Pro Tempore Lindsey Horvath and Los Angeles City Councilmember David Ryu distributed 500 masks and 500 American flags to Cedars-Sinai nurses. Kermani also dropped off 65 meals. “It was a really nice show of appreciation,” Kermani said.

The Mask and Meal program currently is being expanded to two Kaiser hospitals in San Diego as well as to hospitals in Tijuana, Mexico, over the next couple of days. Kermani also planned to hand out masks on May 13 to hospital workers during an appreciation event at Veteran’s Hospital in West Los Angeles.

Additionally, Kermani and Lipton have sent care packages containing PPE  to hospitals in several states, including California, Alabama, Arkansas, New York, New Jersey and Texas.

“Our goal is to continue [the donations for] as long as possible,” Kermani said, “even beyond the pandemic if possible, because we see the incredible impact it’s having on morale.”