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From Hollywood to home, local company provides new health care service

From working with Hollywood stars to helping local people in need, a central New York company is taking lessons learned during the pandemic to create more health care services.

Drakos Clinical Laboratories CEO Heather Drake Bianchi said the company spent the last two years providing mobile laboratory testing and medical care on movie sets. Now, she’s hoping to use that model to help people locally.

"My ideal situation is if somebody called us with a problem, we go to their home, we give them their laboratory results within the hour or a few hours, and then they can telehealth with their physician without ever having to leave their home," said Drake Bianchi.

Drake Bianchi said the company will offer its mobile services 24 hours a day, statewide, and she thinks many different patient populations can benefit, from busy parents to people who aren’t able to easily leave their homes.

Drake Bianchi said the lab’s quick turnaround for test results can provide a critical piece of the puzzle for patients.

"Good medical decisions rely on good data,” she said. “We would like to supply that good data, but in a timely way, so that our local community can be as healthy as possible."

The company employs about 50 people, including paramedics, nurses, and lab staff.

“Nobody understands in-home medicine like paramedics and EMTs. They’re the best at it, and when you partner them with RNs and laboratory technicians, it makes this perfect team,” Drake Bianchi said. “They can do comprehensive, good quality care in the home, and be able to provide same day test results, so when they go to the doctor, they have all the data in front of them.”

Jessica Cain is a freelance reporter for WRVO, covering issues around central New York. Most recently, Jessica was a package producer at Fox News in New York City, where she worked on major news events, including the 2016 presidential conventions and election. Prior to that, she worked as a reporter and anchor for multiple media outlets in central and northern New York. A Camillus native, Jessica enjoys exploring the outdoors with her daughters, going to the theater, playing the piano, and reading.