Though many small businesses have been hard hit with COVID-19, some medical start-ups are rising to the occasion and caring for their communities.
Nearly 50% of businesses had reported they closed temporarily during the prolonged quarantine with many never reopening. This economic downturn also came with a spike in coronavirus cases which the US logistical testing response remained unable to handle effectively and safely. Sensing the great need for convenient testing in their own community of New York, Dr. Jeremy Jacob and Daniel Buitrago saw an opportunity and launched Speedy Sticks.
A mobile concierge phlebotomy services company, Speedy Sticks offers at-home phlebotomy services and COVID-19 testing for both individual clients as well as corporate solutions for small businesses and corporations. They started with their local community in New York City, utilizing their diverse experience in medicine and finance to create a business that cares for their community while also creating purposeful work for many affected by the economic downturn.
With a female majority workforce, they expanded across the tri-state area, including New Jersey and Connecticut, and have begun national growth by adding Florida to their burgeoning network. With the state of California as their next targeted expansion, Speedy Stick aims to become a national leader in personalized and convenient medical testing. As COVID-19 cases continue to rise along with newer, more contagious strains emerging, testing remains a vital role of the US response and its public health integrity.
Though currently focused on pandemic-related effort, Speedy Sticks has long-term plans to capitalize on the emerging trends in the medical industry of at-home testing and telemedicine. They plan to leverage their growing logistical and service network once the COVID-19 pandemic ceases to fully pursue prophylactic medicine (such as monitoring and testing for STDs, cholesterol and sugar levels, etc) which aids in the prevention of Americans’ most common diseases and ailments. This strategy relies on the company’s diverse collection of professionals from MD’s, PharmD’s, and NP’s to RN’s, phlebotomists, and MA’s. By integrating a variety of fields and expertise, they possess the foundation to cover the full spectrum of concierge, at-home medical testing services and pivot well however the market moves.
For Dr. Jacob and Mr. Buitrago, Speedy Sticks represents not only just a growing and profitable company, but a collective effort to effectively care for their community and provide desperately needed services and jobs for workers dispossessed by the pandemic’s negative economic effects. Servicing over 10,000 households since August of 2020, they are on track to service almost half a million households by the end of 2021. This rapid expansion coincides with the dramatic rise in demand for convenient testing and the rising trends of telemedicine and concierge medical services for the health industry. As one of the largest industries in the American economy, Dr. Jacob and Mr. Buitrago are positioning Speedy Sticks to capture a long market share of the emerging at-home testing market and solidify themselves as the national, go-to provider for concierge medical testing services.
— Published originally at New York Weekly on April 18, 2021