Posted 5:56 pm Sunday, June 28, 2009
Off-Beat Business: Ex-Pharmaceutical Saleswoman Supplies Discreet Testing
By BRIAN PEARSON
Business Editor
Tyler native Lucy Moore has spent her career pushing pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
Business Editor
Tyler native Lucy Moore has spent her career pushing pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
Last week, Ms. Moore expanded into something a bit more invasive with the opening of an Any Lab Test Now franchise, 7924 S. Broadway Ave. in Tyler.
Any Lab Test Now offers walk-in testing for customers wanting tests for everything from pregnancy and strep throat to diabetes and sexually transmitted diseases, Ms. Moore said.
The lab does not require customers to have insurance, a doctor's referral or even an appointment, she said.
Customers concerned that they might flunk pre-employment drug screening can come in to see where they stand.
An alcohol effect panel is offered so customers can determine the long-term effects of alcohol on their bodies.
Ms. Moore, 33, a 1994 Chapel Hill High School graduate, has spent the past 10 years selling medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.
She holds a bachelor's degree in respiratory therapy from Texas State University, where she graduated in 1999.
Her husband, David, 36, a 1991 Robert E. Lee High School graduate, is a Tyler area developer who helped renovate the lab, which opened Friday.
"I think it will be good," David Moore said of his wife's venture into the lab-testing world. "I'm thinking there is a demand for it."
Ms. Moore said she became aware of the demand for such a facility during her decade of medical-industry experience.
"We wanted to open a franchise and stay in an area of my background," she said. "With me having such a strong background in the health-care field, it seemed like a good idea."
The lab offers a "menu" of testing, ranging in cost from $10 for pregnancy and strep-throat tests to $899 for a cancer screen and tumor marker panel.
The lab has three employees, a manager and two certified phlebotomists.
The Atlanta-based Any Lab Test Now started in 1992, according to the company Web site. Including the Tyler franchise, the company has 13 labs in Texas.
One of the quirkier aspects of the lab is the marketing of the testing for sexually transmitted diseases.
Ms. Moore has stacks of stickers promoting the lab's services. She said she plans to place the stickers in bar bathrooms and other locations around town.
The stickers include encouraging phrases such as "Some tests you want to fail" and "She's spreading more than holiday cheer."
Know of a unique business? Tell Business Editor Brian Pearson all about it. Contact him at bpearson@tylerpaper.com or 903-596-6280.
