By Rosemary McCoy

Patrick Heitkamp is growing medical companies that provide on-the-spot testing and urgent care services.

Any Lab Test Now has opened its second location in Sioux Falls, and a second QuickHealth Urgent Care is coming.

Patrick Heitkamp

“You will see more and more that quick, affordable, convenient health care options are going to be growing,” Heitkamp said.

The newest Any Lab Test Now office is at 26th Street and Cleveland Avenue. That lab and the one at 6701 S. Louise Ave., which opened five years ago, provide thousands of medical tests. A check for strep throat, for example, costs $10. An overall CBC, or complete blood count, is $49.

“We’re not trying to compete (with the large health care providers). We’re just helping to fill gaps that aren’t currently being met,” said Dawn Andel, sales and marketing director.

People are becoming more proactive about their health care and want faster options, Andel said. Any Lab Test Now gives them affordable options for finding out why they haven’t been feeling well, she said. Results are typically reported within 24 to 48 hours of testing. The lab provides the results without a diagnosis, and patients decide what to do with the information.

Lisa Bower manages one of the Any Lab Test Now sites.

The labs also work with businesses, providing services such as drug screening for potential hires and drug testing and wellness screening for employees. Some of its contracts, for example, are with nationwide trucking companies that have drivers in the area. Any Lab Test Now has government contracts, too, and does third-party screening if someone refuses a blood-alcohol test after being arrested.

Heitkamp started his businesses with TestPoint Medical in 2001, conducting exams for life insurance policies and providing other services such as paternity testing and lab screenings. TestPoint’s Sioux Falls office is on West Russell Street, and the business has expanded into four other cities in South Dakota.

TestPoint and Any Lab Test Now employ 25 people.

Heitkamp’s most recent foray into independent health care services is an urgent care clinic.

QuickHealth Urgent Care opened earlier this year in a retail center at 85th Street and Louise Avenue. Certified physician assistants, nurse practitioners and registered nurses provide walk-in care daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

David Axtman is a physician assistant at QuickHealth Urgent Care.

“It’s as easy as walking into a gas station,” Heitkamp said. “You walk in the door, get what you need and walk out.”

A good example of the clinic’s service would be for a business traveler, Heitkamp said. If a person thought he had pink eye and needed to be on a flight at 2 p.m., he could walk in, have the condition evaluated and leave with a prescription.

Patients can pay cash or use a credit card for services, or QuickHealth accepts most insurance plans and will file claims for them. Cash prices start at $89. The clinic does sports physicals for $25.

The office has a bright, spacious lobby with a play area for children. After kids are examined, they get to stop at the treasure chests that Heitkamp’s mother stocks with toys. There are five exam rooms, a procedure room and a digital X-ray machine.

“We can treat anything short of life-threatening,” he said.

The genesis for the clinic was a conversation with DocuTap founder Eric McDonald, Heitkamp said.

The Sioux Falls software developer provides electronic medical record and practice management tools for urgent care clinics but didn’t have anyone here using its products or services. Now, it does.

QuickHealth Urgent Care, which employs 30 people, is hosting an open house and ribbon-cutting at 4:30 p.m. July 31.

The second location is expected to open this fall on the east side of Sioux Falls.