Pandemic almost kept this Wichita business from opening; now it’s helping attract customers

Though it might make sense to open a lab for medical testing in the middle of a pandemic, that’s not how Marcee Locke planned her new Any Lab Test Now, which is in a strip center on 21st Street just west of Rock Road.

“COVID actually almost prevented me from opening, because who opens a business during a pandemic?”

Locke and her husband, Dominic, were both working for Koch Industries, where Dominic Locke still is, when they began looking for a franchise to open.

“We both just wanted to own our own business,” Marcee Locke said.

They found Georgia-based Any Lab Test Now, a direct-access lab testing business with more than 180 sites nationwide.

“We provide low-cost access to pretty much any lab test you can think of,” Locke said.

She said the idea is not to replace doctors. The business partners with physicians who don’t offer in-house lab work.

Most customers will be people with no health insurance or high-deductible insurance. Also, testing is available for people who can’t convince their physicians to order lab tests.

The business will do all kinds of testing, such as general blood work, DNA testing, drug testing, coronavirus testing and antibody testing for a range of prices.

For instance, a basic lipid panel is $49, an annual checkup panel is $129. There is a rapid COVID-19 test that is $159 and is available within 15 minutes. There’s also a $229 RT-PCR test that’s needed for some international travel, and it’s available in 24 to 48 hours. A coronavirus antibody test is $89.

Locke said Any Lab Test Now provides direct access to health care with transparent pricing, which she said isn’t always available at other places.

“You pay what you pay. There’s no surprise billing.”

While the Lockes almost didn’t open because of the coronavirus, Marcee Locke said the pandemic has “brought more attention to lab testing in general.”

There will be a grand opening for the business sometime in February. The Lockes hope to expand with more sites around Wichita at some point.

Locke said initially she wanted to create a business from scratch and not buy a franchise, but Any Lab Test Now changed her mind.

“I just fell in love with the concept.”

She said she wants to help people.

“It’s my passion now.”

This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 4:47 AM.