Patients in need of bloodwork no longer have to see the inside of a health care centre's waiting room at Crescent View Clinic, Alliance Health, Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital – or anywhere else – thanks to a new mobile service offered by Misty Shropshire.
Moose Jaw Mobile Lab Services was officially launched on April 19. Shropshire now operates in and around Moose Jaw between Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and charges only $25 per patient.
“What I’m doing is I’m offering a home visit collection for lab work that your doctor would order,” Shropshire explained.
“I take (the sample) to the hospital, the hospital processes it, and all the testing is still covered under the Sask. Health Authority.”
Shropshire started the mobile blood service as a natural extension of her career as a medical lab specialist and after seeing plenty of demand within the community.
“I do (still) work for the Health Authority part-time as a medical lab assistant, so I do (the mobile service) around my work hours for now,” she said. “Maybe one day I’ll be able to go full-time.”
To make the idea work, Shropshire runs the mobile service in her downtime, and her program ends at 3 p.m. to allow enough time to drop the samples off during the lab’s outpatient hours.
When the samples arrive, a member of the hospital’s staff will accession and register the patient’s sample, perform any required pre-analytical handling, and then proceed as required from there.
“A lot of samples need to be centrifuged, sometimes they need to be aliquoted off or frozen, and then they will be processed and analyzed in the hospital here or… sent to Regina, depending on which test is ordered.”
Before a sample can be attained, each patient must provide proof of a doctor’s requisition.
Shropshire is accepting blood, urine, stool, and sputum samples, and she provides her own containers so patients don’t have to worry about logistics.
The process to set up the mobile blood service began in November 2022 and faced a lengthy delay typical of registering a business of this nature. Now, thankfully, she has confirmed that she’s fully operational.
“I’ve had a lot of positive feedback from the community,” she said during this waiting period. “I see a lot of people who have mobility issues, or they’re immunocompromised and either have trouble getting down to the lab, or they don’t want to be in a waiting room full of people…
“Those are the people who have really expressed the need to me for my services. (As well, for) anybody who just doesn’t want to go (visit waiting rooms), I will come to you.”
In an effort to make the service accessible, Shropshire is starting her fee at $25 per person – regardless of how many tests or requisitions they have.
“I want to build a client base (at this stage), and my services are tax deductible,” she added.
Shropshire can operate in Moose Jaw and within a radius of approximately 60 to 100 kilometres, she said, simply due to the need for samples to be processed within two hours of collection.
Advanced notice isn’t typically required, but she recommends giving as much notice as possible and said this depends on special handling requirements and how quickly the samples are required.
Moose Jaw Mobile Lab Services can be reached by phone or text message at 306-690-6993.
