By Andrew Welliver
On May 15, Drakos Pediatric Urgent Care opened its doors in suite 140 at 8100 Oswego Rd. in Liverpool.
The opening comes after founder and CEO Heather Drake Bianchi , who has lived in the Syracuse area for years, had the idea to open this new facility after her own child was sick with COVID while she was working. Her son was helped by a pediatric urgent care and their utilization of Telehealth visits.
Drake Bianchi brings her experience working in healthcare to this new venture.
In 2020 Drake Bianchi, who has worked in the film industry, founded “Cinemedics.” The company was responsible for keeping people safe on movie sets during the COVID-19 pandemic with testing and risk management.
Since her home is in the Liverpool area, Drake Bianchi said she wanted to contribute to healthcare locally.
“I started this business to help my hometown,” she said.
Many of her coworkers are from the Syracuse area, and they all shared Drake Bianchi’s vision to give back to their community by opening the urgent care.
“Ninty-five percent of the staff here are from Syracuse and worked in emergency services,” Drake Bianchi said.
She has the established a goal of giving patients the necessary resources they need to continue their care.
She wants to provide additional care to those who need it when doctors need to rest after the end of a long day.
“We are here when parents and kids need it most,” she said.
Drake Bianchi and her staff are ready to work closely with Golisano’s children hospital located at the Upstate Medical Center to provide the best plossible care for every patient that comes through their doors.
According to a press release shared prior to the facility opening, Drakos Pediatric Urgent Care has more than 20 physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, radiology technicians, laboratory technicians and other healthcare professionals.
This team provides on-site radiology with child-friendly x-rays, a COLA-accredited comprehensive on-site laboratory, treatment for more severe conditions and minor orthopedic care to provide fiberglass splints for fractures.
The press release goes on to share the vision and guiding principles with which Drake Bianchi decided to establish this facility.
“Inclusion is a core value for Drakos,” according to the press release. “We are committed to understanding and welcoming every patient. The new pediatric facility is designed to serve people with disabilities and special needs, is ADA-compliant, and ready to serve patients who are non-mobile or home-bound.”
Taking the whole family into account, Drakos is also able to provide wellness care to the pediatric patient’s parents or guardians at the same time as the pediatric patient’s appointment through hydration, vitamins, and other fluid infusion services—helping keep parents and other caregivers healthy.
Building on Drake Bianchi’s experience with Cinemedics, Drakos also provides mobile laboratory and medical services for concierge medicine, senior citizens aging-in-place, and underserved populations who face barriers to accessing healthcare.
The company operates two custom-designed mobile labs and opened its first brick-and-mortar laboratory in East Syracuse last year.
The culture Drake Bianchi created with Cinemedics has carried into her new business and is the inspiration behind the Drakos logo.
The logo represents luck and the adventurous attitude Drake Bianchi and her team look to bring forward with the new urgent care.
In addition to providing phenomenal care, the Drakos team also want to innovate and help move things forward in medical technology to further assist their patients.
Drake Bianchi said she is familiar with the staff shortages that exist in the medical field and has looked for ways to mitigate those issues.
“You leverage tech, to make up for staff shortages,” she said.
Technology is important to the convenience and accessibility to patients, according to Marketing Director of Drakos Pediatrics Adam Herringshaw.
“We use technology to provide to more people in rural areas. It’s the return of the house-call in a different way,” he said.
The urgent care is now open seven days a week from 2 p.m. to midnight and located in Liverpool at Suite 140, 8100 Oswego Road.
For more information about Drakos Pediatric Urgent Care, and all Drakos services in CNY, visit DrakosDynamics.com.
