Business leaders and elected officials celebrated Friday as they welcomed Meridian Regional Diagnostic to town with a ribbon cutting.
The new business, which provides a variety of medical testing services, is owned by Meridian natives William Myles and Johnney Bell and located in the East Gate Center on Highway 39 South.
“We provide medical lab testing. A lot of it is going to be PCRm but we’re also doing genetic testing” Myles said.
The business is able to provide testing for everything from the flu and strep throat to toxicology and sexually transmitted infections.
Meridian City Councilwoman Ty Bell Lindsey said the new business, to her, was both a personal and professional point of pride. Having graduated Meridian High School with the two business owners, she said it was wonderful seeing her classmates succeed, while as a councilwoman, it is always good to see new businesses come to Meridian.
“As a councilwoman this brings me so much joy to have businesses coming in here, giving back to the community to allow more things to happen, and it’s a beacon of hope that we can create a community that we shall and deserve to live in,” she said.
Myles said the idea for Meridian Regional Diagnostic was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic when testing facilities were overwhelmed and residents were left waiting days or longer for results. The lack of testing also put more pressure on emergency rooms, further straining an already stretched healthcare system, he said.
“We wanted to figure out how can we provide certain testing to areas such as Meridian as well as other rural and surrounding areas,” he said. “This was one of the ways to do that because again, people should not lose their lives based on not having access to adequate healthcare, in this regards testing services.”
Bell said it took a lot of hard work and support by both men’s families and friends to get from an idea to Friday’s ribbon cutting, but the business was up and going and starting to pick up momentum. Both he and Myles, he said, are looking forward to what the future will bring.