By Tyler Coffin
Brent Badger crossed the threshold, looking around in awe before turning to the two girls walking beside him. Walking further inside, he mused that he had never been in a sorority house before.
He continued to meander inside before sitting down on the blue couch and setting his backpack on the floor. He cracked a few jokes before turning back to his bag.
Then, he pulled out a stethoscope.
Badger is a physician’s assistant working for Mend, the Dallas-based startup that brings medical professionals straight to patients. Founded in 2015, the company is the first in the Dallas area to offer medical assistance in the homes and offices of community members.
Through Mend’s website and application for the iPhone, users can schedule an appointment with a medical practitioner who will travel almost anywhere in Dallas. Mend currently operates in what is roughly a 12-mile radius of Richardson High School, but is in the process of setting up hubs around the metroplex to reach even more people.
Mend is currently focusing on attracting students to the service, especially now that colder weather is settling in and bringing flu season with it. To make its services more appealing to university students, Mend is offering a 25 percent discount on all of its services to any current student with a valid ID.
“Campus health centers can see upwards of 100 patients a day, even with their limited hours,” manager Christiana Yebra said.
Mend wants to act as another medical resource for students rather than a replacement to the health center, Yebra said.
Besides medical services, Mend offers an unprecedented convenience to students and adults. It prefers to let its patients rest in bed while they wait to see a doctor.
“No one really wants to get out of bed when they’re sick, let alone go to the doctor’s office to sit in a waiting room,” Yebra said.
Mend is willing to practice in almost any safe location in Dallas. The weirdest place that Mend has gone?
“We went to a cool coffee shop in Oak Cliff and treated [a patient] in the back of an old-school bus,” Yebra said.
Mend doctors have also treated patients at Dallas Runners’ Club marathons and in patients’ offices.
One such patient is Gaby Appeddu, a junior at SMU. After visiting the campus health center, she turned to Mend to cure her of her sinus infection.
“The health center just told me that I had a virus and needed to rest, but wouldn’t give me a note to excuse me from class,” Appeddu said. “It’s stressful that when I’m so sick I can’t do my best work or even come to class, but can’t get a note excusing me from class.”
That’s where Mend can help. Not only does Mend come straight to its patients, but it is also able to write both prescriptions and notes excusing students from class.
Mend charges flat rates that are readily available for viewing on its website, with the first visit costing $50 and subsequent visits $199, though different rates apply for different procedures. These procedures can range from physicals to tests for strep throat, but the student discount applies to every procedure.
Mend does not accept insurance, but does accept all major credit cards. Accepting insurance adds too many issues in the payment process, it argues, and chooses instead to keep things as simple as possible for its patients.
“We operate on convenience and transparency, and payment gets confusing very quickly when you factor in insurance plans,” Yebra said.
Convenience is what Mend is looking to offer students, and plans to offer more convenience than ever before with future expansion. According to Yebra, the company is expecting the addition of several new medical directors.
“It means more availability and faster care, which is vital when the health center is overflowing with sick patients and can’t get you in,” Yebra said.
