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Polk County STI lab technologist describes daily work, outreach and small business
Summary
Elizabeth Ann “Annie” Bennett, a medical technologist at the Polk County Health Department, described nearly eight years in the county STI lab, the testing services offered, outreach efforts and that she runs a small piercing business in Boone.
Elizabeth Ann Bennett, who said she goes by Annie, described her work as a medical technologist in the Polk County Health Department’s sexually transmitted infection laboratory and outlined the services the clinic provides.
Bennett told listeners she has worked at the Polk County Health Department for almost eight years and that the lab processes patient specimens for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and trichomonas. "My favorite part is the people that I meet, the people that we help serve," Bennett said.
The Polk County STI lab, Bennett said, typically operates with two staff who run STI and urine samples on a BD Max instrument and perform syphilis testing. She described routine duties that include drawing patients and processing specimens for the tests she named.
Bennett said outreach events in the community are a meaningful part of the work. "There's been certain outreach events that we do in the community that you walk away and you feel like you actually, like, really helped people that needed it the most," she said.
She also noted a personal business: Bennett said she owns a small body‑piercing shop, the Cast Veil Piercing Parlor in Boone, which she started after working in tattoo shops. "I absolutely love this job every day," she added, saying the combination of her public health work and her small business gives her a sense of purpose.
The remarks in the transcript were a first‑person description of Bennett’s job duties, outreach work and personal background; no formal proposals or votes were recorded in the provided segments.
