business in Princeton , WV . In 2017 , she joined Steve in opening QLabs .
With three children , Steve and Mary know the importance of work-life balance .
“ We believe the greatest success in our life is the opportunity to take care of others — of course our family but also our employees who we value so dearly ,” says Mary . “ In addition to the business success of QLabs , we are most proud of being able to create a work environment and culture that supports , encourages and cares for our staff .”
Proud West Virginians , Steve and Mary have always called the Mountain State their home .
“ Our mothers are still here , and mountains are very much home . We remain proud of this ,” says Steve . “ We have been asked numerous times why we didn ’ t start this company in another state where this business might be better supported . We never considered being anywhere else . We ’ re committed to improving this state , not abandoning it .”
They are also committed to continuing the growth and expansion of their company . In the last year alone , QLabs has added seven new molecular testing platforms , core blood testing and specialized genetic sequencing testing . In October , they announced the opening of QPath , a histopathology lab division , which is the first of its kind in West Virginia .
In addition to their business , Steve and Mary are committed to the communities they serve . They are invested and active in their church , Sacred Heart Catholic Church , in Charleston . Mary is part of the pastoral council and service committee . Steve is a member of the Knights of Columbus and serves on the Charleston Area Alliance board . After recently learning of the potential loss of a youth soccer complex , they became soccer field owners and began updating and renovating the Fields at Trace Fork .
Steve and Mary are excited for the future of QLabs , with many new projects on the horizon . •
QLabs , Inc .
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit , there were no independent clinical labs performing PCR testing . This created a real problem for patient care due to prolonged testing and reporting timeframes . QLabs was able to add COVID-19 testing to its PCR menu , and its extensive experience with this testing made the team experts in COVID-19 tests .
In April 2020 , QLabs was the only independent clinical lab in the state doing PCR testing , and a month later was the primary provider lab for all of West Virginia . It supported COVID-19 testing at community drive-thru events , county health departments , nursing homes and the assisted living and public school testing initiatives created by Governor Jim Justice , as well as testing efforts to resume college classes and sports .
Historically , the lab sector has faced threats of annual cuts in billing allowances for testing . COVID-19 showed that labs like QLabs are essential to good , competitive health care .
“ This is good for the economy of our state , and it is really good for patient care ,” says CEO Steve Collins . “ In the case of the pandemic , we single-handedly contributed to the health and safety of our entire state .”
QLabs is collectively working on a new diagnostic-genetics / sequencing testing platform and further developing its new histopathology lab to include surgical and gastrointestinal pathology . Both programs are unique to West Virginia , as there are no other independent reference labs offering this high complexity specialty lab testing .
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