From One Location 16 Months Ago, Company’s Current Footprint Includes 25 Locations Across Eight States; Entrepreneurs Proud Of “Team’s Contribution to Public Health”
OMAHA – GS Labs, a leading provider of COVID-19 rapid tests across the United States, passed a unique milestone in January, when the company performed its one millionth COVID-19 test on a patient since beginning to offer testing in October 2020.
Headquartered in Omaha, GS Labs entered the COVID-19 testing space as the pandemic initially swept through Nebraska and the Midwest. At the time, loved ones and friends of the company’s partners could not find COVID-19 tests anywhere after being exposed to the coronavirus. From that initial location, the company has expanded across the U.S.; its current business footprint including 25 locations in eight states. New locations are being stood up weekly in response to community and patient demand.
“Initially, this was personal for us,” said Kirk Thompson, a partner with the company. “We view our business as a combination of entrepreneurship and public service, and a way for our team to use our years of expertise for the public good. At a time when the national healthcare system was unable to provide testing for communities, families and individuals in need, we stepped up – and we remain very proud of that effort.”
To date, GS Labs has invested tens of millions of dollars to build a national operation, including establishing testing sites, hiring nearly 3,000 essential workers, and developing infrastructure to handle internal billing, compliance, communications, marketing in multiple markets, and the labs’ 24-hour hotline, staffed by registered nurses.
GS Labs’ state-of-the-art custom technology platform serves as many as 1,000 patients per day at each location, seven days a week. The digital platform allows patients to book within 15 minutes of their proposed appointment and to receive accurate rapid results in as little as 20 minutes after the completion of a rapid antigen test. Locations typically offer multiple types of tests, depending on availability, including the rapid antigen test; a standard PCR test; rapid PCR and rapid LAMP tests; and a combination rapid antigen COVID and flu test.
Last week, the company performed more than 55,000 rapid antigen tests nationally, an increase of 65 percent compared to Thanksgiving week. Tests administered by GS Labs that week identified more than 13,000 patients currently positive for COVID-19, giving these patients the opportunity to safely quarantine and avoid spreading the virus to loved ones and co-workers.
To date, GS Labs has identified more than 180,000 patients positive for COVID-19.
“That’s the equivalent of a small Midwestern city who was given potentially lifesaving medical information,” said Thompson. “We are so proud of our team and their tireless work ethic. They’ve been there each and every day, through subzero temperatures and snowstorms, concerns for the health of their families and through early mornings and late nights. Their commitment to the communities we serve is a testament to what a business can do when it’s determined to step up.”
