Collaboration and Teamwork – Key Components of Nation-wide COVID-19 Testing
Every day, clinical laboratory professionals use their depth of knowledge and expertise to perform complex diagnostic tests and empower clinicians, patients and families with the information they need to save lives build healthier communities. In the midst of this pandemic, lab professionals are more essential than ever. More than 47,000 Quest Diagnostics’ employees nationwide are hard at work developing accurate and reliable COVID-19 testing to help reach patients in all communities.
Carlene Wong and Marzena Galdzicka, Ph.D. have dedicated the past few months to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. At Quest’s state of the art laboratory in Marlborough, Massachusetts, both Carlene and Marzena have worked around the clock to ensure that accurate, reliable testing is available to those who need it.
As the manager of the molecular department at Quest’s laboratory, Carlene Wong has been an indispensable member of the team. Her leadership and innovative approach to molecular biology has helped Quest’s lab professionals provide millions of patients with life-changing diagnostic results. With Carlene’s help, Quest has pushed the limits on PCR testing methods for COVID-19 to increase capacity and access for those who need it most.
Scientific director of molecular biology Dr. Marzena Galdzicka and her team have been focused on the quality of the tests performed, working alongside Carlene to ensure that all tests are accurate and precise. “It’s very important for me and for everyone in the lab to do the analysis of the results and to report correctly. It is very important for the physicians to get the right results and as soon as possible,” explained Marzena.
Successful coordination between lab professionals, clinicians and public health professionals ultimately allows patients to receive the best care possible. For lab professionals like Carlene and Marzena, collaboration and teamwork are essential to their everyday work.
And even after performing COVID-19 tests with their colleagues, lab professionals like Carlene and Marzena are driven to serve patients, and the individual behind each and every test order.
“We treat each patient, not as a sample sitting in front of us, but a person, a patient, a grandmother, a grandfather, because we heard those stories, and we lived those stories as well,” said Carlene.
As the country moves forward during the COVID-19 pandemic, Carlene and Marzena at Quest Diagnostics are continuing their efforts to ensure all COVID-19 patients have access to testing.
Watch below for highlights from the interviews with Marzena and Carlene.
