Reditus Laboratories opened in June of 2019 as a small closet lab that catered to podiatrists. Our initial focus was anatomic pathology and histology. As our growth and to quickly and accurately diagnose soft tissue and wound infections, we acquired our first real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machine in December 2019

As the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) entered Illinois our leadership was able to pivot our business model and utilize our PCR equipment to expand into testing for COVID-19. The laboratory was quickly transformed into a lab of 10 employees, to over 300 employees in a matter of months.  Since April 2020, Reditus has performed more than 4.5 million tests for COVID-19.

During the height of the pandemic, we were able to receive our accreditation by the College of American Pathologists (CAPs). The CAP – Laboratory Accreditation Program is a rigorous accreditation process certifying that we meet standards in areas such as laboratory safety, procedures, training, documentation, and personnel qualifications. We were ecstatic to receive our CAP accreditation with a perfect score and zero deficiencies during the height of the pandemic.

By March of 2021, we completed the expansion our laboratory from 2500 sq. ft. to its current size of over 23,000 sq. ft. This expansion allowed us to increase our test offerings into areas of infectious disease, Next-Gen sequencing, hematopathology and flow cytometry.

NGS-Next-Gen Sequencing allowed us to test positive samplings of COVID-19 to determine their variants. The variant detection allowed us to give supporting data to other government agencies so that they can determine if new variants were possibly more contagious or may have potential resistance to vaccines. All variant data was shared with the Illinois Department of Public Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and GISAID, a global initiative that provides access to genomic data of influenza viruses and COVID-19. By adding the advanced technology of NGS, the Illumina 550DX sequencers and the Illumina NextSeq2000, allowed our lab to validate its oncology platform and become one of the few labs in the country with these capabilities.

Our goal when opening Reditus Laboratories was to become one of the nation’s top diagnostic laboratories. We are well on our way to accomplishing this, even during a pandemic, which speaks volumes to the quality and dedication of our staff, who ensure that the patient always comes first.