Winner, Health care and Health Services
Hillary Bell founded Professional Clinical Laboratory (ProLab) in 1999, shortly after she graduated from Texas Tech University. She developed a business plan and convinced her mentor to sell his stake in a lab that he owned and join her in her nascent venture.
Her goal was to focus on providing lab services to the geriatric industry, relying on a combination of expertise and service to differentiate the business from its competitors.
A year later, Bell’s mentor and business partner died, leaving her, at age 26, to carry the company forward.
“Instead of folding under the pressure, I concentrated on the ideas that would make my business strong and unique to the industry,” she says. “Those being service and unyielding dedication to our clients and especially their patients.”
By doing so, Bell was able to double ProLab’s market share each year for the next five years, establishing a strong foothold in the industry that positioned the company as a leader.
Bell has accomplished this through a variety of innovative initiatives, among them streamlining the process of disseminating accurate and timely results to clients, providing the ability for them to receive same-day test results and make immediate adjustments on their clients’ medication and treatments.
ProLab has incorporated a 24-7 STAT system for the most critical patients, which allows for a four-hour turnaround of results; most competitors provide next-day results as their standard.
Further, Bell invested in technology and the company subsequently developed a state-of-the-art online service that allows clients to access information quickly and conveniently, giving them the tools to manage results without paper. Bell has set a goal of becoming a paperless company by the end of 2010.
It’s hard to argue with the results that Bell has achieved in just over a decade — ProLab operates in five states, is in the process of expanding into three more and employs more than 400 people. And its medical technology management team averages more than 18 years of experience in the industry, giving it deep expertise that results in forging long-lasting client relationships.
Bell’s goals for the next phase of ProLab’s lifespan are simple: to be the largest provider of lab services to nursing facilities nationwide by 2015.
How to reach: Professional Clinical Laboratory, www.prolabinc.org
