Feb. 10—CUMBERLAND, Md. — An area lab is expanding its offerings by adding phlebotomy, in addition to COVID testing, at three area PharmaCare pharmacies.

Aeon Technologies, located in the ABC Business Park at Frostburg State University, was established in the spring of 2020 by Dr. Kimberly Brown. The lab opened just as the coronavirus pandemic was advancing in communities across the country. According to Brown, since inception, Aeon has processed more than 100,000 COVID tests.

Last week, Aeon Labs announced it will now offer venipuncture blood work in addition to COVID screens.

"In addition to our quick turnaround COVID, we have established phlebotomy," said Brown. "We can see patients at PharmaCare pharmacies in Frostburg, Fort Ashby, West Virginia, and Cumberland, at the PharmaCare headquarters, 3 Commerce Drive. We gather samples on site and provide quick results at our lab."

Aeon was expecting to have a staff of 10 however the work load has resulted in the hiring of 16 employees so far.

Brown said the lab grew quickly from doing just 25 COVID-19 tests a day when they opened. As the coronavirus pandemic grew Aeon began testing for Frostburg State University students and faculty as well as for area nursing homes, businesses, and appointments through PharmaCare causing the number of COVID-19 screenings to grow to more than 200 per day.

"Doing our COVID work we saw a need for phlebotomy testing," said Windi Wilson, lab operations manager. "We put together a phlebotomy team and with our phlebotomists we started going into the nursing homes. We would go and bring the samples back to the lab for testing. So we've expanded to offer full blood chemistry including hematology and toxicology."

Brown, who has received international recognition for her work with HIV, malaria and Ebola, has worked with governments to set up labs around the world, including Africa and the Middle East. "The experience was invaluable and it allowed us to know how to set up an operation and serve a community's needs as quickly as possible," she said.

Aeon Lab was also recently selected by Allegany County to administer drug toxicology screening for employees. The lab has been outfitted with the latest medical equipment, including KingFisher diagnostic analyzers.

Aeon's partnership with PharmaCare began in September 2020 for COVID-19 screening.

Brown said quick turnaround has been key with COVID-19 testing. "If you came in in the morning you will have you results same day or within 24 hours," said Brown. "It allows you to know to isolate, which is very important in addressing spread."

Aeon is also offering intern opportunities for FSU and Allegany College of Maryland students. Brown said, "I thank our many supporters including Allegany County, PharmaCare, FSU and ACM. We could not have done it without Allegany County."

For more information on Aeon Technologies, including setting up appointments at PharmaCare locations, visit AeonTechLabs.com or phone 240-549-6977.

Greg Larry is a reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. To reach him, call 304-639-4951, email glarry@times-news.com and follow him on Twitter.