Dive Brief:
- Labcorp has closed a deal to buy assets from Crouse Health’s pathology reference laboratory, the company said Thursday.
- As well as completing the acquisition of assets from Crouse’s Laboratory Alliance of Central New York, Labcorp agreed to manage daily operations at the healthcare provider’s inpatient lab.
- Labcorp will assume operation of Lab Alliance’s 12 patient service centers, furthering the testing company’s recent deal-driven push to expand its capabilities in New York.
Dive Insight:
In October, Labcorp said it had agreed to a deal to buy Lab Alliance assets and manage Crouse’s inpatient labs. The company disclosed the deal alongside an agreement to buy assets in the New York Tri-State area from Empire City Laboratories. Having closed the Empire City deal in February, Labcorp completed its agreements with Crouse last week.
Labcorp expects the latest deals to strengthen access to high quality, affordable diagnostic services for patients and providers across central New York. The company will provide an expanded test menu and digital tools, including a system connecting data from health records and lab tests.
Empire City and Lab Alliance are closing sites and laying off staff, according to state employment notices published last week. On March 18, New York officials published details of the closure of 15 Empire City sites across the state. Most of the closures affect one worker each. However, with 183 workers involved in the closure of one site, Empire City’s actions collectively affect 224 employees.
Officials shared details of the Empire City closures shortly after posting a report about the shuttering of a Lab Alliance facility in New York State. The closure affects 45 workers.
The Empire City and Lab Alliance deals were part of a series of agreements Labcorp entered into last year to expand its presence in parts of the U.S. Labcorp CEO Adam Schechter said on an earnings call last month that the pipeline of potential takeover targets remains robust because hospitals face profitability pressures.
