The sale of John Muir Health’s laboratory outreach operation to national giant LabCorp appears to be part of a large housecleaning operation on the part of the two-hospital system east of the San Francisco Bay Area. Along with the sale of its outreach operations, John Muir will close its 56,000-square-foot core laboratory, part of what is known as MuirLab, which performed 2.4 million tests last year. “[LabCorp] has the existing infrastructure and capacity locally to absorb the increase in lab work that will result from acquisition of MuirLab’s outreach business,” John Muir said in a statement. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and it is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The transaction and closure led to the layoff of 540 workers, although John Muir officials indicated that some number of those employees would find work with LabCorp. Days after the lab sale was announced, John Muir announced voluntary buyouts to trim its overall staff by 4 percent, as well as cut costs by $52 million by the end of 2014. “We must take proactive steps to preserve our ability to deliver great care in the midst of growing patient concerns about health care […]
The sale of John Muir Health’s laboratory outreach operation to national giant LabCorp appears to be part of a large housecleaning operation on the part of the two-hospital system east of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Along with the sale of its outreach operations, John Muir will close its 56,000-square-foot core laboratory, part of what is known as MuirLab, which performed 2.4 million tests last year.
“[LabCorp] has the existing infrastructure and capacity locally to absorb the increase in lab work that will result from acquisition of MuirLab’s outreach business,” John Muir said in a statement. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and it is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The transaction and closure led to the layoff of 540 workers, although John Muir officials indicated that some number of those employees would find work with LabCorp.
Days after the lab sale was announced, John Muir announced voluntary buyouts to trim its overall staff by 4 percent, as well as cut costs by $52 million by the end of 2014.
“We must take proactive steps to preserve our ability to deliver great care in the midst of growing patient concerns about health care costs and the most profound changes to health care in decades,” Cal Knight, John Muir Health’s chief executive officer, said in a letter recently distributed to employees. “We will make decisions, sometimes difficult ones, to maintain our short- and long-term ability to fulfill our mission and serve the community.”
Takeaway: The sale of John Muir’s hospital outreach laboratory businesses may be part of a larger aim to improve the bottom line.
