As uncertainty looms over the futures of its hospitals in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, Franklin, Tennessee-based Community Health Systems has agreed to sell many of its outpatient testing and laboratory assets to Burlington, North Carolina-based Labcorp in a $195 million deal, the companies announced this week.
Community Health Systems hospitals — which include Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, Regional Hospital in Scranton, and Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton — will continue to operate their inpatient and emergency department laboratories and will continue to provide laboratory services for hospital-based services, such as imaging and pre-admission testing, the announcement said.
After the deal closes later this year, patients and providers “will benefit from broader access to Labcorp’s comprehensive testing and laboratory services, including its specialty testing menu, robust data analytics and digital tools,” the companies wrote in a new release.
“We are excited about this transaction with Labcorp, which allows us to focus on our core services and improve the overall patient experience, aligning with our unwavering commitment to providing high-quality, accessible healthcare to our communities,” said Kevin Stockton, executive vice president of operations and development for Community Health Systems. “Labcorp’s scale and investment in technology supports its ability to efficiently deliver outreach laboratory services to patients and healthcare consumers.”
The organizations said they are committed to implement “a smooth, thoughtful transition that maintains continuity of services for patients, hospitals, clinicians and clients, while providing direct access to the additional capabilities of Labcorp.”
Community Health Systems owns and operates Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, Regional Hospital in Scranton, and Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton through its for-profit subsidiary Commonwealth Health.
A deal to sell the three hospitals to a nonprofit company collapsed last year when the would-be buyer was unable to secure financing for the acquisition. Negotiations continue to try to find buyers.
Commonwealth Health has outpatient laboratory services in Exeter, Kingston, Kingston Twp., Nanticoke, Pittston and Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County and Dunmore, Old Forge and Scranton in Lackawanna County.
The laboratory deal is subjected to standard regulatory approval and the acquisition is expected to close at some point in the fourth quarter, the companies said. Until then, there will be no changes to services, the companies said.
“Labcorp and Community Health Systems share a deep commitment to improving the health and lives of the communities we serve, and our goal with this agreement is to enhance the patient and provider experience with increased access to high-quality laboratory services,” said Mark Schroeder, Labcorps chief operations officer and diagnostics president. “This acquisition will allow us to leverage the strengths of both our organizations to positively impact healthcare for communities across the U.S.”