Mayo plans major expansion of its clinical pathology lab program

Friday, March 24, 2006

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mayo Clinic plans to invest $22 million to expand its clinical laboratory program over the next nine years. The expansion will utilize laboratory facilities at Mayo Clinic's growing medical practice in Jacksonville and enable the Jacksonville laboratory to serve as a new performing laboratory for Mayo Medical Laboratories (MML).

MML is a diagnostic reference laboratory specializing in esoteric laboratory testing for Mayo Clinic and health care organizations throughout the United States and around the world. Esoteric testing means performing specialized tests that are not normally done in routine hospital or private laboratories. It includes tests that may require special equipment or particular diagnostic expertise. MML has an exhaustive catalog of hundreds of these specialized tests that help provide crucial information to doctors who care for patients with many different diseases.

With the capability to perform tests currently sent to Mayo's laboratories in Rochester, Minn., the Jacksonville laboratory will be able to provide local support for patients treated in Jacksonville and by MML clients throughout the Southeast. "We're excited about this opportunity to expand our quality care into the local community. The expansion of our laboratory capabilities will provide additional support for our local and regional hospitals," says Dr. Arthur Jones, medical director of the clinical laboratory program in Jacksonville. "We looked at the resources available in the Jacksonville laboratory and determined that the best way to leverage the facility was to make it broadly accessible. We have a philosophy that 'The needs of the patient come first' and expanding our laboratory's capacity to support our communities is in line with that philosophy."

Through agreements with Mayo Clinic practices, MML clients have access to personalized customer service and comprehensive consultative services from Mayo Clinic laboratory professionals and clinicians 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Dr. Jones says that is important to MML clients. "People appreciate the Mayo quality. They also appreciate being able to talk to a knowledgeable person about their test results or what it means for their patients."

Capital improvements to accommodate the expanded laboratory include adding two floors to the Vincent A Stabile Building where the laboratory will be housed beginning the second quarter next year, and purchasing about $6 million worth of equipment to run tests. The clinic also plans to hire nine pathologists and over 200 highly skilled allied health staff for the lab over the next nine years.

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Mayo Clinic is the world's first and largest integrated group practice. The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is the only multi-site NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center. The Jacksonville, Fla., campus, which opened in 1986, has more than 320 physicians, surgeons, and scientists who specialize in more than 40 areas. Patients who need hospitalization are admitted to St. Luke's Hospital. However, construction is underway for a 214-bed hospital on the Mayo Clinic campus. Visit www.mayoclinic.org/news for more news about Mayo Clinic.

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