University of Michigan Health spends $160 million to upgrade lab testing
The new building will house most pathology test and biopsy processing and will unite in one facility the more than 450 faculty and staff.
Photo of University of Michigan Medical Center from Wikipedia
The University of Michigan Health System is investing $160 million in a new clinical pathology facility that will occupy four vacant buildings, including space purchased from Pfizer six years ago.
The 139,000 square-foot facility will be located the University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Complex. Plans include renovating 47,000 square-feet of existing space, according to the health system.
The new building will house most pathology test and biopsy processing and will unite in one facility the more than 450 faculty and staff who currently work in 10 locations.
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Thirty-two acres of open land at the research complex is being transformed into M City, a large-scale testing facility for connected and automated vehicle systems that is expected to open this summer. In addition, the project includes renovating space in University Hospital and an adjoining building on the medical campus to conduct urgent testing for patients in emergency, critical care and inpatient settings.
The University Hospital for STAT lab tests will include a fully automated core laboratory that will process samples faster, and expanded space for the U-M Blood Bank, apheresis service and stem cell processing, according to U-M.
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A form of advanced testing called frozen section biopsy will continue at four surgery sites, to guide doctors during cancer-removal procedures.
Demand for UMHS lab tests, from simple blood sugars to complex genetic tests for rare diseases, has risen nearly 8 percent each year for the past five years, according to U-M.
More than 2,400 people work at NCRC, including employees of 22 private companies.
The new pathology facility will be adjacent to the Biorepository, a new Medical School facility at NCRC that collects, processes, stores and distributes human specimens and associated clinical data for U-M biomedical researchers.
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