Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services will build a $100 million diagnostic laboratory in Roseville, Minn., to meet growing demand for lab services, the The Minnesota Star Tribune reported Oct. 12.
Fairview performs about 6 million tests a year in laboratories spread across the University of Minnesota campus. The new lab is expected to add capacity for about 2 million tests a year. Fairview will fund about $70 million of the lab, and its development partner, Hempel Real Estate, will cover the rest.
COO Jeoff Will said the system’s existing lab infrastructure will reach capacity within about two years, close to the new facility’s planned 2028 opening.
“If we do this right and thread the needle, we will be running out of capacity at our current laboratory system right about the time we are opening this up,” he told the Star Tribune.
Demand is growing for complex diagnostics, particularly histology and anatomic pathology, which diagnose disease by examining tissue under a microscope, according to Klint Kjeldahl, system executive for laboratory services. Genetic testing demand is also surging.
Bringing testing into one location also addresses operational problems. Mr. Kjeldahl said the site, near the university campus and M Health Fairview’s flagship University of Minnesota Medical Center, will be easier for couriers to reach than some campus buildings. He said it should also reduce how often patients give duplicate samples. Fairview leaders expect the facility to help them recruit specialized lab staff. Biopsy analysis and other time-sensitive testing will stay at the hospitals.
The lab also extends Fairview’s strategy of centralizing services it can sell to outside providers. About 20% of the system’s diagnostic tests are already performed for hospitals, clinics and nursing homes outside Fairview. Last year, the system opened a $52 million pharmacy warehouse in Shoreview, Minn., with the same dual purpose.
Allina Health took the opposite approach in 2024, selling its outpatient labs to Quest Diagnostics for $230 million.
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