LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Norton Healthcare has turned an eyesore of an old Kmart into a massive lab it hopes will save lives.
The new CPA Lab was relocated to Breckenridge Lane at Taylorsville Road, and it's much bigger than its old facility in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Inside the building, there's more equipment, better technology and more specialized labs.
"The importance of having high-quality lab facilities in your own backyard cannot be overstated," said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
CPA Lab is a part of Norton Healthcare and the new $20.5 million facility includes $7 million in new equipment.
Hundreds of employees work to test samples from patients, whether it be COVID-19 tests, blood or urine samples, or biopsies.
The new lab also houses specialized labs, including labs that perform genomic testing. Those tests were previously outsourced to other labs. Now it's all centralized within Norton Healthcare, meaning a patient diagnosed with cancer can know test results up to three weeks faster.
"It's centralized," said Dr. Steve Heilman, of Norton Healthcare. "As we mentioned, we can have more supplies stored here, more chemicals, more agents, the staff work more closely together. The time turnaround is much faster. (To) that effect, hopefully it will save people money and better health overall."
By keeping tests in-house, Norton hopes it saves them money, and in turn, saves their patients money on medical bills.
The new lab is not a location for patients to visit. It's just where their tests will come.
There's even a built-in tube system underground connecting to the Norton Express Services building across the parking lot that shoots samples over immediately, all in line with the goal of getting patients the fastest results.
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