Diagnostic imaging and lab services company Gamma Healthcare had its lab licenses pulled this week, leaving hundreds of long-term care facilities without access to critical offerings, including COVID-19 testing.
The Poplar Bluff, Missouri-based company sent a letter to employees on Tuesday, indicating the 39-year-old firm would stop all lab and radiology operations as of Nov. 4, KFVS 12 reported Tuesday.
“This is a sad day for a number of nursing homes and patients in 11 states that Gamma Healthcare serves," President Jerrod Murphy told the news outlet.
Murphy said he was “blindsided” by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ decision to revoke its certification. CMS made the move after spotting workflow issues it said could lead to contamination of samples, NPR’s Kansas City news outlet KCUR reported on Monday.
CMS did not respond to a request for comment.
In his letter, Murphy indicated that Gamma had pursued “every imaginable path” to fix the problems outlined by CMS, but decided it was best to halt all lab work. That included a federal court case to block regulators from suspending its licenses that was denied by U.S. District Judge Doug Harpool.
Gamma offers lab services for 2,500 long-term care facilities and practices across the Midwest and South, running 1.6 million tests per month at its Poplar Bluff location alone.
Read more about the dispute below.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.