“I entered health care a little over 20 years ago believing that we were pretty insulated from the economy,” she said. “This is the first time in my career that that’s just not true.”
CompuNet, which employs 200 at its headquarters and 588 overall in the region, still can say it’s never had layoffs — especially welcome news in hard-hit Moraine, whose income tax revenues declined 43 percent between 2006 and 2009.
While there’s been belt-tightening, such as cutting out cake at meetings and taking more time to fill open positions, Langevin is upbeat about the future. The company is partly owned by Quest Diagnostics Inc., the nation’s largest provider of diagnostic testing, and Valley Pathologists, both of which enable CompuNet to offer a broad range of testing services. CompuNet offers 2,000 kinds of tests and performs 5.5 million to 6 million tests annually.
CompuNet’s third owner, MVH Enterprises, is a for-profit subsidiary of MedAmerica Health System Corp., parent of Miami Valley Hospital. That hospital is CompuNet’s largest customer, paying it $20.7 million for clinical lab services in 2008. The hospital’s proximity helps CompuNet avoid duplication of capital-intensive lab instrumentation, infrastructure and hardware.
CompuNet also benefits from colleges — specifically Wright State University and Clark and Edison state community colleges — that produce the clinical work force it needs amid a worsening lab scientist shortage industrywide. And its 26 patient service centers and established relationships with area hospitals and doctors better position CompuNet to compete with other laboratories, Langevin said.
While the economy and federal health care overhaul present challenges, CompuNet should benefit as health-conscious Baby Boomers age and health insurance coverage expands, Langevin said.
CompuNet sees growth in its direct-access service, through which patients order tests directly from CompuNet without seeing a doctor, though the company encourages people to share results with their personal doctor. The service, launched last year, costs $15 to $120, depending on the test. It’s a small part of overall revenues.
Quest Diagnostics said its revenues of $3.7 billion for the first half of 2010 were down 0.8 percent. Langevin wouldn’t disclose CompuNet’s revenues, but said they’re “flat.” “Flat, in this economy, almost feels like you’re growing,” she said.
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