August was a big month for Sonic Healthcare USA (SHUSA). A subsidiary of Sonic Healthcare, the third largest laboratory company in the world, behind Quest and Labcorp, it relocated its headquarters to Dallas from Austin and announced the acquisition of Cairo Diagnostics, a provider of hematology oncology diagnostics.

While financial details of the acquisition weren’t disclosed, company leaders say the benefits are clear.

Dr. Cory Roberts is
CEO of Sonic Healthcare USA.

“Cairo Diagnostics’ integrated approach to testing for blood cancers and analyzing tumors, combined with Sonic’s national network, means we’ll be able to deliver comprehensive bone marrow and next-generation sequencing results in four to five days,” said Cory A. Roberts, M.D., Sonic Healthcare’s CEO.

That’s about half the time it currently takes, the company said.

Cairo, well known in the tri-state area of Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, combines histopathology, molecular diagnostics, cytogenetics, flow cytometry, and immunohistochemistry to provide healthcare providers with faster access to data for informed treatment decisions. The company’s technology will now be deployed nationwide through SHUSA’s sales team and managed care contracts.

[Photo: Sonic Healthcare]

“Some cancers have time-sensitive treatment windows—like acute leukemia. If you miss it, the treatment is much less effective. Getting results in half the time lets people make the best decisions for their treatment,” said Mohamed Salama, M.D., Sonic Healthcare’s chief medical officer.

SHUSA has 45 laboratories, both anatomic and clinical pathology, across the country, and performs blood testing as well as biopsy readings for more than 30 million patients annually.

Saying “Yes” to Dallas

Headquartered in Austin since 2005, after acquiring Clinical Pathology Laboratories, SHUSA likes the business-friendly policies of the Lone Star State. And company leadership saw distinct advantages in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

“Being able to get to all 27 of our key cities on direct flights was a huge time efficiency for the executive team’s travel,” said Roberts. “Plus, we find airfare to be about 30% more cost-effective than Austin.”

SHUSA leadership also views the region’s population—at more than eight million and well-educated—as beneficial to the talent pool. It’s important, they say, not just from a staffing perspective, but also for research and innovation.

Dr. Mohamed Salama is
chief medical officer of Sonic Healthcare USA.

“Throughout the history of the company, we have brought innovations along with other partners, medical centers, or universities—and that has had a significant impact on patients. We’re seeing more success stories,” said Salama.

He points out a few examples, including ThyroSeq, which is next-gen sequencing for thyroid cancer, as well as digital pathology, which uses AI to convert glass slides with tissue samples into images that can be easily shared and analyzed for abnormalities. Both are innovations that SHUSA was able to make widely available.

People first and patient-focused

SHUSA’s headquarters move to Dallas’ Uptown was completed in August.

“We’ve had tremendous positive returns from the team members that have come to the office as far as restaurant, hotel, and living density,” said Roberts, adding that two executives have apartments a block away and walk to work every day. He relocated to North Texas in 2000 from Nebraska.

Salama, who emigrated to the U.S. 30 years ago, first entered the country in Dallas, and he’s looking forward to making the region his full-time home.

“We also got a really strong medical leader from Cairo who fits in perfectly with our model and our mission of putting purpose over profits,” said Roberts. It’s very early days, but the first couple of weeks have been very strong. So, we’re excited.”

Photo: Sonic Healthcare

Besides the 15-person leadership team, SHUSA has roughly 8,000 employees who, regardless of title, are considered “medical leaders” and have a daily impact on patient care.

“It’s not defined by the letters after your name. The work that we do, whether you’re in the lab, or you’re sending out a bill, or talking to somebody on the phone—you are affecting patients every single day.”

SHUSA’s move to Dallas was made with the possibility of further expansion. “The Cairo acquisition reflects Sonic’s commitment to medical leadership in practice, not just in words,” said Roberts.

Voices contributor Nicole Ward is a data journalist for the Dallas Regional Chamber.

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