University Hospitals to Build Modern, World-Class Pathology Laboratory

HIGHLAND HILLS, Ohio --University Hospitals has begun the first steps toward building a modern, world-class pathology laboratory to serve the health system's hospitals.

"This new, modern facility will allow us to better serve patients," said Chief Administrative Officer Tom Snowberger. "It's an investment in quality that will further strengthen our opportunities for growth."

Construction is underway to transform the former UH Customer Service Center into a state-of-the-art pathology lab that will house more than 300 caregivers and operate 24/7.

Located at the corner of Harvard and Northfield Roads in Highland Hills, the site is about eight miles from UH Cleveland Medical Center and less than three miles from UH Ahuja Medical Center.

Pathology services at UH Cleveland Medical Center are currently spread across multiple cramped and outdated facilities at different physical locations. Most of those services will be consolidated in the new building.

"This larger, unified space will help us modernize the delivery of pathology services for UH patients in Northeast Ohio," said Christine Schmotzer, MD, System Pathologist-in-Chief, Executive Vice Chair of Pathology, and the Linda Sandhaus, MD, and Roland Philip, MD, Chair in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. "Additionally, it will aid in retaining and recruiting outstanding pathologists and skilled pathology and laboratory technical staff. It's truly an investment in the future of pathology and laboratory medicine."

It will offer the following services:

• Anatomic Pathology including surgical pathology specialties and cytopathology
• Hematopathology and flow cytometry
• Specialized clinical chemistry and immunology testing
• Microbiology
• Genetic and molecular pathology
• Pathology clinical research

Pathology and lab services required for urgent patient care will remain at UH Cleveland Medical Center and other UH hospitals in the region.

The new pathology center is expected to open in 2027.