The only authorized organ procurement organization in Virginia is expanding its presence in the Midwest.
Capping off a year of growth in Hampton Roads and across the country, LifeNet Health is opening a distribution hub near Indianapolis, according to an Oct. 15 announcement. The new facility will help the Virginia Beach organ and tissue bank greatly expand its distribution capabilities, said executive vice president Douglas Wilson.
“Timely delivery of our regenerative medicine products is critical,” Wilson said. “It’s essential.”
The 70,000-square-foot facility has been designed and built to meet LifeNet’s needs, Wilson said, since organ and tissue donations are usually unplanned medical events. The new facility includes monitoring and security systems designed to make sure the cells and tissues stay in ideal conditions. The new hub will also speed up delivery of the cells used in LifeNet’s biomedical research division.
“The surgeons and patients we serve demand unique capabilities,” LifeNet Health President and CEO Rony Thomas said in the announcement. “Establishing this biologics logistics center represents a commitment of excellence to our customers and partners, as well as their patients.”
Additionally, the location gives LifeNet far greater access to plane flights and other delivery methods, Wilson said. In Hampton Roads, the organization has access to just one FedEx and one UPS flight a day. With the new hub, that number has increased to more than 200 daily outbound flights. Now, deliveries that took two or three planes in the past may only need a single flight.
“It was very attractive to us,” Wilson said about the Plainfield, Indiana, location, which is close to the area’s airport and FedEx facility.
Also, LifeNet has more time to get tissue deliveries out — flights leave the hub as late as 11 p.m. In Hampton Roads, depending on weather and flights, Wilson said deliveries could be constrained by a cutoff time of 6 p.m.
Between real estate, equipment and infrastructure improvements, LifeNet has spent around $18 million on the facility, Wilson said. The organization plans to have 50 people working at the facility by November. He said 15 people transferred from Hampton Roads, but the rest will be new hires. LifeNet leaders hope to have more than 120 employees at the hub three years from now.
LifeNet estimates it will deliver more than 700,000 tissue implants by the end of this year — a record for the organization. It expanded its facilities in the Lynnhaven business corridor and on Bayside Road near Norfolk International Airport this year. It also opened a new San Diego location in May.
Beyond Hampton Roads, LifeNet has Virginia offices in Richmond and Roanoke. The organization is solely responsible for handling organ donation procurement in the state. LifeNet also has facilities in Seattle, Florida, and Vienna, Austria.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@insidebiz.com.
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