Northwell, NYC Health + Hospitals to build Little Neck lab

New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health and NYC Health + Hospitals, the city’s public hospital system, said Thursday they are building a shared, centralized laboratory in Little Neck, Queens.

The 36,000-square-foot, two-story facility will be located on Little Neck Parkway not far from the Nassau County line.

Microbiology tests, including tests sent from New York City hospitals, will be performed at the lab.

Northwell, which is the largest private employer in the state, is making the initial $47.7 million investment in the project.

The lab will be part of the Clinical Laboratory of New York Alliance, formed in 2014 by the two health systems to integrate laboratory services in New York.

Under the partnership, NYC Health + Hospitals, based in Manhattan, will consolidate its four core lab operations into the new Little Neck location. The new lab will be staffed by 300 employees from the two organizations, and no layoffs are expected.

Northwell has been building or expanding facilities, and has said it expects to grow further. The health system plans to open a new lab in Lake Success in mid-2018.

Earlier this year the health system opened a heart hospital at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and a new emergency room at Huntington Hospital.

Northwell also opened its first cancer-care center in Suffolk County late last year. The Imbert Cancer Center replaced a former King Kullen supermarket at 440 E. Main St. in Bay Shore.

NYC Health + Hospitals operates a network of 11 hospitals, trauma centers, neighborhood health centers, nursing homes and post-acute-care centers.