Alluvion closes Adlera Lab
Adlera Lab, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alluvion Health, is closing Oct. 6.
The lab, which is a separate legal entity, has been experiencing billing and reimbursement issues similar to Alluvion, Maia LaSalle, Alluvion’s spokeswoman told The Electric.
“Although Alluvion has been financially supporting lab operations for some time now, the ongoing challenges and lack of clear resolution to the claim processing problems for both Alluvion and Adlera has led to the decision to close the lab in its entirety,” LaSalle told The Electric.
Alluvion cutting, furloughing staff due to Medicaid claims backlog
There were 16 total employees at the lab. Nine of them are directly impacted and have lost their positions, LaSalle said.
The others are being transitioned into new roles within Alluvion, she said.
Cory Reeves, a candidate for Great Falls mayor, was the lab’s director since July 2022, when he resigned as Cascade County undersheriff.
She said the decision to close Adlera Lab is the result of a “comprehensive assessment to ensure the overall efficiency and sustainability” of Alluvion’s core federally qualified health center operations. “The closure of Adlera Lab aligns with our current and long-term needs to streamline our operations and ensure the best use of our limited resources to serve our patients and our community.”
She said the lab closure won’t impact existing patient care.
Alluvion pauses Rocky Mountain Building construction
Adlera was established in 2019 to “be the answer to both high operating costs for healthcare providers and slow, expensive tests for patients,” according to the lab’s website.
Earlier this year, the lab acquired a Viteck MS Prime, a state-of-the-art microbiology system from bioMerieux, making it the first lab in the U.S. to install the new machine, according to Adlera.
LaSalle said what would be done with the lab’s equipment or whether the lab’s closing would shift personnel to reduce Alluvion’s physical footprint would be determined by the board.
Earlier this month, Alluvion eliminated 12 positions, which caused five employees to lose their jobs. Executive Director Trista Besich told The Electric earlier this month that some of those other positions were created from resignations or retirements and they opted not to fill some vacancies. Most of the eliminated positions were management level, she said.
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Alluvion’s chief financial officer recently resigned. Besich said she couldn’t comment further on a specific personnel matter.
About 40 total staff began taking furloughs on Oct. 1, according to Alluvion.
At the end of September, Besich said Alluvion employed 230 people.
Casey Schreiner, also a mayoral candidate, is Alluvion’s vice president of strategy and innovation.
The staffing cuts were due to slow Medicaid claims processing, Besich said.
Over the summer, Alluvion suspended construction on the Rocky Mountain Building at 601 Central Ave. downtown.
Alluvion Health purchase the building several years ago and is planning to renovate it into a full-service clinic.
Alluvion’s initial budget was set around $22 million, but has since been revised to more than $40 million to account for inflationary impacts, LaSalle told The Electric last month.
“With the expanded budget, we are experiencing a brief funding gap, which is not uncommon for a project of this scale,” LaSalle said. “As we all know, businesses go through various cycles, and it is essential to adapt to those changes and be nimble. Alluvion Health is no different. Right now, we are in a position where we need to strategically assess our financial commitments and prioritize our spending.”
The funding gap suspended the Rocky Mountain Building project until financing is “aligned and secured,” and the timeline for that depends on many factors, LaSalle said.
A significant piece of the funding package for the 601 Central Avenue is new market tax credits and the allocation for the next round of those tax credits won’t be released until later this fall, LaSalle said.
“Unfortunately, that means our project work at 601 Central will not likely resume until early in 2024,” LaSalle said.
