The laboratory is often viewed as a cost center, a necessary utility for patient care. However, for the Chief Financial Officer, lab instability is rapidly becoming one of the most significant and avoidable financial drains on the hospital's bottom line. It is no longer a human resources problem; it is a cash flow crisis. The Traveler Trap: A $200,000 Annual Leak The most immediate and visible financial threat is the reliance on temporary, or "traveler," Medical Laboratory Sc