The grand opening of the Proton Center of Arkansas took place Wednesday, Oct. 27 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. Representatives of UAMS, Arkansas Children’s, Baptist Health and Proton International spoke at the event, which concluded with a bell-ringing and was followed by tours of the facility.
Cam Patterson, chancellor of UAMS, said the project was a joint venture between the four organizations. The Proton Center of Arkansas is the first cancer center in the state to offer proton therapy and is one of only 43 proton centers in the country, he said. The Proton Center is housed in the new $65 million UAMS Radiation Oncology Center, a 58,000-square-foot facility that broke ground in May 2021.
Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation that uses positively charged proton particles to destroy tumors, often in hard-to-reach areas. The treatment targets tumors with greater precision and less damage to healthy tissue than conventional radiation therapy.
The treatment is ideal for pediatric patients, Patterson said, and the UAMS Radiation Oncology Center is the only radiation center in the state that treats children. Memphis, Tenn., and Shreveport, La., provided the closest proton therapy centers prior to the opening, he added.
“The opening of the Proton Center of Arkansas takes cancer care in our state to a new level and ensures that cancer patients who need proton therapy no longer need to leave the state to get state-of-the-art care,” he said.
He added that the project is part of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute’s push to be designated a National Cancer Institute. He thanked Sen. John Boozman for his support in that effort and expressed gratitude to the project partners, the contractors who worked on the project, the UA System Board of Trustees, and Fen Xia, radiation oncology chair at UAMS.
“Reaching today’s milestone has taken months of hard work and support from many people, some of whom are here with us today,” Patterson said. “The alliances forged, some old and some new, are a testament to local and state support for better health and health care for all Arkansans.”
Morril Harriman, president of the UA System Board of Trustees, said the opening of Proton Center of Arkansas has personal significance to him. He said he completed radiation treatment for cancer four years ago and is still working to remedy tissue damage caused by the treatments.
“The wonderful radiologist, the technicians, the whole staff of the radiation oncology center that took care of me were outstanding, and for them, this means they can even do a more outstanding job,” he said. “So I, chancellor, commend you. I commend all of our partners for getting this facility open.”
Marcy Doderer, president and CEO of Arkansas Children’s, said the opening “hails a new day for health care in Arkansas.” She added that, by ensuring that any child in Arkansas who needs proton therapy can receive treatment within a four-hour drive, the center aligns with Arkansas Children’s goals of making Arkansas the safest, healthiest place to be a child.
“To date, kids needing this level of care have left our state, and sometimes that has disrupted the family, separating family, separating spouses and siblings while a child goes and lives in Cincinnati or Houston or somewhere else in order to get this level of care,” she said. “By us building this program, putting this center here and building this partnership, it allows our families to put all of their energy into fighting for the care and the cure of their child and not worry about the economic or social stress of leaving the state.”
Troy Wells, president and CEO of Baptist Health, said his organization has partnered with UAMS for years and thanked the leadership teams of both organizations for fostering that collaboration. He also thanked Arkansas Children’s and praised the engineers, architects and contractors who worked on the project.
“I couldn’t be more proud of what this turned out to be, not just the physical building and facilities, but the technology and the access to better health care for Arkansans,” he said.
Chris Chandler, CEO of Proton International, who said his team has opened multiple centers over the past 15 years, said his organization is proud to be a part of bringing Arkansas a new tool that will make a difference in the lives of patients in the state and region. He praised state and university leadership that brought the project to fruition.
“This facility is emblematic of the grace and vision of all of those people and many, many more,” he said. “If you look at your outline from today, there’s dozens of organizations that have been involved. There’s literally thousands of people who have touched this project, all for the sole purpose of meeting the mission that we have of making this tremendous technology more available and accessible to people all over the country and, hopefully, all over the world.”
Michael Birrer, director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, noted that the grand opening was the third and final event highlighting the Proton Center, which also hosted a ribbon cutting and reception, and called the new center “a huge step forward.”
“It will provide a unique opportunity for many adults with a variety of cancers, but also, more importantly, our pediatric patients,” he said. “No longer will children or families have to go elsewhere to battle serious disease in strange surroundings. They’ll be here.”
After thanking Susan Henry, a service line administrator who helped with the project, as well as Xia and “unsung heroes” such as builders, he said the center would provide much more than a place for Arkansas cancer patients to receive cutting-edge radiation therapy.
“This center is so state of the art, it is so spectacular, that we’re going to attract patients from Missouri, Oklahoma, Mississippi — a whole variety of places,” he said. “In fact, Dr. Xia mentioned to me the other day that she’s already seen the impact of this center on recruitment. New faculty members want to be here, so that’s all wonderful. I can’t tell you how excited I am.”
For more information on The Proton Center of Arkansas, click here.
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