TAMPA,
Fla., Sept. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BayCare
today announced the groundbreaking of construction on the first
proton therapy center to open in the Tampa Bay area at the BayCare Cancer Institute
at St. Joseph's Hospital, bringing technologically advanced
treatment closer to home for cancer patients.
The proton therapy center at St. Joseph's Hospital is expected
to treat the first patients in 2025. A groundbreaking ceremony held
with BayCare leaders, local providers, community members and
special guests commemorated the occasion.
"We are the best place to work, practice and receive care,
enabling us to continue to fulfill our vision and our mission,"
said BayCare President and CEO Stephanie
Conners. "Innovative technologies like proton therapy are
why we continue to be the No. 1 health system and provider of
choice in the Tampa Bay
region."
BayCare can offer this new advanced therapy to patients on an
expedited timeline due to the development of new technology that is
smaller in size and can easily integrate to existing
infrastructures. The new technology, in development from Mevion
Medical Systems, empowers the most compact proton therapy system,
combining high-precision modern radiation delivery techniques with
an upright patient positioning system designed to improve
comfort.
Proton therapy delivers radiation treatments to cancerous
tumors, using protons instead of X-rays to better target cancer and
reduce the amount of radiation exposure to healthy tissue. As a
result, patients report few side effects and have a lower risk of
secondary malignancies.
"Our mission is to provide superior proton therapy to as many
cancer patients as possible. That mission is only achieved through
partnerships like BayCare and Mevion," said Mevion Chief Operating
Officer Curt Kienast. "This
partnership will lead to the first of its kind proton therapy
center opening in the Tampa Bay
Area."
The $33 million investment will be
located in St. Joseph's Hospital's Fred J. Woods Radiation Therapy
Center. The system at St. Joseph's will be an advancement to
optimize cancer treatment services across all of BayCare, including
the other accredited radiation oncology programs at Morton Plant
Hospital in Clearwater, St.
Anthony's Hospital in St.
Petersburg, and Winter Haven Hospital in Winter Haven.
For more information: BayCare Cancer Institute at St. Joseph's
Hospital and the Fred J. Woods Radiation Therapy Center.
About St. Joseph's Hospital
St. Joseph's Hospital, part of the BayCare Health System, is known
for advanced medical technology and compassionate care. Its Centers
of Excellence include the Heart and Vascular Institute, Cancer
Institute, Stroke and Neuroscience Program, Robotic Surgery Program
and Emergency/Trauma Department, which provides more emergency care
than any other hospital in Tampa
Bay. More than 70 specialties are represented among the
medical team, including internal medicine, cardiovascular surgery
and neurosurgery. The hospital was founded in 1934 by the
Franciscan Sisters of Allegany. The 615-bed hospital is located at
3001 West Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Tampa, Florida. For more information:
BayCare.org/SJH.
About BayCare
BayCare is a leading not-for-profit
health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide
range of services at 16 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient
locations throughout the Tampa Bay and
central Florida regions. The system is West Central
Florida's largest provider of behavioral health and pediatric
services and its provider group, BayCare Medical Group, is one of
the largest in the region. BayCare's diverse network of ambulatory
services includes laboratories, imaging, surgical centers, BayCare
Urgent Care locations, wellness centers and one
of Florida's largest home care agencies, BayCare
HomeCare. BayCare's mission is to improve the health of all it
serves through community-owned, health care services that set the
standard for high-quality, compassionate care. For more information
visit BayCare.org.
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SOURCE St. Joseph's Hospital