UAB Proton Therapy Center
The UAB Proton Therapy Center was a cancer treatment facility in the UAB Medical Center which used proton therapy to destroy cancerous cells. The facility was developed and owned by Proton International of Louisville, Kentucky. When it was dedicated it was one of only 26 proton therapy treatment centers in the United States.
The 3-story, 32,500 square-foot Proton Center was constructed over UAB Parking Lot 55, the former Parliament Hotel site on the 400 block of 20th Street South, which is owned by the UAB Educational Foundation and leased to Proton International. It was staffed by medical professionals and researchers from the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Construction began in 2017, with completion in 2019. The building was designed by the Washington D.C. office of Stantec and constructed by Brasfield & Gorrie. The exterior was clad in glass, brick and cast stone with "green wall" features. The project won an "Eagle" award from Associated Builders and Contractors.
The "ProBeam" cyclotron itself, a 90-ton, $25 million instrument built in Germany for Varian Medical Systems of Palo Alto, California, was nicknamed "Emma". It was delivered and craned into the building on March 4, 2019.
The center closed in December 2023 due to center partner Proton International’s "inability to make payments to bondholders, equipment finance companies and other vendors."
References
- Rebman, Stephanie (February 21, 2017) "$50 million UAB partnership will bring cutting-edge cancer treatment to Birmingham." Birmingham Business Journal
- Groover, Shilo (December 18, 2017) "Cutting edge cancer treatment center coming to Birmingham." WBRC.com
- Delcambre, Shannon (March 1, 2019) "Emma, the 90-ton cancer killer, is coming to UAB." wvtm13.com
- Pennington, Amanda (Summer 2020) "UAB Proton International: Making a Difference for Alabama Families". Alabama Construction News
- Thornton, William (November 28, 2023) "UAB’s $50 million Proton Center closing over ‘inability to make payments’." AL.com
External links
- Proton International UAB at stantec.com