SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc., (ProCure) and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) have named Annika Andrews president and CEO of SCCA Proton Therapy, A ProCure Center in north Seattle. As president and CEO, Andrews will oversee operations at the proton therapy center that will create approximately 100 full-time jobs in the community and offer the capability to treat an expected 1,400 patients annually.
Andrews brings more than 17 years of experience in the healthcare industry to her new position. Most recently, Andrews was the senior vice president and chief operating officer of Northwest Hospital & Medical Center where she was responsible for hospital and physician clinic operations and led the organization through its integration with UW Medicine. In addition, Andrews serves on the boards of North Seattle Surgery Center, LLC, and Via Radiology, LLC. From 2002 to 2006, she served as an independent director of Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc., when the publicly traded company was sold to Public Storage for $5.5 billion. Andrews earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from Princeton University.
“We are fortunate in the selection of Andrews as president of Seattle’s new proton therapy center,” said John Henderson, Chief Development Officer of ProCure. “Her expertise in healthcare operations and establishing strategic relationships, along with her deep connection to the Seattle community, will be vital to the success of the center.”
Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation treatment and an important alternative to standard X-ray radiation for many types of cancer and some noncancerous tumors. Currently available at only nine centers in the United States, proton therapy is beneficial in treating a broad range of tumors, including those of the brain, central nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, head and neck, lung and prostate, as well as sarcomas and many pediatric cancers.
Since proton beams significantly reduce the amount of radiation deposited in normal tissues, patients who receive proton therapy generally experience fewer side effects compared to those who undergo traditional X-ray-based radiation therapy. The precision of proton therapy makes it especially effective for treating children and adults with anatomically complex tumors, such as those at the base of the skull and along the spinal cord.
“Through our partnership with Procure, we will be able to further advance and refine the use of this exciting new therapy,” said Norm Hubbard, executive vice president of SCCA. “We are very excited that Annika is joining the team to help make proton therapy available in the Northwest for the first time.”
Opening in spring 2013 on the campus of Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, the SCCA Proton Therapy, A ProCure Center will be among only a handful of centers in the nation to offer proton therapy and will provide a first-of-its-kind treatment option for cancer patients throughout the Northwest. The 60,000-square-foot facility is the fourth in the ProCure network, which includes centers in Oklahoma City (opened in 2009), suburban Chicago (opened in 2010) and Somerset, N.J., which will serve the metro New York area (opening 2012). ProCure is the only healthcare company in the world that has developed and is operating multiple proton centers.
SCCA and ProCure chose to build the proton center at Northwest Hospital because of the hospital’s history of building healthcare partnerships to provide emerging and innovative treatments to its community. The proton center will be conveniently located near other cancer services and complementary facilities on the hospital campus to provide patients medical care beyond proton therapy. The proton center is currently hiring key leadership positions and will create approximately 400 temporary positions for construction and start-up operations and Washington state-based contractors will be used to construct the building.
For more information about Andrews, proton therapy and the new center, visit www.procure.com/wa.
About ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc.
ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc. is a privately held healthcare company dedicated to improving the lives of patients with cancer by increasing access to proton therapy. The company was founded in 2005 in Bloomington, Ind., and is the first to develop a network of proton therapy centers in cities across the United States. The ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City opened in July 2009 and the CDH Proton Center, A ProCure Center, opened October 2010 in Warrenville, Ill. ProCure’s third and fourth centers are under construction in Somerset, N.J. and Seattle; and others are in development in Detroit and South Florida. ProCure provides management leadership and a comprehensive approach for the design, construction, financing, staffing, training and day-to-day operations of proton therapy centers. ProCure’s solution reduces the time, cost and effort necessary to build and operate a facility. ProCure is advancing proton therapy by collaborating with radiation oncology practices and hospitals to develop centers, through innovation and improvements in technology, and by providing training at the world’s only educational facility specializing in proton therapy. For more information, visit www.procure.com.