MPRI will continue as part of the comprehensive suite of cancer services offered to patients within the portfolio of Clarian Health. MPRI’s affiliation with Riley Hospital for Children is further strengthened with the IUSCC partnership.
The MPRI board of directors appointed Dr. Peter Johnstone, chair and William A. Mitchell Professor, IUSM Department of Radiation Oncology, president and chief executive officer of MPRI. Richard Helsper, vice president of operations for Clarian Health, was named chief operating officer. Both will retain their current positions, while working with the MPRI board, physicians and staff to facilitate the transition.
“We are very excited about the synergies and potential of this integration,” said Daniel F. Evans Jr., MPRI chairman of the board and Clarian CEO. “The board believes this change provides all parties an opportunity to deliver more effectively and efficiently a broad range of cancer therapies and treatment to our patients from around the state and the world.”
Indiana University President Michael McRobbie joined Evans in acknowledging the many contributions of outgoing MPRI President and CEO Jim Buher in building and growing the enterprise and noted that the integration is a logical next step.
“This approach will, among other things, rationalize the broader spectrum of cancer treatment at the IU Simon Cancer Center and provide a longer term, more secure platform from which MPRI can enhance clinical operations for the benefit of our patients and their families,” said McRobbie.
Since 2004, MPRI’s clinic has offered a highly precise means of treating both benign and cancerous tumors in adults and children, while protecting healthy tissues and normal structures. Proton therapy is particularly successful in treating brain, head, neck, spine and prostate tumors, and it is often an option for patients with recurrent tumors.
The MPRI clinic, which is constructed within the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility, will remain in Bloomington. Dr. Allan Thornton serves as medical director of the clinic. MPRI is one of five proton centers in the United States and the only one located in the Midwest.
The IU Simon Cancer Center is an IUSM and Clarian Health partnership. Located in Indianapolis, IU Simon Cancer Center serves as a regional and national referral center for state-of-the-art cancer treatment and is Indiana’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center that provides patient care. The partnership between IUSM and Clarian Health is dedicated to establishing a statewide health care delivery system that is supported by the scientific resources and clinical expertise of the medical school. Its mission is to advance the understanding, prevention and treatment of cancer throughout Indiana and the world with patient-centered care, acceleration of promising science and collaborative educational programs.