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HealthSpan and Summa Complete Partnership H E ALTHSPAN PArTNE rS , an auxiliar y organization of Catholic Health Partners, and Summa Health System closed on September 30, 2013, on a partnership transaction making HealthSpan Partners a minority owner of Summa Health System. HealthSpan Partners invested $250 million to become a 30 percent owner of Summa Health System. HealthSpan Partners is a secular, tax-exempt organization that invests in innovative healthcare ventures. This investment concludes a two-year process initiated by the board of Summa Health System to find a like-minded, not-for-profit partner to strengthen Summa financially and better equip the system to tackle the challenges of healthcare reform. Through this partnership, which originally began with Catholic Health Partners, Summa Health System will continue to be locally governed while gaining the strength of a partner with resources across the state to help it realize economies of scale and operational improvements to benefit patient care. Catholic Health Partners was the original proposed investor in Summa Health System. After review of the planned transaction, the approach was changed and HealthSpan Partners was designated as the investor. Other details of the transaction remain the same. Summa Health System and HealthSpan Partners agreed to a statement of common values that includes a provision stating they will not perform direct abortions or euthanasia, neither of which they perform today. HealthSpan Partners also includes HealthSpan Inc., a company that has been serving self-insured employers and caring for Ohio families for more than 20 years. ■ UH Seidman Cancer Center breaks Ground on $30 Million Proton Therapy Center U NIvErSITY HoSPITALS SEIdmAN Cancer Center broke ground on a $30 million proton therapy center, becoming one of an elite group of cancer centers in the country to offer this revolutionary technology. There are currently only 11 operational proton therapy centers in the nation, and the UH Seidman Cancer Center site will be the first in Ohio. Proton therapy is an advanced type of radiation treatment that uses a powerful beam of protons to precisely target a tumor and at the same time reduce radiation to uninvolved tissues. Traditional radiation therapy uses photon beams, which are 8 | Cleveland/Akron/Canton MD News highly effective for a broad variety of cancers. However, in some cases, proton beams offer enhanced abilities to deliver radiation doses while selectively sparing healthy tissue. Most notably the use of protons is beneficial for the treatment of some cancers in children and young adults, who are more prone to short and long-term complications from radiation. Scheduled to open to patients in 2015, the Proton Therapy Center will be housed in an 11,000-square-foot facility on the UH Case Medical Center campus. The technology will be used primarily for pediatric cancer patients as well as patients with certain brain and spine malignancies. ■ mdNEWS.Com ■ NovEmBEr /dECEmBEr The utility of this new therapy is being studied in a variety of other cancer types as well. UH signed an agreement in 2011 with Mevion Medical Systems (formerly Still River Systems) to purchase the MEVION S250 Proton Therapy System, the next generation of proton therapy technology. While the first generation of proton beam systems require massive equipment, large facilities and cost up to $150 million to implement, scientific breakthroughs by Mevion have led to the development of this first-of-its-kind more compact and less costly model. The MEVION S250 received FDA approval in August 2012. ■