Baptist Health Partnership With UAMS Opens New Cancer Clinic on Little Rock Campus

Cancer care is a critical component in providing quality health care to the community.

Following in the momentum of 2022 after the partnership was announced in 2021, Baptist Health and UAMS continued the growth of innovative cancer care in Arkansas that will expand access to serve more Arkansans with the most advanced care available.

In May, Baptist Health and UAMS held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially commemorate the opening of the new cancer clinic and infusion center on the campus of BHMC-Little Rock.

UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Clinic-Little Rock, in Suite 500 of the Hickingbotham Outpatient Center, manages the full spectrum of options for cancer patients such as prescribing the appropriate chemotherapy and leading a multidisciplinary approach to address all of a cancer patient’s health needs.

The new cancer center marks the next step in the partnership with Baptist Health and UAMS working together to expand access to the most advanced cancer care to every corner of our state. More entry points to care can increase early diagnoses and result in better outcomes.

UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Clinic-Little Rock is staffed by an experienced team of hematology/oncology, gynecologic oncology, and neuro-oncology specialists from the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, as well as a variety of other surgical and non-surgical oncology specialists.

With disease-specific expertise in more than 35 cancer types, medical oncologists are trained to manage a patient's overall care and treatment plan, which may involve a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and other interventions. Specialists from all areas of cancer care work together to develop a personalized treatment plan for each patient.

In addition to providing treatment, medical oncologists may also manage the side effects of cancer and its treatments, provide supportive care to patients and their families, and coordinate care with other health care providers. They may also conduct clinical research and participate in the development of new cancer treatments.

This continues the partnership’s mission to bring cutting-edge treatment to patients where they need it with a sophisticated level of care enhanced by the latest research and clinical trials.

The partnership with UAMS leverages Baptist Health’s network of 12 hospitals and 100 clinics to bridge the gaps in the state’s cancer care network.

In addition to the new clinic that opened in Little Rock in 2023, other locations involving the Baptist Health and UAMS cancer care partnership can be found on the North Little Rock and Fort Smith campuses.

Recognizing the burden on patients forced to travel out of state for this soughtafter therapy, Baptist Health, UAMS, and Arkansas Children’s joined forces with Proton International to build the state’s first proton therapy center in Arkansas.

The Proton Center of Arkansas opened in September at the UAMS campus, becoming the first of its kind in the state and only the 43rd in the nation to provide the most advanced cancer radiation treatment in the world.

Proton therapy is a cutting-edge form of radiation that uses positively charged proton particles to destroy tumors, often in hardto-reach areas, with greater precision and significantly less damage to healthy organs and tissues. Patients receiving proton therapy have less severe and fewer side effects than conventional X-ray radiation, which improves their recovery time and quality of life.

Along with the UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Clinic and Infusion Center, Arkansas’ first proton center is another example of how strategic collaboration with other leading health care providers can improve the health of Arkansans.

Proton therapy is used to treat a wide range of cancers in both children and adults, including brain, spine, breast, esophageal, head and neck, liver, lung, lymphomas, eye, pancreatic, and sarcomas.

Proton therapy is the preferred treatment for children who face risks from unnecessary radiation exposure that adults do not, such as developmental delays, hormone deficiencies, effects on bone growth, and potential longterm effects of secondary cancers in exposed tissues.

The Proton Center is part of the new $65 million UAMS Radiation Oncology Center, which opened in July in a building adjacent to the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

The Proton Center occupies 9,000 square feet on the second floor of the three-story center and includes the proton treatment room, a CT room to prepare patients for proton therapy, a high-dose (HDR) radiation room, gowning rooms, recovery rooms, an anesthesia room, eight exam rooms, a large family area for pediatric patients, and a physician work room.

The proton treatment room features a unique ambient experience that allows patients to choose a room theme and color that is digitally displayed on the walls and ceiling. This is especially helpful in reducing anxiety in children during treatment.

The 55-ton cyclotron, a type of particle accelerator that powers the proton beam, made a cross-country journey by land and sea to Little Rock. Starting in Belgium, the massive equipment that included the 75-ton gantry, traveled by sea for five weeks, then by police escort on six semi-tractor trailers from the Port of Houston to Little Rock.