NIU continues with proton therapy center construction
Work on the state's first proton therapy cancer treatment center continued Thursday in West Chicago - a day after a state regulatory board reversed course by approving plans for a similar facility to be built a few miles away.
Two weeks ago, officials with Northern Illinois University expressed concerns about what could happen if Central DuPage Hospital was allowed to build a proton therapy center so close to the $160 million facility the university is building at the DuPage National Technology Park.
But after Central DuPage got permission from the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board to construct a $140 million proton center in Warrenville, a spokesman said NIU is "moving ahead" with its project.
The NIU board of trustees on Thursday unanimously approved an interim financing package for construction, said project spokesman Gary Mack.
Still, long-term financing for the project is up in the air. The group is seeking approval from the Illinois Finance Authority to sell bonds to fund the facility. NIU officials are planning to meet with the finance authority in November.
Finance authority officials said they were aware of the health planning board's decision, but offered no comment on what that meant to NIU's financing prospects. Central DuPage officials say their financing is secure.
In an interview with the Daily Herald earlier this month, NIU officials expressed concerns about being able to secure funding if another facility was approved so close. Citing the financial industry's recent turmoils and other unknowns, Kathryn Buettner, NIU's vice president of external affairs, said approval of such a facility "could slow us down."
She went on to say that having two proton centers in the Chicago market could result in both facilities failing.
"I think it could complicate both of our financing abilities, which could delay and/or render a possibility there's no center," Buettner said at the time. "I don't believe - whether it's our center or their center - I don't believe this state will have more than one center. It's just not possible."
The NIU facility is the long-awaited cornerstone to development of the technology park. Jack Tenison, its executive director, said it would "hurt the park long-term" if NIU's treatment facility failed to materialize.
"Its creation would draw other biomedical tenants to the park who would utilize the resources our want to be close to such a facility," he said. "The taxpayers of Illinois have invested $34 million in creating the infrastructure to support such a park with this type of technology and research."
Hadley Ford, CEO of Procure Treatment Centers, Central DuPage's chief partner, said he is optimistic both facilities can coexist and be success stories.
"The (health) board said there's a need for multiple centers in the state," he said. "There are examples around the country where this is being done."
In fact, five other locations are considering multiple proton therapy sites: San Diego, Seattle, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia and Boston. However, Boston is the only city where such a treatment facility is actually operating. Officials from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston support the creation of a second proton treatment site at nearby Tufts University.
Proton therapy is an advanced radiation treatment that uses focused beams to treat a variety of cancers. Unlike traditional radiation therapy, proton treatments concentrate doses to a specific cancer-stricken area. The result often lessens detrimental side effects to patients, especially children, experts said.