California Proton Therapy Center, LLC officially re-launched California Protons, a cancer treatment center in San Diego, on Thursday, December 7, under new management and leadership and with an expanded group of physicians.

The relaunch follows a year of hardship for the center, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March and parted ways with its management, Scripps Health, in September. Loughlin Management Partners, a specialist in business and health care turnaround, is working with the facility on a transition plan as it welcomes Orix, JP Morgan and Varian as its new owners and investors, and Proton Doctors Professional Corporation (PDPC) as its clinical manager.

“The center has been recapitalized, the investor group has provided additional financial resources to support the center's future growth, and we have taken a number of steps to improve short- and long-term financial performance,” James J. Loughlin, Jr., managing partner at Loughlin Management Partners + Co., told HCB News. “The center is well positioned to truly become a regional resource that is available to treat patients from all over the state of California and abroad.”

Changes include a reduction in cost structure and an alignment with a group of experienced proton physicians, three of which are from the University of California at San Diego. Certain functions, such as insurance authorizations, will be brought in-house to decrease delays and enhance the efficiency of processes.

The center also aims to continue building on its clinical affiliations with its partners, including UC San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital, while forging new partnerships and alliances throughout California.

Though Scripps Health no longer maintains day-to-day operations, patients of the network are still welcome to the center to seek treatment.

California Protons expects international patient volume to grow through the development of its first-class concierge program, along with the increasing number of proton therapy centers in the U.S.

“We expect that our international patient volume will grow as we develop a first-class concierge program to support our patients' travel and lodging needs while being treated at the center,” Loughlin said. “As more proton treatment centers open throughout the US, the overall awareness of the benefits of proton therapy will increase. And as new research results support the benefits of proton therapy, demand will increase, which will benefit the California Protons Cancer Therapy Center.”

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