The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) announced Thursday (July 30) that it is purchasing the Proton Center of Arkansas, allowing UAMS to immediately resume offering proton therapy to all Arkansans. “I am excited to share with you all that the bondholders for the debt on Proton International Arkansas have accepted our offer to purchase the Proton Center,” said UAMS Chancellor Dr. C. Lowry Barnes. “UAMS will become the sole owner of the proton machine, and our proton therapy will be managed by UAMS just like our photon therapy in the UAMS Radiation Oncology Center. UAMS has been working for months to save the Proton Center of Arkansas, which has experienced significant financial difficulties. The Proton Center of Arkansas opened in September 2023, becoming the first proton therapy center in the state and only the 43rd in the nation to provide the most advanced cancer radiation treatment in the world.