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The UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Radiation Oncology Center opened in 2023.
Image by Bryan Clifton
UAMS Radiation Oncology Center Receives $200,000 Grant from Ottenheimer Brothers Foundation
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) received a $200,000 grant from the Ottenheimer Brothers Foundation to support the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute’s Radiation Oncology Center.
The grant will go to the purchase and installation of the Brainlab ExacTrac Dynamic System. The medical equipment and software combine surface and image guidance technologies in one integrated system, delivering highly accurate treatments for a wide range of indications in cranial, spine, breast, prostate, and lung areas.
“I remain impressed and inspired by the philanthropic generosity of organizations like the Ottenheimer Brothers Foundation that propel UAMS to new levels,” said C. Lowry Barnes, M.D., UAMS chancellor. “I want to personally thank the Ottenheimer Brothers Foundation Board of Directors for its vote of confidence in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute’s efforts to help Arkansans who are battling cancer.”
Opened in 2023, the Radiation Oncology Center, a $65 million, 58,000-square-foot structure at 3900 W. Capitol Ave. in Little Rock, was built to accommodate three new linear accelerators that customize radiation delivery based on the type and stage of a patient’s cancer. It is the only cancer center in Arkansas to offer Ethos Adaptive Therapy, a unique form of X-ray radiation that adapts to daily changes in a tumor’s shape and position over the course of treatment.
“The Radiation Oncology Center continues to provide the most advanced cancer treatment available, and this in part thanks to support from philanthropic organizations such as the Ottenheimer Brothers Foundation,” said Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., UAMS vice chancellor and director of the Cancer Institute. “This new system will offer real-time tracking and X-ray imaging, providing patients with world-class, specialized care to beat cancer.”
Gus and Leonard Ottenheimer were active in many projects in Pulaski County, supporting many Arkansas organizations and institutions. The brothers took especially strong interest in higher education, including supporting the creation of the Ottenheimer Library at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Leonard Ottenheimer died in 1984 at 92, and Gus Ottenheimer died in 1985 at 87. The Ottenheimer Brothers Foundation, officially created in 1965, continues to honor the brothers’ legacy of philanthropy and community support.
“The Radiation Oncology Center has been a blessing for the state of Arkansas, offering its citizens state-of-the-art cancer treatment that is certainly needed,” said Gus Blass, chair of the Ottenheimer Brothers Foundation. “The philanthropic direction of the Ottenheimer Brothers Foundation is guided by the legacy of Gus and Leonard Ottenheimer, and we believe they would be quite pleased with our support of UAMS.”
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,553 students and 1,015 medical residents and fellows. It is the state’s largest public employer with about 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###