Congressman Danbury is pushing to overcome major obstacles and obtain approval for a new $ 80 million proton therapy cancer treatment facility that is currently opposed by lesser-known but powerful state agencies.
The Office of Health Strategy recently rejected Danbury Proton’s plan to develop a 16,000-square-foot treatment center on three acres near the airport under the state’s Certificate of Need review program. The program has previously considered markets, patient costs, and potential partnerships. The project can get the final green light.
However, a consortium of doctors who want to build a facility has filed an appeal, and city legislators hope it can overturn the refusal.
Democratic Party Parliamentarian Bob Godfrey, a senior member of the city’s eight members of the General Assembly delegation, said:
Godfrey admits he was confused by the Health Strategy Department’s rejection of the proposal. “It got stuck in a pandemic bureaucracy,” Godfrey said. “There were a couple of extensions under the law because we didn’t have enough staff. It slowed down, then accelerated, and OHS rejected them.”
One of the mysterious strikes on the project seems to be Danbury Proton’s independence. Not linked to the hospital. However, due to its proximity to Danbury Airport, it has been approved for location and zoning in all areas required for construction, including the Federal Aviation Administration.
Godfrey, who led a press conference on the issue at the State Capitol on Wednesday, told crowds, including union electric workers, that the facility was important to the Danbury region, including nearby New York State.
“Physics is really everything,” said Stephen Courtney, managing director of the company, describing the technology as an energy-based attack on tumors. He said many parts of the equipment were made in Connecticut, emphasizing that the facility could be opened by the end of 2023 if final state approval was obtained immediately.
“It treats your tumor and at the same time treats your healthy tissue,” Courtney said. “In the case of proton beams, the energy is very low, and when it hits a tumor, the energy spikes and stops. As a result, there is about 60% less radiation to healthy tissues. It has short-term side effects and long-term side effects. Both side effects have a significant impact on the patient. “
That same day, David S. Hardy, a partner at Carmody Torrance Sandeck Hennessy at Hartford LLP, appealed to Victoria Bertri, Executive Director of the Health Strategy Department.
“The proposed decision presupposes contradictory conclusions that are not supported by records and requires substantive and procedural irregularities to implement the wrong medical policy and set it aside. I’m influenced by that, “writes Hardy. “Instead, OHS must issue a final decision to grant Danbury Proton a certificate of need for the proposed proton therapy center. Approval of Danbury Proton’s application is negative for Connecticut and its patients. It does not pose a face or risk, and the proposed decision does not articulate anything. On the contrary, our state and its cancer patients stand solely to obtain the required approval. “
Tina Hyde, a spokeswoman for the Office of Health Strategy, declined to comment on the issue because the case is still unresolved.
Senator Matt Lesser of D-Middletown, who attended the Danbury Proton Press Conference in the Hall of Parliament’s Historic Flag Hall, co-chaired the Legislative Insurance and Real Estate Commission with him and this year’s Commission. Examine the need certificate process. The relevant bill was the subject of a hearing on Thursday.
The need certificate process is “extremely complex”, but less emphasis is placed on managing costs and providing patient access.
“There are two different groups, one in Danbury and one in a joint venture between Hartford Hospital and Yale University in Wallingford,” Lesser said in a telephone interview on Friday. “Both are being resisted by OHS, which is evaluating the certificate of need. Trying to evaluate the process is a conversation we had at the Insurance Commission. We work at Danbury. What you can do is still a point of debate. “
The deadline for the committee is Thursday, March 24, 5 pm.
kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
