Pictured are Jenna Ellis, Matt Hines, Debbie Stockhover, Larry Swafford (Ivy Tech), Jill Cofojohn, Amy Sandefur and Victor Simoneaux.

Bloomington, Ind. – Seven radiation therapists on staff at the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute (MPRI) have earned a Proton Therapy Specialist Certificate through Ivy Tech Community College — Bloomington. The certificate program is the first-of-its-kind training program aimed at preparing radiation therapists to work in the rapidly expanding and specialized field of proton therapy. It can be completed in one to three semesters and consists of an online component, lab practicum and clinical experience. MPRI radiation therapists who recently completed the program include:

• Amanda Scarsdale Caruso, BSRT(R)(T), Radiation Therapist II
• Jill Cofojohn, BSRT(R)(T), Radiation Therapist
• Jenna Ellis, ASRT(T), Radiation Therapist II
• Matt Hines, ASRT(T), Radiation Therapist II
• Amy Sandefur, BSRT(T), Senior Radiation Therapist
• Victor Simoneaux, BSRT(R)(T), Chief Radiation Therapist
• Debbie Stockhover, ASRT(T), Radiation Therapist

“We are proud that our radiation therapists are among the first graduates of the program,” said Richard Helsper, MPRI’s chief operating officer. Helsper also serves on Ivy Tech’s Radiation Therapy Program Academic Advisory Committee. “Our therapists’ commitment to education and training validates MPRI’s leadership in the field of proton therapy,” added Helsper.

Other MPRI radiation therapists are currently enrolled. By September, all of the MPRI therapists will be Indiana-licensed, ARRT-registered, proton therapy specialists.

Ivy Tech’s new certificate program is designed to meet the demand for radiation therapists in the burgeoning field of proton therapy. There are currently seven proton therapy centers operating in the United States and 33 centers worldwide. It is available to radiation therapists who are graduates of an American Registry of a Radiologic Technologists (ARRT)-approved radiation therapy program. In addition to the certificate, completion of the program provides students with 16 undergraduate college credits.

“After fielding questions from proton therapy centers throughout the U.S. and around the globe, we know there is a need for a program like this,” said Larry G. Swafford, Ph.D., RT(R)(T), program chair of radiation therapy at Ivy Tech. “Until now, opportunities for specialized training in proton therapy have been limited.”

“The Ivy Tech Radiation Therapy Program at Bloomington is greatly appreciative for the ongoing support it receives from MPRI,” said Swafford. “MPRI serves as a valuable partner to the traditional photon program as well as the Proton Therapy Specialist Certificate. Our students are successful because of the resources and instructional assistance MPRI has dedicated to each program.”