Transformational Gift Supports Atrium Health Levine Cancer Proton and Advanced Radiation Center

Kelly and Darius Adamczyk establish family fund to support patients, research and programs at the only proton therapy center in the Carolinas

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 2, 2026 – Kelly and Darius Adamczyk have made a transformational gift to Atrium Health Foundation to support patients, research, programs and special initiatives at Atrium Health Levine Cancer Proton and Advanced Radiation Center, the only proton therapy center in the Carolinas. The gift establishes the Adamczyk Family Proton and Advanced Radiation Center Fund, and in recognition of their leadership, the center’s main lobby has been named The Kelly and Darius Adamczyk Welcome Lobby.  

Located on Atrium Health’s midtown Charlotte campus at Levine Cancer Institute, the center is the first and only facility in the Carolinas, and one of fewer than 50 in the United States, to offer proton beam therapy for adult and pediatric patients with complex tumors. Powered by a 110-ton proton accelerator, the therapy precisely targets tumors while sparing healthy tissue, reducing side effects and long-term risks, especially for children and adolescents. The center also offers Gamma Knife radiosurgery for difficult-to-treat brain lesions.  

Since opening, the center has treated more than 150 patients with proton therapy, delivered more than 4,000 proton treatments, cared for 36 pediatric patients, treated 755 radiosurgery patients and provided more than 800 radiopharmaceutical infusions. Patients have traveled from more than 45 counties and six states to receive care at the center, demonstrating the center’s growing regional impact and the demand for advanced cancer services. 

This gift from the Adamczyk family expands access to precise, targeted therapies while reducing the burden of travel for those receiving treatment. Since opening, the center has eliminated an estimated 15,000 miles of patient travel to the nearest proton therapy center. 

“What matters most is the difference this will make for patients and families facing some of the hardest days of their lives,” said Eugene A. Woods, chief executive officer of Advocate Health, of which Atrium Health is a part. “As the only facility in the Carolinas offering proton therapy, the Atrium Health Levine Cancer Proton and Advanced Radiation Center is providing life-changing care closer to home for patients across our region. Thanks to Kelly and Darius Adamczyk, now even more people will have access to that care, with the hope, dignity and support they deserve.” 

For the Adamczyks, the decision to give was both personal and strategic. “Cancer touches nearly every family, including ours,” said Darius Adamczyk, retired CEO of Charlotte-based Honeywell. “Kelly and I wanted our investment to reach patients directly — through the treatments, research and the everyday support that helps families through a difficult time.” 

Philanthropy and community support are essential to building excellence across Atrium Health, accelerating access to advanced technology, breakthrough research and programs that care for the whole person. “Gifts like this from the Adamczyks help position us as a national destination for healthcare,” said Mark Griffith, president of Atrium Health Foundation and Advocate Health’s vice president of philanthropy for North Carolina and Georgia. “It also helps ensure that every patient receives the care they need, regardless of where they live.” 

“From the moment you walk through the doors of this center, patients should feel cared for and welcomed,” said Dr. Ruben Mesa, president of Atrium Health Levine Cancer. “We hold ourselves to the loved one standard: Every patient receives the same care we would want for our own family. Support like the Adamczyks’ is what allows us to deliver on that promise.”