The University of Chicago Medicine will open a level 1 adult trauma center in its emergency department May 1, after receiving final approval from the Illinois health department, according to CBS Chicago.
While UChicago Medicine already has a level 1 pediatric trauma center, this marks the first time in 27 years the South Side of Chicago will have a hospital with a level 1 adult trauma center.
Without this trauma center on the South Side, trauma victims have been forced to travel up to 10 miles to receive trauma care at hospitals such as Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial Hospital or Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill.
South Side activists have been urging UChicago to add an adult trauma care center for several years. In September 2015, the university initially announced plans to team up with Chicago-based Sinai Health Systems to open a trauma center at its Chicago-based Holy Cross Hospital, but many critics argued it would still leave parts of the city's South Side lacking trauma care — leading the hospital to abandon the plan. In December 2015, the university decided instead to add a trauma center to its campus as part of a larger expansion project, which included constructing a new ED.
The Illinois Department of Public Health gave final approval to the university to begin its level 1 trauma care program April 9. The trauma center designation indicates that the hospital has the proper resources and staffing necessary to care for patients suffering from major injuries.