Hospitals across Chicago are standing by, equipped to handle any medical emergencies that may arise as the city hosts the Democratic National Convention.
About 50,000 people are expected to attend the convention at Chicago's United Center from Aug. 19-22, where Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are expected to formally accept the party's nomination. Though this figure is smaller than the crowds seen for other major Chicago events, such as Lollapalooza or the Chicago Marathon, the convention comes amid a tense political climate, according to the Chicago Tribune.
"Obviously, we're in a heighted environment post-assassination attempt on Donald Trump," Nick Cozzi, MD, EMS and disaster medical director at Rush University Medical Center, told the publication. "On top of that we do know there will be protesters and agitators. … That's different than Lollapalooza or a concert."
If traumatic injuries occur at the DNC, Chicago Fire Department ambulances will transport attendees to the three closest Level 1 trauma centers: Stroger Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. These hospitals — and others in the city — have been preparing for the DNC for months, participating in drills and simulations to ensure they are ready for any situation that may arise during the event. For example, Northwestern and Stroger participated in a drill responding to a radiation exposure incident in the city in June. Two months earlier, Northwestern also held a mass casualty drill, according to the Tribune.
Rush University Medical Center is less than a mile from the United Center. The hospital is bracing for a potential flood of patients who may come by foot or private vehicle and need to be stabilized before being transferred to a Level 1 trauma center. In late July, the medical center held a virtual realization training simulating a mass casualty event, in which staff members practiced assessing and triaging patients. Support pillars in the emergency department's lobby are outfitted with concealed triage equipment, enabling the space to quickly transform into an extension of the ED if needed to accommodate overflow patients. The medical center has also coordinated with nearby trauma centers should patients need to be transferred via helicopter or private ambulance, according to CBS Chicago.
Rush is also prepared to respond to a chemical attack. The facility's ambulance bays include specialized equipment installed in 2012, when the NATO summit was held in Chicago, to rapidly convert its ambulance bays into a decontamination unit.
Heightened traffic during the event also poses obstacles for patients and staff members. Rush, University of Illinois Hospital and Cook County Health, which operates Stroger Hospital, are giving patients the option of rescheduling appointments for this week, according to the Tribune. In some cases, Rush has shifted appointments to virtual visits. Rush, Stroger and Northwestern are also offering employees the option to stay at the hospital between shifts rather than battle traffic. Cook County Health has also stockpiled food and medicine in case traffic disruptions impede supply deliveries.
"We always try to prepare for the worst but hope for the best," Craig Williams, chief administrative officer of Cook County Health, told the Tribune. "We almost never know what the world is going to throw at us, so we constantly need to be kind of stressing things."