University Of Chicago Announces Adult Trauma Center For South Side
(CBS) – University of Chicago Medicine is partnering with another hospital system to create an adult trauma center on the South Side, officials announced Thursday.
Activists have long demanded that the U of C provide trauma care at its Hyde Park medical center so that adults, including victims of gun violence, can receive prompter life-saving medical attention rather than having to be rushed to hospitals that are farther away.
The $40 million Level 1 adult trauma center with Sinai Health System will be located at Sinai's Holy Cross Hospital at 68th and California, in the Marquette Park neighborhood, U of C officials said in an announcement online.
"This new level 1 adult trauma center is a true community and civic effort, and the city of Chicago looks forward to working with the key stakeholders to bring this to fruition," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a prepared statement. "I commend the University of Chicago, Sinai Health System, and Holy Cross Hospital for working collaboratively to meet an important need on the South Side."
It's unclear whether activists would be appeased with that location, which is west of their preferred site at the U of C medical campus. The Hyde Park institution said its plans to increase adult-level emergency services; it already provides pediatric trauma services.
State officials would need to sign off on the collaborative plan announced Thursday.