U Of C Plans To Expand Trauma Center Coverage To 16- And 17-Year-Olds
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An activist coalition is claiming victory now that the University of Chicago Medical Center plans to expand trauma care up to cover 16-and-17 year-olds.
Veronica Moore, an organizer with the Fearless Leading by the Youth group, says her coalition had sought expanded U of C trauma coverage for three years.
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"It was not our main goal," Moore said. "Our main goal is that the South Side of Chicago be provided with a level 1 trauma center to address the many traumatic deaths and injuries that come to our communities and live in our communities every day."
Moore pledges continued pressure for full adult trauma coverage by her group, which sees the proposed Obama Presidential Library as a pressure point in the discussions with the University of Chicago.
The University of Chicago Medical Center says it's extending emergency care to 16 --and 17-year-olds after extensive community consultation, not as a result of activist pressure. Chief Medical Officer Steven Weber at U of C Medicine says the hospital is a part of the community and as such has always been trying to provide the highest and best care for anyone who comes through its doors.
