Sinai Health System and the University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Provide Level I Trauma Care Services at Holy Cross Hospital

The University of Chicago Medicine and Sinai Health System are working together to upgrade Holy Cross Hospital’s emergency room into a Level 1 adult trauma center.

Hard working activists and neighbors have been working hard and demonstrating for the need for a trauma center on the South Side, They now have reason to celebrate.

Many activists working for exceptional trauma care on the Southside of Chicago are part Trauma Care Coalition. The Trauma Care Coalition represents South Side community organizations and allied groups, including …
Fearless Leading by the Youth
Southside Together Organizing for Power
Kenwood Oakland Community Organization
Students for Health Equity
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
Interfaith Leadership Council
National Nurses United

Holy Cross Hospital, operated by Sinai Health System, which is located at West 68th Street and South California Avenue, is “near some of the highest incidence of trauma injury and gun violence in the city,” UChicago Medicine said in a release on its website on Thursday.

Holy Cross Hospital, which serves many communities including Englewood, Auburn Gresham and Marquette Park, is one of the largest providers of emergency care in Illinois.

Under the University of Chicago Medicine-Sinai Health System partnership:

Holy Cross Hospital will renovate and expand its emergency department and build a state-of-the-art Level 1 adult trauma center.

UChicago Medicine will provide capital to help fund the facility improvements at Holy Cross Hospital, which are estimated to be in the range of $40 million.

Sinai Health System, which operates a trauma center at Mount Sinai Hospital, will provide specialists dedicated to trauma care, including emergency department physicians, anesthesiologists, and nursing staff, along with trauma care support services.

UChicago Medicine will provide specialists at the new trauma center dedicated to trauma care, including general trauma, neurological, orthopedic and plastic surgeons, urologists, and other areas.

When completed, the trauma center at Holy Cross will be the fifth Level 1 adult trauma center in the City of Chicago.

Chicago city limits Level I Trauma Centers are located at …

Stroger and Mount Sinai hospitals on the West Side,

Northwestern Memorial Hospital on the Near North Side, and

Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center on the North Side.

Also serving many City of Chicago residents is Level I Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and Level I Trauma Center Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

“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. 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. This partnership will strengthen their longstanding commitment to their communities and proves once again why these institutions are an asset to our great city.”

— Mayor Rahm Emanuel

The University of Chicago Medical Center in Hyde Park does not have a Level I Trauma Center. In 1988, the University of Chicago Medical Center decided not to renew its application for Level I Trauma Center status. Many activist for improved trauma care on the south side of Chicago have said priority should have been directed at re-establishing a Level I Trauma Center at University of Chicago over gaining funding for the presidential library for Barack Obama.

Trauma centers by definition are staffed round the clock with emergency medical personnel, including emergency room doctors, trauma surgeons, anesthesiologists, nursing staff and trauma care support services

Trauma specialists from Mount Sinai. UChicago Medicine will provide specialists in general trauma care, neurology, orthopedics, plastic surgery, urology and other areas.

University of Chicago Medicine will pay for the $40 million facility expansion and renovation through the general capital fund, according to a university statement. University of Chicago Medicine also reports the approval process and construction are expected to take at least two years.

A full list of Chicagoland trauma centers are listed here …

http://www.chicagofiremap.net/2013/06/chicagoland-trauma-centers-level-i-and.html

According to a 2013 study, Chicago gunshot-wound victims more than five miles away from a trauma center were more likely to die. According to a Nation analysis of city data, nearly a fifth of Chicago residents live five or more miles away from a trauma center, most of them on the South Side. Between 2001 and 2013, more than a third of the city’s homicides and shootings have taken place more than five miles away from a trauma center.

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