Protesters Demand Trauma Center on Citys South Side
On Oct. 31, Fearless Leading by the Youth (FLY) and their supporters gathered in protest of the lack of a Level 1 Trauma Center at the University of Chicago (U of C) Medical Center. Demonstrators assembled outside Grove Parc Plaza at 61st and Cottage Grove Ave. chanting slogans that embodied their disdain for the trauma desert that currently exists on the citys South side.
During the protest, demonstrators replicated a scene from the Michael Jackson Thriller video. Protestors fell to the ground from fake injuries which represented those who have actually died from serious injuries and who lacked access to a nearby trauma center.
FLY is the youth wing of Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP). The organization fights for human rights including the issues of gentrification, displacement, and health cuts.
In August 2010, co-founder of FLY, Damien Turner was shot in a drive-by shooting just blocks away from U of C. But paramedics could not take Turner to U of C because it closed its trauma center in 1988. Instead, Turner was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 9 miles away, where he later died.
Turner was a talented musician and a consistent and energetic leader in the struggle for human rights according to the STOP website.
Veronica Morris, a FLY organizer, said that Turner truly impacted her life.
Since his death weve held about 10 protests to raise awareness for the lack of a trauma center at U of C, she explained.
Sophia Kortchmar, a U of C student and supporter of FLY said, I support the message FLY members are trying to relay. Its all about pushing the University to listen to what young people have to say.
A trauma center is typically described as a hospital unit specializing in the treatment of patients with acute and especially life-threatening injuries. A Level 1 Trauma Center has a range of specialists available 24 hours a day, whether a patient is being served or not.
On Chicagos South side, Level 1 Trauma Centers have been non-existent since 1990 when Michael Reese Hospital closed down their center, and eventually closed down completely in 2008.
According to the City of Chicagos website, the average paramedic transport to a hospital is between 2-3 miles. However in the trauma desert, the seriously wounded are typically taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital downtown or Christ Medical Center in South Suburban Oak Lawn which far exceeds the 2-3 transport.
By: Abbra Stiffend
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