U of C Announces $40 Mil. Adult Trauma Center for the South Side
The University of Chicago Medicine recently announced it would partner with Sinai Health Systems to open a $40 million trauma center on the city’s South Side.
The announcement comes after years of protests from community activists who were insistent upon the hospital opening an adult trauma center on Chicago’s South Side.
The Level 1 adult trauma center will be located at what is now the emergency room at Holy Cross Hospital, 2701 W. 68th St. The Sinai Health system acquired Holy Cross three years ago.
Holy Cross will provide most of the medical personnel, while U. of C. Medicine will pay for the facility’s renovation through a general capital fund, officials said.
In an announcement last week, Sinai Health System President and CEO Karen Teitelbaum, said Holy Cross is well-positioned to help the area.
“We are bringing together the best to do the most,” Teitelbaum said. “Since Holy Cross became part of our health care network in 2013, we have been seeking ways to expand its reach, especially when it comes to acute care and violence prevention. Bringing the expertise and resources of the University of Chicago Medicine and Sinai Health System together, we can do exponentially more for all of the communities on the South and Southwest side of the city.”
U of C Medical Center President Sharon O’Keefe said the “partnership, a model for other care providers, leverages our collective experience and resources to expand access to life-saving, quality health care for communities we serve.”
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the “center is a true community and civic effort, and the City of Chicago looks forward to working with key stakeholders to bring this to fruition.”
He added, “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.”
Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th Ward), said Holy Cross’s central location “has the potential to save more lives, because emergency vehicles won’t have to travel as far to get patients to the level of care needed after a life threatening incident.”
The area has been without an adult trauma center since Michael Reese Hospital in Bronzeville closed its center in 1991.
But for more than five years, South Side groups have attempted to pressure U of C Medicine to provide adult trauma care.
“I think it is a victory for the people of the South Side,” the Rev. Julian DeShazier, who has criticized U of C Medicine about the lack of trauma care. “This says that the South Side is as important as the North Side.”
DeShazier said the center also is “an important first step.”
“The next step is university having more engagement with the community,” he said. “But an action like this shows the university has a real effort to making things better.”
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