University of Chicago Medicine gets $9.1 million grant for trauma care

University of Chicago Medicine is set to receive a $9.1 million gift to expand services aimed at helping people “critically injured or exposed to violence on the South Side,” medical center officials said Wednesday.

The money, coming from two East Coast foundations, will go toward a program that provides everything from counseling to child care to helping find housing while a family member is hospitalized and after the patient is discharged, officials said.

“The genius of this program is that the community and medical center are true partners, each bringing their expertise, from working together on the initial design to making improvements along the way. This kind of real change takes the efforts of so many people — respecting, trusting and supporting each other — and a commitment to the long term,” said Ellen Hassenfeld Block, a member of the board of trustees at the University of Chicago Medical Center and the director of both foundations making the donation.

“We are excited to support this effort and are grateful to everyone from everywhere who has worked tirelessly to create this collaborative, for their ongoing contributions, and for their commitment to a long-term future that we too share, seeing that all children and families in our community are safe from violence, resilient, healthy, and can grow up and thrive.”

University of Chicago Hospitals have cared for about 3,000 trauma patients from May 1, 2018, through the end of March 2019, officials said. Of those, 276 were children.

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