U. of C. trauma center sees 64 patients in first week

Since it opened last week, University of Chicago Medicine’s trauma center has treated 64 patients.

Of that number, about 58 percent of patients were treated for wounds related to blunt trauma, such as injuries related to car crashes, falls or assaults, according to numbers released Tuesday by the hospital. The other 42 percent were treated for wounds related to gunshots, stabbings and impalements.

U. of C. began offering services at its Level 1 adult trauma center last Tuesday, closing a 27-year gap in trauma care for the South Side.

The Level 1 adult trauma center is the first on the South Side since Michael Reese Hospital closed its center in 1991.

U. of C. ended its adult trauma care services in 1988, and South Side residents have advocated since then to open such a center.

The center will provide specialized care for patients with traumatic injuries, like car crashes, gunshot wounds, burns and falls.

Eighteen new surgeons and specialists were hired for the new trauma center, Dr. Selwyn Rogers, the trauma center’s director, previously told the Sun-Times. U. of C. expects to treat at least 2,000 adult trauma patients in the first year though the exact number of patients is hard to predict.

READ MORE:

• U. of C. Medicine set to open South Side trauma center May 1

• U. of C. Medicine breaks ground on emergency room trauma center

• New emergency department lays foundation for U of C trauma center