Creating an Oasis in a Trauma Desert: The South Side’s Fight for an Adult Trauma Center at the University of Chicago Medicine

Understanding the historical and environmental context of a community prior to building a trauma center is critical. Specifically, the social context of a catchment area, both current and historical, shape the epidemiology of violence and the need for a trauma center. The story of the University of Chicago Medicine Trauma Center (UCMTC) is one marked by broad community organizing and civil disobedience. The movement for a trauma center on the South Side was preceded by decades of Black Americans fleeing the South from racism only to be met with the same prejudice by the people of Chicago and institutions like the University of Chicago. Chicago’s deep bigotry towards Black people ultimately led to one of the United States’ most racially segregated cities. Not only were Black Americans in the city of Chicago segregated from their White counterparts but also segregated from economic opportunity, stable housing, education, and self-determination. This segregation persists to this present day. Isolation into resource deprived communities has created environments plagued with healthcare disparities and gun violence, where men, women, children, and even infants experience violent death. The closing of the University of Chicago Medicine trauma center in 1988 is a glaring example of systemic racism and complete disregard for the communities suffering a disproportionate burden of the violence taking place in the city of Chicago. South Side community members recognized the devastating impact of living in a trauma desert, after hospitals like the University of Chicago and Michael Reese Hospital closed their adult trauma services. From 1988 until the re-opening of the University of Chicago Medicine trauma center in 2018, many injured South Siders traveled past the UCMTC to receive trauma care—an often fatal delay. The deaths of Benjamin “Benji,” Wilson, and Damian Turner were major events in the history of the University of Chicago Medicine trauma center. After the death of 18-year-old Damian Turner in August of 2010, 5 years of campaigning and protesting commenced as the community successfully challenged the University of Chicago Medicine to re-open the adult trauma center. Since its opening the University of Chicago has become one of the busiest in the nation having saved thousands of lives in a testament to the community organizing power of the South Side of Chicago.